A ski resort, comparable to many of the famous New England ski centers and only 12 miles from Cambridge, will be available to students shortly after Christmas.

The new project, a $65,000 undertaking which is being constructed near the Harvard Observatory in the Blue Hills, will have a 2,100 foot trail with a rise of 400 feet for experienced skiers and a slightly slower run of 2,700 feet with the same rise.

The run will be longer than the trail from the halfway house at North Conway, New Hampshire, and will be served by electrically driven tows.

Big Blue Hill, site of the new slopes, is at the intersection of routes 138 and 128 and is surrounded by small suburban towns. The original contract was awarded in October and construction has been under way over since. The preparatory plans for the slopes and trails were designed under the guidance of Haunes Schneider, dean of the nation's skiing masters.

Boston's location is so close to the sea that it has not been previously regarded as an area favorable for prolonged skiing, but the site chosen is the highest and coldest peak in the area and traditionally has more snowfall than other sections of metropolitan Boston.

Benjamin W. Fink, chief engineer of the Parks Division of the Metropolitan District Commission and supervisor of the project, reported that "near Boston, the day-to-night temperature drop is sufficient to change poor skiing to good skiing and with the shortness of the season in mind we thought the investment highly worth making."

A parking lot for about 200 cars is already available within 700 feet of the area.

The skiing area is surrounded by the park land of the Blue Hill Reservation, a wood and hilly area stretching irregularly for ten miles across south metropolitan Boston, and provisions may be made to increase the parking facilities.