If you can manage an unplanned/spur of the moment trip in your work schedule, I recommend heading to SLC when the snow is falling. The SLC area has the most convenient access combined with incredible mountains with great deep snow skiing. I've done this often myself since the trip is so easy (it's also fairly inexpensive). You can stay down in SLC at the foot of Little Cottonwood Canyon and ski Alta or Snowbird (and Solitude and Brighton are fun too).
Also, it's not like the Northeast never gets deep snow - you just have to be willing to time it right and go where it's snowing. Watch the snowfall predictions and make it your mission to get some. but I have to admit that even though I skied the NE for 12 years I don't think I ever found more than 6" due to my ability to time storms and actually get out to ski. In my first trip out West I hit 2.5' of the deep stuff at Alta. Once I experienced that I realized that there was a whole "other" sport I was missing.
I agree that "dropping coin" on a big heli trip, if you've never really skied in deep snow, is definitely a bit risky.