2/15/14 Berkshire East

[medfordmike]

Went to Berkshire today from right around opening to about 2 PM. Groomed trails were very nice, natural trails were good. They had a lot of wind yesterday. I was told that both summit lifts were on wind holds in the afternoon yesterday so in some cases you can't find much powder on the trails or up top although conditions were good. Tomahawk was good but not all much lose snow remained on the trail itself although the surface was easy to carve and not too many rocks.

Glades were decent. East glades still had untracked snow but Blizzard Island had a lot of tracks but still fun. Beast was ok but the main path through the center was showing some wear, but so are the bottom of my skis after the last two days. The new lodge addition is nice. Basically it is a bar upstairs and a restaurant downstairs that you order the food yourself. They did a very nice job, all the furniture on both levels is handmade and they serve alcohol up and downstairs, with table service upstairs. They don't want folks gearing up in their so it is really meant to be a nice place to hangout.

The only downer was the summit lifts. The main Summit Triple broke down fully loaded. They eventually got it slowly moving to get people off. The other triple decided to break down shortly after although they got it running in about 10-15 minutes. It is rare to find lines at Berkshire but with only one lift to the top on a snowy holiday weekend it is going to happen. People were not cranky about it and the wait was not terrible just highly unusual for them. When I left the main Triple was still offline.

 

[gmcunni]

I was on the lift when it stopped. i was 5th or 6th chair from last to unload. i didn't time it but i'd guess i was stuck about 40 minutes

 

[medfordmike]

Sorry to hear that. I lucked out for once. Standing in line was better than sitting in a stopped chair. I ski Berkshire during MLK and Presidents weekend every year. First time I saw lines but things happen.

 

[gmcunni]

My first ever visit to Berkshire East, added a pin to my collection.

very easy 2:15 ride up 91. got 2nd row parking around 9:15, booted up in the lodge and got in line for ticket (waited 5 minutes just to pay). when i stopped in the ski shop to get my pin the woman took a call and said they were very crowded today - all private lessons were full.

skied the singles line all day and other than the above mentioned lift problems the singles line was ski on.

first run was a disappointment. not following a map i followed some skiers down a groomer. Not that groomers are bad but the snow was very hard, almost icy. Thankfully that was the only run like that. i skied as much of the mountain as i could, I don't think i hit the same trail twice except for the woods off the quad.

Fun mountain, reminded me of Magic, especially chair 2 going over Liftline like red chair does @ magic. had several conversations with locals , everyone was super friendly and there was a real sense of community.

grabbed some wings and a couple of beers for lunch in the new bar upstairs, it was very nice.

some pics

 

[catsup948]

I need to figure out why I can't post trip reports... anyway. These are great reports. I'm glad to hear positive berkshire east feedback. I skied Friday and I only skied trees, marked and unmarked. When Berkshire East has snow I have no reason to ski anywhere else. There is a lot to offer for such a small mountain.

I've been skiing there for almost my whole life and I can say the change I've seen over the last 5 years is amazing. Berkshire East has always been a skiers mountain. Now they have expanded snowmaking, added the wind turbine and solar panels. These improvements have led to an overall better experience for every ability level. This has brought in a lot of new revenue. I hope they replace the summit triple soon it is from the mid 90's. I've heard rumors of "new" chairlifts but nothing about replacing the triple. The triple on the left is much newer with less use on it.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[gmcunni]

I've heard rumors of "new" chairlifts but nothing about replacing the triple. The triple on the left is much newer with less use on it.

i rode up with a local who said chair 2 would be replaced with a high speed quad this summer.

 

[Tin]

I miss the Diamond Express. Nothing like an ankle breaking high speed double.

 

[gmcunni]

map of my day @ B E

 

[KevinF]

i rode up with a local who said chair 2 would be replaced with a high speed quad this summer.

I rode up today (Sunday) with a patroller who said it's going to be a higher-speed fixed-grip quad... i.e., they're not putting a detach quad in, but the haul speed will be ~600 feet / minute as opposed to the current ~450.