Berkshire East Ski Resort is a medium-sized
alpine
Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to:
Places Europe
* Alps, a European mountain range
** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range
Australia
* Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village
* Alpine National Pa ...
ski area
A ski area is the terrain and supporting infrastructure where skiing and other snow sports take place. Such sports include alpine and cross-country skiing, snow boarding, tubing, sledding, etc. Ski areas may stand alone or be part of a ski resort.
...
in the
northeastern
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, located in the
Berkshires
The Berkshires () are a highland geologic region located in the western parts of Massachusetts and northwest Connecticut. The term "Berkshires" is normally used by locals in reference to the portion of the Vermont-based Green Mountains that ex ...
on
Mount Institute in
Charlemont and
Hawley,
.
History
Thunder Mountain Ski Area
Organized skiing started on Mt. Institute in the mid-1950s when Arthur Parker opened a small rope tow operation. Due to weather and other difficulties, it closed after one short season.
Parker spent the balance of the decade gathering investors for a much larger operation on the same mountain. The first double
chairlift
An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs. They ...
, a
Mueller
Mueller may refer to:
People
* Mueller (surname), a surname German in origin
Places Antarctica
* Mount Mueller (Antarctica)
Australia
* Mueller College, in Queensland
* Mount Mueller (Victoria)
*Mueller Park, in Western Australia
* Mueller Rive ...
, was installed for the grand re-opening 1961-62 season. A second double chairlift, another Mueller, was installed in 1962.
Notable skiers during this time included former Massachusetts Governor
Endicott Peabody
Endicott Howard Peabody (February 15, 1920 – December 2, 1997) was an American politician from Massachusetts. A Democrat, he served a single two-year term as the 62nd Governor of Massachusetts, from 1963 to 1965. His tenure is probably b ...
and U.S. Senator
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years, from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic ...
.
New ownership took over in late 1965, changing the name to Berkshire East at the end of the decade.
Berkshire East Ski Resort
The ownership group struggled, trying a variety of ill-fated expansion plans. By 1975, Berkshire East was bankrupt and outdated with two partially installed chairlifts and two antiquated Mueller chairlifts. Current management soon took over and began a steady series of investments.
A Hall double chairlift was installed in 1978. A fourth chairlift, an
SLI, was also installed in the late 1970s.
In 1995, the first Mueller double chairlift was replaced with a
Poma
Poma, incorporated as Pomagalski S.A., and sometimes referred to as the Poma Group, is a French company which manufactures cable-driven lift systems, including fixed and detachable chairlifts, gondola lifts, funiculars, aerial tramways, people ...
triple chairlift. A
Hall
In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gr ...
double chairlift was added in 2001. In 2003, the second Mueller double chairlift was replaced with a
Borvig-Leitner quad chairlift.
In 2008, Berkshire East replaced a novice handle tow with a magic carpet lift.
As of 2008, the ski area has 45 trails and five lifts, in addition to the tubing slope and lift. Berkshire East is currently the only alpine ski area in
Franklin County open to the public.
In 2010, the Diamond Express
Hall
In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gr ...
double chairlift (1978) was replaced with a
Poma
Poma, incorporated as Pomagalski S.A., and sometimes referred to as the Poma Group, is a French company which manufactures cable-driven lift systems, including fixed and detachable chairlifts, gondola lifts, funiculars, aerial tramways, people ...
triple chairlift.
In 2011, the ski area added a PowerWind 56 900 kW wind turbine. This addition, makes Berkshire East the first ski area in the world to be 100% powered by onsite renewable energy.
In 2014, the Summit Triple lift (1995) was replaced by a brand new SkyTrac quad chairlift with a moving carpet loading area. The new lift will run at a faster speed than typical fixed grip lifts with a moving carpet that moves skiers into the loading area and assists with loading onto the faster moving chairs. The old Poma Summit Triple lift was moved to
Catamount Mountain Resort in
Egremont, Massachusetts.
Terrain and Lifts
Berkshire East offers about 1000 feet of true (non-inflated) vertical drop, with about of skiable terrain. It has mixed terrain from beginner to expert
level ability: 30% beginner runs, 35% intermediate, 30% advanced, and 5% expert runs. Berkshire also has 4 chairlifts.
Berkshire East also has a single
Magic Carpet
A magic carpet, also called a flying carpet, is a legendary carpet and common trope in fantasy fiction. It is typically used as a form of transportation and can quickly or instantaneously carry its users to their destination.
In literature
One o ...
, located on the Bobcat novice slope.
Snowmaking
Berkshire East can make snow on all of its trails. The
snowmaking
Snowmaking is the production of snow by forcing water and pressurized air through a "snow gun", also known as a "snow cannon". Snowmaking is mainly used at ski resorts to supplement natural snow. This allows ski resorts to improve the reliabilit ...
system is composed almost exclusively of fan guns. The snowmaking fleet is dominated by
SMI Polecats and Wizzards, as well as Areco fan guns.
Racing
Berkshire East and Thunder Mountain have both been known for strong racing programs. Numerous successful racers, ranging from Massachusetts high school state champions to
United States Ski Team
The U.S. Ski Team, operating under the auspices of U.S. Ski & Snowboard, develops and supports men's and women's athletes in the sports of alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, cross-country, ski jumping, and Nordic combined. Since 1974 the team and a ...
members have trained and raced at Berkshire East. Berkshire East frequently hosts
USSA
Ussa is a Local Government Areas of Nigeria, local government area in Taraba State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the town of Lissam. Ussa borders the Cameroon, Republic of Cameroon in the south; the Donga River forms its northern boundary. U ...
and
MIAA slalom
To slalom is to zigzag between obstacles. It may refer to:
Sports
;Alpine skiing and/or snowboarding
* Slalom skiing, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline
* Giant slalom, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline
* Super-G ...
and
giant slalom
Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline. It involves skiing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in slalom but less than in Super-G.
Giant slalom and slalom make up t ...
championship races. Additionally, it is a frequent venue for
ski mountaineering
Ski mountaineering (abbreviated to skimo) is a skiing discipline that involves climbing mountains either on skis or carrying them, depending on the steepness of the ascent, and then descending on skis. There are two major categories of equipmen ...
races.
Other activities
In 2007, Berkshire East expanded operations beyond skiing and snowboarding by opening a
snow tubing
Tubing, also known as inner tubing, bumper tubing, towed tubing, or kite tubing, is a recreational activity where an individual rides on top of an inner tube, either on water, snow, or through the air. The tubes themselves are also known as "donu ...
slope, serviced by a
magic carpet
A magic carpet, also called a flying carpet, is a legendary carpet and common trope in fantasy fiction. It is typically used as a form of transportation and can quickly or instantaneously carry its users to their destination.
In literature
One o ...
surface lift.
In 2009, Berkshire East announced the construction of multiple
zip line
A zip-line, zip line, zip-wire, flying fox, or death slide is a pulley suspended on a cable, usually made of stainless steel, mounted on a slope. It is designed to enable cargo or a person propelled by gravity to travel from the top to the bott ...
s, creating a
canopy tour
A zip-line, zip line, zip-wire, flying fox, or death slide is a pulley suspended on a cable, usually made of stainless steel, mounted on a slope. It is designed to enable cargo or a person propelled by gravity to travel from the top to the bo ...
business called Berkshire East Canopy Tours.
Berkshire East Canopy Tours is one of the largest zip lines companies in North America. It boasts nearly of zip lines, and features two of the longest zip lines in the United States with X1, and X2. These zips are about a half mile in length and are nearly above the ground.
In 2013, Berkshire East was given approval to build the longest
Alpine Coaster
A summer toboggan is an amusement or recreational ride which uses a bobsled-like sled or cart to run down a track usually built on the side of a hill. There are two main types: an Alpine coaster or mountain coaster is a type of roller coaste ...
in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
, and featured a mile (1.6 km) of steel track.
In the summer of 2014, the new
mountain coaster
A summer toboggan is an amusement or recreational ride which uses a bobsled-like sled or cart to run down a track usually built on the side of a hill. There are two main types: an Alpine coaster or mountain coaster is a type of roller coaster ...
was constructed, and that fall, construction began on a new downhill mountain bike park.
References
External links
* {{official, http://www.berkshireeast.com – Berkshire East Ski Area
Berkshire East Canopy Tours- Official site
SkiBerkshireEast.com- History and photos
Buildings and structures in Franklin County, Massachusetts
Ski areas and resorts in Massachusetts
Tourist attractions in Franklin County, Massachusetts
Sports in Franklin County, Massachusetts