Berkshire East Ski Resort is a medium-sized
alpine ski area in the
northeastern United States, located in the
Berkshires on
Mount Institute
Mount Institute, 1,538 ft., is a peak located in Hawley, Massachusetts, just south of the village of Charlemont.
History
Mount Institute was named by Horace Mann when he had an educational institute in Charlemont that overlooked the moun ...
in
Charlemont and
Hawley Hawley may refer to:
* Hawley (surname)
Titles
* Baron Hawley
* Hawley baronets
Places named Hawley
;In Australia
* Hawley Beach, Tasmania
;In the United Kingdom
* Hawley, Hampshire
* Hawley, Kent
;In the United States
* Hawley, Colorado
* ...
,
Massachusetts.
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, 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 and U.S. Senator
Ted Kennedy.
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 By 1975, Berkshire East was bankrupt and outdated with two partially installed chairlifts and two antiquated Mueller chairlifts.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 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 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, located on the Bobcat novice slope.
Snowmaking
Berkshire East can make snow on all of its trails. The
snowmaking 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 members have trained and raced at Berkshire East. Berkshire East frequently hosts
USSA 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 races.
Other activities
In 2007, Berkshire East expanded operations beyond skiing and snowboarding by opening a
snow tubing slope, serviced by a
magic carpet surface lift.
In 2009, Berkshire East announced the construction of multiple
zip lines, creating a
canopy tour 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 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 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