To get the proper exposure for snow, what I do is to meter off the sky first then recompose.

I think both #1 and #2 are really nice. However I prefer the first one because the pilings seem to be more of a leading line into the picture, where as the pilings in the second picture come across as more of a barrier to the picture.

www.ppsop.net
Perfect Picture School of Photography.

I found this online school to be very helpful.

I have used PPSOP and have found them to be very good. They also offer free short videos on various photo topics.