We asked Globe correspondent Marty Basch -- a man with much experience on the slopes of New England -- to rate the region's ski areas in a dozen key categories.
1. BEST NIGHT LIFE: Killington. The Killington Access Road heats up when the slopes close down in Vermont with live bands, dancing, happy hours, and even over-30 joints. Check out The Wobbly Barn.
2. BEST TREE SKIING AND RIDING: Jay Peak. When it dumps, and it does so often at Jay Peak, the in-bounds gladed northern Vermont terrain is the region's finest. There's something for everyone, so experts charge chutes and cliffs while newbies try tame and thinned glades.
3. BEST CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING: Jackson Ski Touring Foundation. In a word, civilized. That red covered bridge is a gateway to flat fields, rolling riverside trails, heart-pumping challenges, frosty Granite State vistas , and warm inns with sustenance.
4. BEST PARKS AND PIPES: Stratton. The East Coast snowboard revolution started in Vermont and the best riders in the world turn out for the US Open held at Stratton. Huge and extreme meet kind and benign as every rider entering a park has to take a short safety workshop.
5. BEST VIEWS: Wildcat. On a clear day, stand at the summit of a 4,000-footer in Pinkham Notch, look across to the Northeast's highest peak and a pair of scenic ravines before heading down. Then catch Mount Washington again on those winding corners and straightaways.
6. BEST FOR FAMILIES: Smugglers' Notch. Nonstop family activities inside and out, and a knack for knowing what children want keep Smuggs in Jeffersonville, Vt., on parents' radars. Turning 50 this season, Smugglers' Notch not only has gentle terrain for beginners on Morse, but thrills on Madonna with a mix on Sterling.
7. BEST FOR ROMANCE: Bretton Woods. You can feel the love, or is the heat just from all those fireplaces? From the outdoor fire pit beside the base lodge to the cozy blaze in the Mount Washington Hotel's lobby, the flame is enveloping. Sip hot drinks on the veranda, then dress for dinner and an evening of romance.
8. BEST NIGHT SKIING: Wachusett. Easy access from Boston and Worcester keeps the trails humming until 10 p.m. with after-school programs and adult race leagues. Nocturnal riders show off in the terrain park under the chair while solitude is found after 8 many nights.
9. BEST SPRING SKIING: Sugarloaf. Maine frost heaves are forgotten as the reggae plays and the sun works wonders on changing snow surfaces throughout the day .
10. BEST EARLY SEASON SNOW: Sunday River. Toss a coin on this one with a couple of Vermont areas, but those guns and hoses give more than a dusting at Maine's Sunday River.
11. BEST BACKCOUNTRY EXPERIENCE: Tuckerman Ravine. New England's rite of passage for any serious skier or rider is the spring trek to the steeps of the bowl on Mount Washington's shoulder.
12. BEST NON-MEGA RESORT: Mad River Glen. As the bumper sticker says, ski it if you can. Unpretentious Vermont, retro, a skiers' mountain (no snowboarding allowed).
