Undeterred by the late afternoon's failing light on Sugarbush North's "Cliffs" trail, we skied down through the deep, light powder. It was an exciting end to a full day of Vermont skiing.

With intersession approaching, many students are getting ready to head for the slopes where they will spend hundreds of dollars and help boost the Vermont economy. Equipped only with our ski equipment, a car and a tireless sense of adventure, two of us skied as many of Vermont's top ski areas as possible in one day.

Leaving Cambridge at 5:30 a.m. and returning at 10 p.m., we stopped at Mount Snow, Stratton, Okemo, Killington and Sugarbush. We logged more than 300 miles, ate in three different McDonalds and listened to the best FM radio Vermont has to offer.

Traveling from area to area only one thing remained consistent: development. Here a condo, there a condo--each mountain is adding real estate to its list of profit-making activities. But the building boom isn't only at the bottom of the mountain. Every area has been expanding lift facilities, cutting new trails, and increasing snowmaking capacity.

With the latest improvements of Vermont's ski areas, and the drought out West, Eastern skiing has never been better.

Mount Snow

Pulling off the interstate and driving through small villages with tourist gift shops which advertised "General Store items," seemed a fitting start to a day in Vermont. We arrived at Mount Snow just in time to catch the 9:00 a.m. lift opening.

Mount Snow has the advantage of being less than three hours from Boston. It's close enough for a day trip, but far enough to persuade you to stay for a few days. Bought out by the Killington Corporation in 1977, Mount Snow has been undergoing a tremendous expansion. With the annexation last year of the nearby Carinthia ski area, and some clever trail cutting this summer, Mount Snow has added another 18 trails--all of which are skiable from the main lifts and the unique skis-on gondola.

The summit lifts were closed because of high winds, so we took an easy run from the mid-station. The trail "One More Time," an intermediate trail without any serious pitch, was fine for a first run but lacked the excitement of a more challenging and steep slope.

On the whole, Mount Snow is a great mountain for intermediate skiers. Only 13 of their 75 trails are rated expert. But those 13 have fairly steep pitches, and the "Ripcord" trail can hold its own against any other area's expert slopes.

Mount Snow is trying to get in on the action as a mountain for college kids. For years Killington has been the primary destination for college students, but other mountains are slowly moving in on Killington's valued market share. Mount Snow has begun a series of college ski weeks which provide extensive after-ski activities. From hacky-sack marathons to Hawaiian dance parties, the new ski weeks are trying to create an atmosphere to encourage students to stay longer and return sooner.

The real advantage of Mount Snow lies in its central base area, which allows skiers of all different abilities to meet easily for lunch and at the end of the day. This is also the case at Stratton and Okemo. Sugarbush and Killington, on the other hand, have more spread-out arrangements which make meeting up with friends of different skiing abilities slightly more difficult. Of course, for those who get tired of Mount Snow's offerings, Stratton is only a half-hour drive to the north.

Stratton

In the who-can-overdevelop-the-base-area-the-most department, Stratton Mountain wins hands down. After putting in hundreds of new condos and a hotel adjoining the base lodge, Stratton has now added the ultimate in ski area chic: Stratton Village.

Stratton is a beautiful-people-only resort. The new village, with the requisite quaint architecture and gourmet shop also boasts clothes boutiques from Bogner and CB sports. It has a certain European flavor; one almost expects fur-clad women to stroll by with their poodles in tow.