Snow blew in from California this week, and exam-weary students began scraping and lacquering their skiis in preparation for between-terms christies.

Skiing was labeled "fair" to "good" and "excellent" all the way north from Amesbury (skiing "excellent") to Mont Tremblant in Canada (35 inch base, nine inches powder).

The new chair lift at Mad River Glen in Waitsfield, Vermont, started operations for the first time, and time honored centers like Manchester, Vermont; Thorne Mountain in Jackson, New Hampshire; and North Conway, New Hampshire, reported "good" skiing with most tows and lifts in operation.

Snow Trains Run

The Boston & Maine announced yesterday that its snow trains would run for the first time this winter. There will be a special excursion train leaving North Station for North Conway at 8:10 a.m. tomorrow morning and due in the north country at 11:40 a.m. and returning at 5 p.m., giving passengers a whole afternoon of skiing.

The Harvard ski cabin in Pinkham Notch at Mt. Washington and the Mountaineering Club's cabin on Mt. Washington are booked between terms for the season's first large scale action.

The first ski competitions of the winter will be the Lebanon, New Hampshire, jumps and cross country races today and tomorrow. Because all previously scheduled events have been cancelled this winter, the Lebanon competitions are expected to attract a big field of experienced entrants.