Heading to the mountains rather than the beaches for Spring Break? Kathleen Crislip, About.com Student Travel Guide editor, has picked her 2012 Spring Break “Hot Spots.”

Start with Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia, Canada where there’s “a realistic drinking age, great snow, interesting folks, and beyond beautiful.” She reminds no passport is needed for those driving across the border.

She thinks Crested Butte Mountain Resort is perhaps the “best Colorado ski resort for college-aged folks with lots of events and activities, nice nightlife, and the town of Crested Butte is terrific.”

Winter Park Resort gets Crislip’s nod for spring break skiing near a big city (it’s 1.5 hours from Denver). She says the ski town is “loaded with après-anything spots.”

She ranks Aspen Snowmass as spring break skiing in the Rockies “at its finest,” noting Aspen gets a “bad rap as a Richie rich hangout only.” She says Aspen lodging can be “spendy,” but touts the St. Moritz Lodge and Limelite Lodge as reasonable bets.

Crislip says she survived her “ski bum thing” at Jackson Hole slinging drinks by night at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. She says Jackson welcomes college students, “maybe because local guys outnumber girls.”

Breckenridge, Colo. gets her nod for easy access off I-70 and for being a real town, founded in 1859. There are also 79 bars a-waiting.

Her final choice is Heavenly at Lake Tahoe, Calif. where she says the best off-the-slope activity is at the gaming tables.

Crislip lists several “quieter” spring break stops like Vail (“your parent’s resort, but lots of room”); Big Sky, Mont. (“great rocking chair runs”); Whitefish, Mont. (“killer views all around and Kalispell has its moments”); and Sun Valley (“stay and play in Ketchum”).

Photo: Whistler village