THE race is on between two competing groups of would-be developers to

create Scotland's next ski resort on Ben Wyvis in Ross-shire.

The two consortia are comprised of different groups of Highland

businessmen all determined to turn into reality a 25- year-old dream of

transforming the 3400ft mountain into a winter playground.

And while publicly each development group is remaining politely

non-commital about the other's chances, underneath the surface runs a

strong current of bitter rivalry.

One company says it is now preparing an application for outline

planning permission to build a single track access road up the west side

of Ben Wyvis. According to the Ben Wyvis Ski Development Company, skiers

would drive to a car park half way up the mountain to be taken to the

top of the slopes by chairlift and ski tow in a development being costed

at a modest #1.5m.

''I really don't care who gets there first. What we're really

concerned about is getting a ski-ing development on Wyvis,'' said Mr

Angus Jack, a partner in MacBeath Parr Associates, a firm of architects

which is promoting the road plan.

Mr Iain MacBeath, another member of the group, claimed ski-ing on the

mountain would be excellent providing runs as long as anywhere else in

Scotland, although he admits there is a certain degree of scepticism

among the ski-ing fraternity. ''We've got an image problem here,'' he

said. ''People reckon there's only a couple of bits of decent ski-ing

but they're wrong. If the Lecht can do it so can Wyvis.''

However, chasing the backers of the road scheme is a competing group

who have resurrected the old idea of building a mountain railway to the

top of the Ben. Members of the second consortium -- confusingly called

the Ben Wyvis Ski Development Group -- are now plotting their next move

but are confident their plan will be the one to get the go- ahead.

Mr Alastair Brebner, a spokesman for the group, declined to put a

price on the railway plan or to reveal exact details of the scheme but

it is almost certain to take a southern route up the mountainside in the

tracks of an ill-fated railway project originally granted planning

consent in 1981 but abandoned because of cash problems.

''We want to keep a low profile until our plans are finalised. At the

right time everyone will be told what we're doing,'' said Mr Brebner,

who operates an outdoor holiday company from the village of

Strathpeffer.

His group sees the advantage of the cable drawn or funicular railway

idea as giving the project a summer season in addition to providing

access to the slopes for winter sports.

''We would guess that the summer is probably the main component. It's

vital that you have that first, particularly in a winter like this when

the snow is so late you've lost half the season. The ski-ing should be

the cream on the top.''

But already there has been local criticism of the fact that there are

separate developers vying for the right to develop the mountain. Mr

Michael Macmillan, a Ross-shire solicitor, has written to the MP for the

area Mr Charles Kennedy urging him to try to bring the two groups

together.

''It seems to be crazy to have two lots of people working separately

on this,'' said Mr Macmillan, a former Labour Party challenger for Mr

Kennedy's Ross, Cromarty and Skye seat. ''The main thing is to get the

mountain geared up so there is all- year access and so we can see some

facilities and jobs created in the area.''

However, a merger between the two groups is unlikely. The railway

buffs maintain that ski-ing alone will not make the scheme viable

whereas their opponents point to the fact that railway projects have

been discussed for a quarter of a century without the scheme advancing

as much as one inch up the mountainside. There is also a fair degree of

scepticism among some ski-ing aficionados who regard the rail plan as

the pipedream of a few well-intentioned enthusiasts. Fears have also

been voiced about the safety aspect of operating a ski resort whose main

access and escape route is by single track light railway.

Nevertheless the road proposal is likely to run into greater

opposition from the Nature Conservancy Council which owns the upper

reaches of Ben Wyvis. The NCC objected to the 1981 plan but their

reservations were overruled by the then Secretary of State for Scotland

Mr George Younger.

The conservation agency has said it won't stand in the way of any new

scheme which runs broadly along the lines of the original plan. But the

access method and route chosen by the supporters of the road option are

totally different and it may yet be that the path to the latest winter

sports development in the Highlands will become bogged down by the

familiar argument between conservation and ski-ing.