Replying to Road trip......wich resorts?

Me and my buddy are going to hit the road right before christmas and go on a road trip for about a week(maybe more). We want to hit up some resorts we've never skied at and some that we know rip. I thought I would come on here and get some opinions on where we should go. I'm more into the big mountain aspect of skiing so I'm looking for good terrain and snow, don't really care about the terrain park we've got a good one at my home resort. We start out in Spokane and have no limitations on where to go. I want to spend more time skiing then driving so I'm not gonna head to Colorado or anything.
Should we go up to Canada? Montana? I don't have tons of cash so smaller resorts that are cheaper are a good idea(also the canadian exchange rate).
A few ideas I have, Red Mountain, Whitewater, Fernie, Kicking Horse, Big white. Or if we head to montana we can hit up Big Mountain, Discovery Basin, Big Sky, Bridger. I guess it will depend on who is getting the best early season snowfall.