Backcountry Ski Towns

I'm trying to compile a list of the best "Backcountry Ski Towns" in the US.

Here are my criteria: 
1) Access to good backcountry terrain <45 min from town. The closer the better!
1a) Preferably the majority of the terrain is accessible without a snowmobile 
2) Cost of living is reasonable. I know this one may be tricky. And the housing market is big enough you could reasonably find a room. 
3) Job market in town is big enough that you could roll into town and with some searching find a job as a dishwasher, grocery store employee, etc...

Excited to hear what people come up with! Also, totally want to hear of places even if they don't fit all of these criteria. 

You should share your preliminary list (;

I will nominate Joseph and Haines, Oregon.

I agree that a lot of the ski terrain requires a snowmobile for Cooke City, but I also suspect that it has more ski terrain that is day trip-able then many towns that will be listed here. Not sure how easy it is to get a place to stay there though...

turns-all-year.com/trip-reports/february...-cooke-city-montucky

I would say Hamilton Montana because it is a 40 minute drive on Hwy 93 to Lost Trail Pass which sits on the Montana-Idaho border at a very high elevation 7,000ft approximately.   There is a ski resort there that is open from Thurs thru Sun which is still a laid back affair with lift served access to some very nice bc and easy touring when the resort is closed.
A season pass is probably still very inexpensive and Hamilton is a nice town on the Bitterroot River.

I was at one such wonderful resort, I think it was called "Steamboat". My parents chose it, argued for a long time and agreed on the choice of a Steamboat on bluehouseskis.com/. We went there, the road from the nearest city was about 25-30 minutes. I'm not a fan of ski resorts, but my parents love them very much. But even I really liked it there, there was great food, there was a very cool atmosphere of a classic American resort. There was a deer's head in the bar too) there was a cable car and a snowmobile, but it was not necessary to use it. I do not know if it is possible to get a job in a local store, but it seems to me quite strange to go to a resort without money. In any case, I hope you will choose for yourself what you are comfortable with.

North Bend or Bellingham or even Nelson BC, if you are willing to do some border crossing. These aren't Jackson, Tahoe or Whistler but they meet your criteria. And, they are regular towns where regular people can live and work...and ski.