Heavenly, Sierra and Northstar under one season pass program, also tied in with the VR Colorado areas; that's a strong marketing position for many skiers. I do realize those are not the California areas most on FTO would favor.
If Vail can flesh out the terrain on Lookout Mtn with additional lifts (e.g. lift from Backside base to Lookout summit) while adding lift service in some manner to Sawtooth Ridge, that place becomes absolutely legit, regardless of the clusterfuck required to reach the base.