Berkshire East Ski Resort is a medium-sized alpine ski area in the northeastern United States, located in the Berkshires on Mount Institute in Charlemont and Hawley, Massachusetts.
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, 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.
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 By 1975, Berkshire East was bankrupt and outdated with two partially installed chairlifts and two antiquated Mueller chairlifts.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 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 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 Resor t in Egremont, Massachusetts.
In 2023, the ski area added a Leitner-Poma high-speed detachable quad chairlift. The lift was named the T-Bar Express in honor of a removed T-Bar surface lift that ran along the same area of the Competition trail.
In 2024, the ski area began the process of removing the Mountain-top Triple Poma chairlift. As of the 2024-2025 season the lower terminal, the haul rope and the chairs have been removed with the towers and upper terminal remaining in place.
Berkshire East offers about 1000 feet of true (non-inflated) vertical drop, with about 200 acres (0.8 km2) 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. [1]
Name | Type | Manufacturer | Built | Length (feet) | Notes | Terrain |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
T-Bar Express | High-Speed Quad | Leitner-Poma | 2023 | 3050 | First detachable lift installed at resort | Serves all abilities and skiable terrain at the resort. This includes an array of expert trails, the intermediate Mohawk, and the Outback beginner complex. |
Summit | Quad | Skytrac | 2014 | 3145 | This lift also includes a loading carpet which increases the overall speed of the lift. | Serves all abilities and runs parallel to the T-Bar Express, servicing the same terrain. |
Wilderness Peak | Quad | Borvig | 2003 | 2560 | Relocated from CO | Services beginner and intermediate terrain on the west side of the mountain, including the intermediate Wilderness Peak complex and the beginner Exhibition and Roundabout trails. |
Top Notch | Double | Hall | 2001 | 800 | Relocated from Mt. Tom, MA. | Services the Top Notch beginner slopes. |
Berkshire East also has a single Magic Carpet, located on the Bobcat novice slope.
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.
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 and giant slalom championship races. Additionally, it is a frequent venue for ski mountaineering races.
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. [2] It boasts nearly 4.5 miles (7.2 km) 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 200 feet (60 m) above the ground.
In 2013, Berkshire East was given approval to build the longest Alpine Coaster in North America, and featured a mile (1.6 km) of steel track. [3]
In the summer of 2014, the new mountain coaster was constructed, and that fall, construction began on a new downhill mountain bike park.
A detachable chairlift or high-speed chairlift is a type of passenger aerial lift, which, like a fixed-grip chairlift, consists of numerous chairs attached to a constantly moving wire rope that is strung between two terminals over intermediate towers. In contrast to the fixed-grip version, the chairs of a detachable chair lift detach from the haul rope for loading and unloading.
Keystone Resort is a ski resort located in Keystone, Colorado, United States. Since 1997, the resort has been owned and operated by Vail Resorts. It consists of three mountains and five Bowls. The three mountains are connected by a series of ski lifts and gondolas with access from two base areas.
Cranmore Mountain Resort, operating in the summer with a Mountain Adventure Park, is a ski area located in North Conway, New Hampshire, United States. It began operations in the winter of 1937–38, and was owned until 1984 by the Schneider family. During the late 1980s and 1990s, ownership of the resort changed hands several times; it is now owned by a group of New England businessmen and is undergoing several years of expansion and modernization.
Killington Mountain Resort & Ski Area is a ski resort in Rutland County, Vermont, United States, near the town of Killington. It is the largest ski area in the eastern U.S., and has the largest vertical drop in New England at 3,050 feet. The mountain has been nicknamed the "Beast of the East."
Loveland Ski Area is a ski area in the western United States, located near the town of Georgetown, Colorado. Located at the eastern portal of the Eisenhower Tunnel, Loveland is within the Arapahoe National Forest. It is one of the closest ski areas to the Denver metropolitan area and Front Range corridor, making it popular with locals.
Okemo Mountain Resort is a ski resort located in the town of Ludlow, Vermont, United States. The resort experienced 600,000 skier visits in 2009. Parents Magazine rated it the Top US Family Snow Resort, and Visitor's Choice on the Snow rated it as Number 1 Beginner Terrain in Vermont.
Copper Mountain is a mountain and ski resort located in Summit County, Colorado, about 75 miles (120 km) west of Denver on Interstate 70. The resort has 2,465 acres of in-bounds terrain under lease from the U.S. Forest Service, White River National Forest, Dillon Ranger District. It is operated by POWDR.
Sugarbush Resort is a ski resort located in the Mad River valley in Warren, Vermont, owned by Alterra Mountain Company. It is one of the largest ski resorts in New England. The resort encompasses more than 4000 acres (16 km²), including 484 trail acres (2.34 km²) skiable, 53 miles (85 km) of trails, and 16 ski lifts. Sugarbush has 111 ski trails, 18 additional marked wooded areas, and substantial off-piste skiing and riding The summit elevation is 4,083 ft (1,244 m), and it has a vertical drop of 2,600 feet (790 m), the second largest in Vermont after Killington, and the third largest in New England after Killington and Sugarloaf.
Mount Hood Meadows is a ski resort on the southeastern face of Mount Hood in northern Oregon, and is the largest of the mountain's ski resorts. It is located about 67 miles (108 km) east of Portland, and 35 miles (56 km) from Hood River along Oregon Route 35. It has both Alpine and Nordic ski areas and offers night skiing, lessons and equipment rentals. It also has a robust food services department that includes coffee bars, grab and go options, bars, sit down restaurants, and a food court. There are no overnight accommodations at Mount Hood Meadows itself, but both Timberline Lodge and Cooper Spur Resort, two ski areas also on Mount Hood, offer overnight options. Additionally, many buses provide transportation to and from Mount Hood Meadows, including those run by Columbia Gorge Area Transit (CAT). There are also condos in Government Camp.
Bromley Mountain is located in southern Vermont, United States and is part of the Green Mountains. It is located in the town of Peru, Bennington County, seven miles (11 km) east of Manchester, Vermont and just west of the Peru town center. It is a popular destination for skiing and snowboarding.
The Summit at Snoqualmie is a recreation area in the northwest United States, located on Snoqualmie Pass, Washington. It provides alpine skiing and snowboarding, Nordic skiing, mountain biking, winter tubing, and scenic lift rides. Owned and managed by Boyne Resorts, it is 52 miles (80 km) east of downtown Seattle on Interstate 90.
Breckenridge Ski Resort is an alpine ski resort in the western United States, in Breckenridge, Colorado. Recognized for acres of skiable terrain across five mountain peaks, it welcomes thousands of skiers and snowboarders each season. Just west of the Continental Divide in Summit County, it is perennially one of the most visited ski resorts in the western hemisphere. Breckenridge is owned and operated by Vail Resorts, Inc.
Vail Ski Resort is a ski resort in the western United States, located near the town of Vail in Eagle County, Colorado. At 5,289 acres, it is the third-largest single-mountain ski resort in the U.S., behind Big Sky and Park City, featuring seven bowls and intermediate gladed terrain in Blue Sky Basin.
Catamount Ski Area is a ski resort located on Mount Fray of the Taconic Mountains in Hillsdale, New York and South Egremont, Massachusetts. Catamount is one of three ski areas in the southern Berkshires; the others are Butternut in Great Barrington, and Otis Ridge in Otis. It is one of the few remaining family-owned ski areas in New England. In addition, Catamount is home to one of the largest youth ski race programs in the Northeast.
Attitash Mountain Resort is a ski area located on U.S. Route 302 in Bartlett, New Hampshire, near North Conway. Constructed in 1938 by the Works Progress Administration, as of October 2019, Attitash is operated by Vail Resorts. It operates under a special-use permit with the White Mountain National Forest.
Bousquet Mountain is a local ski area serving skiing and snowboarding located on a northern summit of Yokun Ridge in Pittsfield, Massachusetts within the Taconic Mountain Range. It is now owned by Mill Town Capital and shares a Summit pass with Berkshire East and Catamount Ski Area.
Sommet Edelweiss is a ski area located in Wakefield, Quebec, 30 minutes north of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, in the Gatineau Hills.
Mount Sunapee Resort is a ski area and resort located in Mount Sunapee State Park in Newbury, New Hampshire, United States.
Stratton Mountain Resort is a ski area in the northeastern United States, located on Stratton Mountain in Stratton, Vermont, east of Manchester.
The Mount Buller Alpine Resort is a ski resort located on Mount Buller in Victoria, Australia.