Catamount Ski Area

Catamount Ski Area
Catamount Ski Area Location within New York Show map of New York Catamount Ski Area Catamount Ski Area (the United States) Show map of the United States
Location	Egremont, Massachusetts / Hillsdale, New York, USA
Nearest major city	Great Barrington, Massachusetts (7.5 Miles), Albany, New York (51 Miles), New York, New York (129 Miles), Boston, Massachusetts (145 Miles)
Coordinates	42°10′17″N73°28′40″W / 42.171457°N 73.477764°W / 42.171457; -73.477764
Status	Operating
Vertical	1,000 ft (300 m)
Top elevation	2,000 ft (610 m)
Skiable area	119 acres (0.48 km2)
Trails	44
Longest run	Ridge Run To Upper And Lower Promenade 2.5mil
Lift system	8 Lifts, 3 surface lifts, 2 Quads, and 3 Triples
Terrain parks	3
Snowfall	75"
Website	Catamount Ski Area

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. ^[1]

History

Fray Mountain was discovered as a potential ski area by John (Jack) Falconer Fisher in 1937/38. After earning his pilot’s license at the age of 16, Fisher flew over mountains in the region, imagining where he might create either a golf course or a ski area. Jack was from nearby Salisbury, CT, and had helped bring Lime Rock Race Track and the Salisbury Ski Jump to fruition. He had many Scandinavian friends who were ski jumpers and skiers. After talking with his friends he decided to buy a farm (Fray), and called it Catamount. In 1937/38 Jack and his friends camped out for the summer at the base of the mountain, creating trails and deciding on a vision for what would become one of the first ski areas in the country.

Catamount opened for business in 1939, with three rope tows, run by a car engine with a bull wheel attached and a rope around it, pulling skiers up the hill.

Many skiers came up from New York City on the train that then ran to Hillsdale, New York. When the skiers arrived, trucks with hay bales in them for seating met the arriving skiers and delivered them to Catamount.

In 1953 Jack married Florence (Flukie) Kendall from New York City and they had two children, Katherine and Barrie. In 1958 Florence started the ski shop.

The lodge was decorated with two large fireplaces, a gravel floor, and picnic bench tables. Additions over the next 20 years included the Ski Cat Club (modeled after "Club 10" at Sugarbush Ski Area), a racing trail with a race shed for the racers, snowmaking, four chairlifts, one T-Bar, and one J-Bar.

Brothers Bill Gilbert, Sandy Gilbert, and business partner Don Edwards purchased Catamount in 1974 and took over management, adding more trails and increasing snowmaking by 25 to 98 percent. ^[2] After they retired, their sons, Tom Gilbert and Rich Edwards took over management. In 2006, the summit double chairlift was replaced with a fixed-grip quad chairlift from Belleayre Mountain Ski Center. ^[3]

In May 2018 the Schaefer family of Charlemont MA, longtime owners/managers of Berkshire East Mountain Resort, purchased Catamount Ski Area. During the 2018-19 season, the main Berkshire Lodge was renovated and a new triple chair was installed on the Massachusetts side. ^[4] In the summer of 2018, Catamount introduced the Zip Tour on its Catamonster, the longest zipline in America.

In the 2019-20 ski season, the new Catamount Lodge opened, with additional seating, a store, and ticketing operations. Four new trails (with snowmaking) also opened with varying difficulty.

During the 2020-21 season, the new Catamount Lodge began offering food services, with additional seating in its second floor. ^[5] The old Glade double chair was removed, making way for a used triple chair in its place. Construction of this new chairlift began construction in the summer of 2021. A new trail called "Lookout" rated as a blue square/intermediate also opened.

In addition to the new Glade triple, a new quad chair called the Catamount Quad replaces the old "Catamount Double" during the 2021/2022 season. Other additions include more snowmaking, a new snow tubing park, a redesigned learning area, and more dining options.

Ticketing

In 2018, RFID gates from Axess were installed and the Catamount Direct card was introduced. Catamount is one of the first smaller ski areas in the northeast to install this technology. ^{[6] [7]} Catamount is part of the Berkshire Summit pass, a pass that combines Berkshire East season pass with Catamount. In 2020 it was announced that Bousquet would join the pass after the sale with Mill Town Capital.

Berkshire Summit Pass types

Type	Description
Unlimited	No restrictions to all 3 resorts
Locals	Valid Sun-Fri
Weekday	Valid Mon-Fri
Night	Night only

Catamount is also part of the Indy Pass which is an affordable multi-mountain pass that promotes visitation to smaller resorts around the U.S. ^{[8] [9]}

Trails

• Skiable area: 119 acres (0.48 km²)
• 44 trails
• Longest trail – 2.5 miles (4.0 km) Ridge Run to Upper Promenade to Lower Promenade

36 of the 44 trails have snowmaking.

Easier	More Difficult	Most Difficult	Expert
Ali's Alley (n)	Upper Alley Cat (n)	Expressway (ns)	Catapult
Birch Cathedral (ns)	Bobcat (n,tp)	Lower Alley Cat (n)	Christopher's Leap
Cat's Meow (n)	Birch Glade (ns)	Lower Glade (m)	Lynx (m,ns)
Colonel's Caper (n)	Catamount (n)	Marty's Run	Ripper (m)
Echo's Run	Chute (n)	Off Stage (m)
Esplanade (n)	Fisher's Fluke	Upper Glade
Holiday (n)	Lookout (ns)
Homeward Bound (n)	Lower Sidewinder
Kelli's Run (n)	Mountain View (n)
Lauren's Run	On Stage (n)
Lower Promenade (n)	Panther Park (n,tp)
Ridge Run (n)	Shawenon
Ridge Run Ext. (n)	Sunrise (ns)
Snow Sports Learning Area (n)	Toni Matt (n)
Spencer's Way (ns)	Turnpike (ns)
Upper Promenade (n)	Upper Bobcat
	Upper Sidewinder (n)
	Walter's Way (n)

• (n) – Night skiing (on Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, and some holidays)
• (ns) – No snowmaking
• (tp) – Terrain park
• (m) – Normally has moguls when open

History of trails

Season	Easier	Easier-More Difficult	More Difficult	More Difficult-Most Difficult	Most Difficult	Expert	Terrain Park
2024-2025	Ali's Alley, Birch Cathedral, Cat's Meow, Colonel's Caper, Echo's Run, Esplanade, Holiday, Homeward Bound, Kelli's Run, Lauren's Run, Lower Promenade, Ridge Run, Ridge Run Extension, Snow Sports Learning Area, Spencer's Way, Upper Promenade		Bobcat, Birch Glade, Catamount, Chute, Fisher's Fluke, Lookout, Lower Sidewinder, Mountain View, On Stage, Panther Park, Shawenon, Sunrise, Toni Matt, Turnpike, Upper Alley Cat, Upper Bobcat, Upper Sidewinder, Walter's Way		Expressway, Lower Alley Cat, Lower Glade, Marty's Run, Off Stage, Upper Glade	Catapult, Christopher's Leap, Lynx, Ripper
2023-2024	Ali's Alley, Birch Cathedral, Cat's Meow, Colonel's Caper, Echo's Run, Esplanade, Holiday, Homeward Bound, Kelli's Run, Lauren's Run, Lower Promenade, Ridge Run, Ridge Run Extension, Snow Sports Learning Area, Spencer's Way, Upper Promenade		Bobcat, Birch Glade, Catamount, Chute, Fisher's Fluke, Lookout, Lower Sidewinder, Mountain View, On Stage, Panther Park, Race Slope, Shawenon, Sunrise, Turnpike, Upper Alley Cat, Upper Bobcat, Upper Sidewinder, Walter's Way		Expressway, Lower Alley Cat, Lower Glade, Marty's Run, Off Stage, Upper Glade	Catapult, Christopher's Leap, Lynx, Ripper
2022-2023	Ali's Alley, Birch Cathedral, Cat's Meow, Colonel's Caper, Echo's Run, Esplanade, Holiday, Homeward Bound, Kelli's Run, Lauren's Run, Lower Promenade, Ridge Run, Ridge Run Extension, Snow Sports Learning Area, Spencer's Way, Upper Promenade		Bobcat, Birch Glade, Catamount, Chute, Fisher's Fluke, Lookout, Lower Sidewinder, Mountain View, On Stage, Panther Park, Race Slope, Shawenon, Sunrise, Turnpike, Upper Alley Cat, Upper Bobcat, Upper Sidewinder, Walter's Way		Expressway, Lower Alley Cat, Lower Glade, Marty's Run, Off Stage, Upper Glade	Catapult, Christopher's Leap, Lynx, Ripper
2021-2022	Ali's Alley, Birch Cathedral, Cat's Meow, Colonel's Caper, Echo's Run, Esplanade, Holiday, Kelli's Run, Lauren's Run, Lower Promenade, Ridge Run, Ridge Run Extension, Snow Sports Learning Area, Spencer's Way, Upper Promenade		Bobcat, Birch Glade, Catamount, Chute, Fisher's Fluke, Lookout, Lower Sidewinder, Mountain View, On Stage, Panther Park, Race Slope, Shawenon, Sunrise, Turnpike, Upper Alley Cat, Upper Sidewinder, Walter's Way		Expressway, Lower Alley Cat, Lower Glade, Marty's Run, Off Stage, Upper Glade	Catapult, Christopher's Leap, Lynx, Ripper
2020-2021	Ali's Alley, Birch Cathedral, Colonel's Caper, Echo's Run, Esplanade, Holiday, Kelli's Run, Lauren's Run, Lower Promenade, Ridge Run, Ridge Run Extension, Snow Sports Learning Area, Spencer's Way, Upper Promenade		Bobcat, Birch Glade, Catamount, Chute, Fisher's Fluke, Lookout, Lower Sidewinder, Mountain View, On Stage, Panther Park, Race Slope, Shawenon, Sunrise, Turnpike, Upper Alley Cat, Upper Sidewinder, Walter's Way		Expressway, Lower Alley Cat, Lower Glade, Marty's Run, Off Stage, Upper Glade	Catapult, Christopher's Leap, Lynx, Ripper
2019-2020	Ali's Alley, Birch Cathedral, Cat's Meow, Colonel's Caper, Echo's Run, Esplanade, Holiday, Kelli's Run, Kid Cats, Lauren's Run, Lower Promenade, Ridge Run, Ridge Run Extension, Snow Sports Learning Area, Spencer's Way, Upper Promenade		Bobcat, Birch Glade, Catamount, Chute, Fisher's Fluke, Lower Sidewinder, Mountain View, On Stage, Panther Park, Race Slope, Shawenon, Sunrise, Turnpike, Upper Alley Cat, Upper Sidewinder, Upper Turnpike, Walter's Way		Expressway, Lower Alley Cat, Lower Glade, Marty's Run, Off Stage, Upper Glade	Catapult, Christopher's Leap, Lynx, Ripper
2018-2019	Ali's Alley, Birch Cathedral, Cat's Meow, Colonel's Caper, Echo's Run, Esplanade, Holiday, Kelli's Run, Kid Cats, Lauren's Run, Lower Promenade, Ridge Run, Ridge Run Extension, Snow Sports Learning Area, Spencer's Way, Upper Promenade		Bobcat, Birch Glade, Catamount, Chute, Fisher's Fluke, Lower Sidewinder, Mountain View, On Stage, Panther Park, Race Slope, Sunrise, Turnpike, Upper Alley Cat, Upper Sidewinder, Upper Turnpike, Walter's Way		Expressway, Lower Alley Cat, Lower Glade, Off Stage, Upper Glade	Catapult, Lynx
2017-2018	Ali's Alley, Birch Cathedral, Cat's Meow, Colonel's Caper, Esplanade, Holiday, Kelli's Run, Kid Cats, Lower Promenade, Ridge Run, Ridge Run Extension, Snow Sports Learning Area, Upper Promenade		Bobcat, Birch Glade, Catamount, Chute, Fisher's Fluke, Lower Sidewinder, Mountain View, On Stage, Panther Park, Race Slope, Sunrise, Turnpike, Upper Alley Cat, Upper Sidewinder, Upper Turnpike, Walter's Way		Expressway, Lower Alley Cat, Lower Glade, Off Stage, Upper Glade	Catapult, Lynx
2016-2017	Ali's Alley, Birch Cathedral, Cat's Meow, Colonel's Caper, Esplanade, Holiday, Kelli's Run, Kid Cats, Lower Promenade, Ridge Run, Ridge Run Extension, Snow Sports Learning Area, Upper Promenade		Bobcat, Birch Glades, Catamount, Chute, Fisher's Fluke, Lower Sidewinder, Mountain View, On Stage, Panther Park, Race Slope, Sunrise, Turnpike, Upper Alley Cat, Upper Sidewinder, Upper Turnpike, Walter's Way		Expressway, Lower Alley Cat, Lower Glade, Off Stage, Upper Glade	Catapult, Lynx
2015-2016	Ali's Alley, Birch Cathedral, Bobcat, Cat's Meow, Colonel's Caper, Esplanade, Holiday, Kelli's Run, Kid Cats, Lower Promenade, Snow Sports Learning Area, Upper Promenade	Ridge Run, Ridge Run Extension	Birch Glades, Catamount, Fisher's Fluke, Lower Sidewinder, Mountain View, On Stage, Panther Park, Race Slope, Sunrise, Upper Sidewinder, Walter's Way	Chute, Turnpike, Upper Turnpike	Expressway, Lower Alley Cat, Lower Glade, Off Stage, Upper Alley Cat, Upper Glade	Catapult, Lynx
2014-2015	Ali's Alley, Birch Cathedral, Bobcat, Cat's Meow, Colonel's Caper, Esplanade, Holiday, Kelli's Run, Kid Cats, Lower Promenade, Snow Sports Learning Area, Upper Promenade	Ridge Run	Catamount, Chute, Fisher's Fluke, Lower Sidewinder, Mountain View, On Stage, Panther Park, Race Slope, Sunrise, Upper Sidewinder, Walter's Way	Turnpike, Upper Turnpike	Expressway, Lower Alley Cat, Lower Glade, Off Stage, Terrain Park, Upper Alley Cat, Upper Glade	Catapult, Lynx
2013-2014	Ali's Alley, Birch Cathedral, Bobcat, Cat's Meow, Colonel's Caper, Esplanade, Holiday, Kelli's Run, Kid Cats, Lower Promenade, Snow Sports Learning Area, Upper Promenade		Catamount, Chute, Lower Sidewinder, Mountain View, On Stage, Panther Park, Race Slope, Ridge Run, Sunrise, Upper Sidewinder, Walter's Way	Turnpike, Upper Turnpike	Expressway, Lower Alley Cat, Lower Glade, Off Stage, Terrain Park, Upper Alley Cat, Upper Glade	Catapult, Lynx
2011-2012	Ali's Alley, Birch Cathedral, Cat's Meow, Colonel's Caper, Esplanade, Holiday, Kelli's Run, Lower Promenade, Snow Sports Learning Area, Upper Promenade		Catamount, Chute, Junior Jib Park, Lower Sidewinder, Mountain View, On Stage, Race Slope, Ridge Run, Sunrise, Upper Sidewinder, Walter's Way	Turnpike, Upper Turnpike	Expressway, Halfpipe, Lower Alley Cat, Lower Glade, Off Stage, Terrain Park, Upper Alley Cat, Upper Glade	Catapult
2009-2010	Ali's Alley, Birch Cathedral, Cat's Meow, Colonel's Caper, Esplanade, Holiday, Kelli's Run, Lower Promenade, Snow Sports Learning Area, Upper Promenade		Catamount, Chute, Junior Jib Park, Lower Sidewinder, Mountain View, On Stage, Race Slope, Ridge Run, Sunrise, Upper Sidewinder, Walter's Way	Turnpike, Upper Turnpike	Expressway, Halfpipe, Lower Alley Cat, Lower Glade, Off Stage, Terrain Park, Upper Alley Cat, Upper Glade	Catapult
2008-2009	Ali's Alley, Cat's Meow, Colonel's Caper, Esplanade, Holiday, Kelli's Run, Kid Cats, Lower Promenade, Snow Sports Learning Area, Upper Promenade		Catamount, Chute, Lower Sidewinder, Mountain View, On Stage, Race Slope, Ridge Run, Upper Sidewinder, Walter's Way	Turnpike, Upper Turnpike	Expressway, Halfpipe, Junior Jib Park, Lower Alley Cat, Lower Glade, Off Stage, Sunrise, Terrain Park, Upper Alley Cat, Upper Glade	Catapult
2006-2007	Ali's Alley, Cat's Meow, Colonel's Caper, Esplanade, Holiday, Kelli's Run, Kid Cats, Lower Promenade, Snow Sports Learning Area, Upper Promenade		Catamount, Chute, Lower Sidewinder, Mountain View, On Stage, Race Slope, Ridge Run, Upper Sidewinder, Walter's Way	Turnpike, Upper Turnpike	Expressway, Halfpipe, Junior Jib Park, Lower Alley Cat, Lower Glade, Off Stage, Sunrise, Terrain Park, Upper Alley Cat, Upper Glade	Catapult
2005-2006	Ali's Alley, Cat's Meow, Colonel's Caper, Esplanade, Holiday, Kelli's Run, Lower Promenade, Upper Promenade		Catamount, Chute, Lower Sidewinder, Mountain View, On Stage, Race Slope, Ridge Run, Sunrise, Upper Sidewinder, Walter's Way	Turnpike, Upper Turnpike	Expressway, Halfpipe, Lower Alley Cat, Lower Glade, Off Stage, Terrain Park, Upper Alley Cat, Upper Glade	Catapult
2002-2003	Ali's Alley, Cat's Meow, Colonel's Caper, Esplanade, Holiday, Kelli's Run, Promenade, Pussy Cat, Ski Wee		Chute, Lower Sidewinder, Mountain View, Off Stage, On Stage, Race Slope, Ridge Run, Upper Sidewinder, Walter's Way		Catamount, Half Pipe, Lower Alley Cat, Lower Glade, Snowboard Megaplex, Terrain Park, Upper Alley Cat, Upper Glade	Catapult
1999-2000	Ali's Alley, Cat's Meow, Colonel's Caper, Esplanade, Holiday, Kelli's Run, Molasses Hill, Promenade, Pussy Cat, Ski Wee		Chute, Mountain View, Off Stage, On Stage, Race Slope, Ridge Run, Upper Alley Cat, Walter's Way, Wax Run		Catamount, Lower Alley Cat, Lower Glade, Snowboard Park, Turnpike, Upper Glade	Catapult
1994-1995	Ali's Alley, Cat's Meow, Colonel's Caper, Esplanade, Holiday, Kelli's Run, Promenade, Pussy Cat		Chute, Mountain View, NASTAR, Off Stage, On Stage, Ridge Run, Upper Alley Cat, Walter's Way, Wax Run		Catamount, Lower Alley Cat, Lower Glade, Snowboard Park, Turnpike, Upper Glade	Catapult
1985-1986	Birch Cathedral, Cat's Meow, Colonel's Caper, Esplanade, Holiday, Kelli's Run, Meadows, Promenade, Pussycat		Cake Walk, Catamount, Fisher's Fluke, Mountain View, Nastar, Off Stage, On Stage, Ridge Run, Wax Run		Dipper, Flipper, Lower Glade, Turnpike, Upper Glade	Rifle Barrel
1980-1981	Birch Cathedral, Cat's Meow, Colonel's Caper, Esplanade, Holiday, Meadows, Promenade, Pussycat		Cake Walk, Catamount, Easy Street, Fisher's Fluke, Nastar, Off Stage, On Stage, Ridge Run, Wax Run		Chute, Dipper, Escalator, Flipper, Lower Glade, Upper Glade	Rifle Barrel
1970-1971	Birch Cathedral, Colonel's Caper, Esplanade, Holiday, Promenade		Catamount, Escalator, Fisher's Fluke, Ridge Run		Chute, Dipper, Glade, On Stage, Rifle Barrel
1969-1970	Birch Cathedral, Colonel's Caper, Esplanade, Holiday, Promenade		Catamount, Escalator, Fisher's Fluke, Ridge Run		Chute, Dipper, Glade, On Stage, Wax Run	Rifle Barrel
1968-1969	Birch Cathedral, Colonel's Caper, Esplanade, Holiday, Promenade		Catamount, Escalator, Fisher's Fluke, Ridge Run		Chute, Dipper, Glade, On Stage, Wax Run	Rifle Barrel
1964-1965		Birch Cathedral, Colonel's Caper	Dipper, Escalator, Fisher's Fluke, Ridge Run	Chute, Rifle Barrel, Wax Run	Steeple

Lifts

There are eight total lifts at Catamount, all of which range in age, length, and value. Catamount was home to two of the last remaining SLI double chairlifts in the world, and the only two in the northeast. However, these chairlifts have been replaced with an all new triple and quad chairlift in the 2021/2022 season. ^{[10] [11] [12]}

Surface Lifts

Name	Notes
Learning Area Carpet 1	Connect to fixed-grip triple pair.
Mountain Cats Carpet	Used for the Mountain Cats program.
Learning Area Carpet 2	Leaves access to Holiday on the left and one of the Snow Sports Learning Area trails on the right.

Fixed Grip Triples

Name	Manufacturer	Year Installed	Notes
Meadows Triple	CTEC-Thiokol	2006	Mid-station, from Solitude
Promenade Triple	Poma	2019	From Berkshire East then Magic Mountain
Glade Triple	Poma	2021	Brand new for 2021/2022 season!

Fixed Grip Quads

Name	Manufacturer	Year Installed	Notes
Ridge Quad	Garaventa-CTEC	2008	From Belleayre
Catamount Quad	Garaventa-CTEC	2021	Brand new for 2021/2022 season!

Lodges

• Berkshire Lodge: The lodge is the original lodge and includes food services, tavern, restrooms, rentals, and seating. It is located to the left side of the Catamount Quad.
• Catamount Lodge: Opened in 2019, this is the new lodge that houses food services, offices, ticketing, shop, restrooms, and seating. It is located in front of the Mountain Cats carpet.
• Taconic Lodge: This is a temporary lodge with a shop, restrooms, and seating. It is located at the bottom of the mountain near the Ridge Quad.

References

1. "Massachusetts. Catamount". Ski New England.^{[ dead link ]}
2. "A History of Catamount". February 9, 2007. Archived from the original on February 9, 2007. Retrieved February 9, 2007.
3. "Mountain Partnership".
4. "Catamount Zip Tour".
5. "Catamount Mountain Resort on Facebook". Facebook . Archived from the original on April 27, 2022.^{[ user-generated source ]}
6. "Applications for Ski Resorts & Destinations - Axess".
7. "Berkshire Summit Passes".
8. "Catamount Mountain Resort".
9. "Indy Pass".
10. "The Resort".
11. "Catamount, MA/NY". October 22, 2019.
12. "Catamount trailmap" (PDF). 2022.