billski
Active member
Bosquet, 3/12/10
Been hoping to hit this one for a few years now. On my way to Thunderbolt, the forecast wasn’t looking good. Saw they had night skiing, so thought I’d stop by on my way to Adams.
The drive up the road to Bosquet passes the United States National Archives district facility, so you can search your family history and ski at the same time. Well, almost.
First impressions are a modest, well-maintained small hill, in the “suburbs” of Pittsfield. A rather large residential condo complex is grafted onto the property. Additionally, summer activities like water tubing infrastructure are extant. What you do when you are land rich, I suppose. Quite the progress from a bankrupt depression-era mink farmer, don’t you think?
You can drive right off the road up to the front door, no more difficult than stopping by a 7-eleven store.
Now, I had already heard about the Bosquet ski tow gripper inventions, but was surprised at what I found next. Bosquet quickly made a historic first by installing lighting on it’s slopes, provided by the engineers at nearby General Electric.
Steeped in history for certain. Bosquet was first opened in the 1930s. Pictures of long ago line the foyer – Warren Miller, Jack and Jackie Kennedy and former Olympians line the walls. At one time, eight rope tows were spinning here. The adults working in the ticket counter were entirely clueless to this history.
L: Jackie and Jack, R: Warren Miller
Ticket clippers from the past:
Nice little funky 70s era base lodge, with a gorgeous stone fireplace with stained glass windows, kind of relegated to a role as functional wall today. Kids scampered about unattended while parents seems to hide in the corner from them. The requisite grille, with a menu of items any 9 year old would enjoy.
Guess the Olympian from Bosquet. I haven't a clue
See, they had show-offs before halfpipe competition:
Oh yeah, let's go outside
Outdoors, nearly nobody was skiing – it was an odd time, at 5pm I had a cute little wicket and ticket for $20 and a pin in my pocket for the hat collection. I made my way to the first double – all the chairs are of a fixed grip, slower style, some with center poles, some looking more like hula-hoops for support, all quite cozy for two. It was a balmy night and rain was in the forecast for the morrow.
Next stop: Mt. Greylock
You can pretty much see all of Bosquet’s trails from most anywhere you stand. The lower-mountain trails are primarily broad, intermediate, though no ratings are shown on the map. Trees from long ago, dot the middle of trails occasionally, adding to the “grown up” feel of the resort. From the top, there are some short but very narrow and steep chutes, Roberto’s Chute being my favorite. Fun in the unlit dark! A few park features here and there and a small jump that nearly anyone could do.
Conditions were wall to wall groomer, LSGR, a few brown spots showing on the bottom. Definitely a local’s place, good for a few hours, or a good sitter for your kids.
I’m still a bit fried from my Thunderbolt day, maybe I’ll add more tidbits another day.
Been hoping to hit this one for a few years now. On my way to Thunderbolt, the forecast wasn’t looking good. Saw they had night skiing, so thought I’d stop by on my way to Adams.
The drive up the road to Bosquet passes the United States National Archives district facility, so you can search your family history and ski at the same time. Well, almost.
First impressions are a modest, well-maintained small hill, in the “suburbs” of Pittsfield. A rather large residential condo complex is grafted onto the property. Additionally, summer activities like water tubing infrastructure are extant. What you do when you are land rich, I suppose. Quite the progress from a bankrupt depression-era mink farmer, don’t you think?
You can drive right off the road up to the front door, no more difficult than stopping by a 7-eleven store.
Now, I had already heard about the Bosquet ski tow gripper inventions, but was surprised at what I found next. Bosquet quickly made a historic first by installing lighting on it’s slopes, provided by the engineers at nearby General Electric.
Steeped in history for certain. Bosquet was first opened in the 1930s. Pictures of long ago line the foyer – Warren Miller, Jack and Jackie Kennedy and former Olympians line the walls. At one time, eight rope tows were spinning here. The adults working in the ticket counter were entirely clueless to this history.
L: Jackie and Jack, R: Warren Miller
Ticket clippers from the past:
Nice little funky 70s era base lodge, with a gorgeous stone fireplace with stained glass windows, kind of relegated to a role as functional wall today. Kids scampered about unattended while parents seems to hide in the corner from them. The requisite grille, with a menu of items any 9 year old would enjoy.
Guess the Olympian from Bosquet. I haven't a clue
See, they had show-offs before halfpipe competition:
Oh yeah, let's go outside
Outdoors, nearly nobody was skiing – it was an odd time, at 5pm I had a cute little wicket and ticket for $20 and a pin in my pocket for the hat collection. I made my way to the first double – all the chairs are of a fixed grip, slower style, some with center poles, some looking more like hula-hoops for support, all quite cozy for two. It was a balmy night and rain was in the forecast for the morrow.
Next stop: Mt. Greylock
You can pretty much see all of Bosquet’s trails from most anywhere you stand. The lower-mountain trails are primarily broad, intermediate, though no ratings are shown on the map. Trees from long ago, dot the middle of trails occasionally, adding to the “grown up” feel of the resort. From the top, there are some short but very narrow and steep chutes, Roberto’s Chute being my favorite. Fun in the unlit dark! A few park features here and there and a small jump that nearly anyone could do.
Conditions were wall to wall groomer, LSGR, a few brown spots showing on the bottom. Definitely a local’s place, good for a few hours, or a good sitter for your kids.
I’m still a bit fried from my Thunderbolt day, maybe I’ll add more tidbits another day.
