Bousquet for sale

[urungus]

http://www.berkshireeagle.com/stories/bousquet-ski-area-for-sale-history-and-all,533537

Lot of history there, oldest operating ski resort in the Berkshires and first ski area in the USA to offer night skiing (thanks to GE power plant in Pittsfield). Hope the new owners will keep the ski operations going. Wonder what the asking price is? By coincidence I went there for the first time just a couple of weeks ago. Fun little mountain, and super cheap lift tickets, but kind of run-down. Only ski area I’ve been to where I noticed people smoking cigarettes, both in the parking lot and on the chairlift. Also I love the basketball hoop for tossing your empties while riding the chairlift. Here’s a couple photos I took:



What happened to the turret??




It’s the kind of place where they have an unfinished plywood structure with a string and clothes pins for your mittens in the lodge:

 

[urungus]

 

[NYDB]

I used to hit that place when i was in college. I think it was 5 or 10 bucks in mid nineties. There were a couple cool trails there

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[skiur]

I've seen people smoking in the parking lots and on the lifts of every ski hill I've been too, where haven't you seen it?

 

[Abominable]

Wow, coincidence, I was there over Presidents' Day weekend. First time ever. Basically I found myself in Pittsfield and took my infant son for his first trip to a lodge and ski area; didn't ski except to carry him while skiing 30 feet by the base area. Had lunch and left.

BUT, loved it, in that nostalgic, local high school races and crappy french fries kind of way. Inexpensive, bar / lodge area was nice. Upstairs full of non - skiing parents playing cards or reading or whatever; old 80s racing promo posters on the wall.

Glad I got to see it, however briefly.

 

[Hawkshot99]

I have done the beer league there for the past 10 yrs. It is a awesome local vibe to it.
I always call it a very fun bar with a ski hill outback.

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[Killingtime]

A lot of history is right. The Bosquet's were early advisors to Preston Smith when he was building out Killington in the late 50's and early 60's. Cool little place. Hope it goes into good hands.

 

[Glenn]

I skied there years and years ago in Junior High for weekend races. Fun mountain! I thought there was a roll back issue with one of the lifts in the mid-90's.

 

[Newpylong]

What an awesome little mountain. I was in their youth race program in the early 90s after Brodie's went belly up. Bunch of great trails, good snowmaking, and family place. The kind of place we want around.

 

[rocks860]

I've seen people smoking in the parking lots and on the lifts of every ski hill I've been too, where haven't you seen it?

I saw a 60+ year old guy smoking a bowl in his car in the parking lot at sugarbush earlier this year


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[Smellytele]

I saw a 60+ year old guy smoking a bowl in his car in the parking lot at sugarbush earlier this year


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What's your point?

 

[urungus]

I saw a 60+ year old guy smoking a bowl in his car in the parking lot at sugarbush earlier this year

Seen plenty of that, and many people boozing it up, but not so many cigarette smokers. Especially on the chairlift...

 

[mister moose]

Skied there 50 times or so teaching my wife to be to ski. Post Brodie. I remember $12 lift tickets and $2 Gennesse Cream Ales in the lodge after. Probably late 80's. Without natural I think you have 3-4 trails. 1 that most ski from the top. Ancient doubles. Great small vibe.

Hope it sells at price the new owners can make a go of it.

 

[The Sneak]

Believe it or not, my godfather’s family used to own the place. I have never been there, though.




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[Killingtime]

Looks like Bosquet was sold to a local group and will use the BE/Catamount folks as advisors. I wonder if it will be part of the Indy Pass now. Didn't realize this place was built in 1932? Lots of history there:

SAM Magazine—Pittsfield, Mass., June 1, 2020—Bousquet Mountain ski area in western Massachusetts has been acquired by Mill Town community impact fund, a local Pittsfield-based private investment group. Mill Town bought the ski area from the Tamarack Bousquet Mountain soldSki Nominee Trust and owners Sherry and PJ Roberts for an undisclosed amount.

Sherry Roberts acquired Bousquet after her longtime companion and former Bosquet owner, George Jervas, died about six years ago. Jervas bought it in 1981. Roberts has worked at the mountain for nearly 30 years. She put the ski area on the market back in 2018 with the goal of selling it to a new owner that will continue operating it as a ski area. Mill Town fits that bill.

“We are excited to keep Bousquet as a vital recreational resource for the region,” said Tim Burke, Mill Town’s CEO and managing director. “A significant focus of our work is to invest in and improve businesses, real estate, and outdoor recreational assets in Pittsfield to make it a stronger city and an appealing place for families and employers. Bousquet met all of these criteria. We plan to invest in the ski operation infrastructure and the lodge, and we are excited to work with strong partners to enhance the on-mountain experience.”

The sale includes 155 acres across four parcels, multiple buildings, and operational equipment.

The new owners also will collaborate with Jon and Jim Schaefer, who own nearby Berkshire East Mountain Resort and Catamount ski area. The Schaefers will advise on capital and operational decisions and investments. Bousquet will also join Catamount and Berkshire East on the Berkshire Pass season pass product.

“We are thrilled to partner with Mill Town to ensure Bousquet will be a respected skiing and outdoor recreation asset for years to come. Positioned between Berkshire East and Catamount, we feel that Bousquet will provide significant value to Berkshire Pass holders as another great skiing and riding option in western Massachusetts. We think there is a great future here,” the Schaefers said.

Bousquet Ski Area dates to 1932 after Clarence J. Bousquet’s mink farm failed during the Great Depression, and he started a ski club there. It was one of the first ski areas to offer night skiing when Bousquet partnered with the local General Electric plant to install lights on the trails in 1936.

 

[Cobbold]

Rebirth of Bousquet

What an awesome little mountain. I was in their youth race program in the early 90s after Brodie's went belly up. Bunch of great trails, good snowmaking, and family place. The kind of place we want around.

Word on the street is a new lodge, new lifts, new snowmaking, not sure if the new lifts mean brand new or just new to Bousquet. Mill town wants to make it a year round destination, lots of tourists in the area during summer and fall due to tanglewood, second homeowners from nyc.

First ski area I ever skied at, next area was Brodie, then jiminy after it expanded and Brodie imploded, hard to image in late sixties early seventies Brodie ever would have imploded.

My mother as a kid during the depression would walk in from west Pittsfield to watch the New Yorkers get off the trains at the Pittsfield train station, she said their were thousands of them, her walk was a several mile round trip, different world back then.

 

[Abominable]

Great news. Skied Bousquet just once a couple years back but really loved it with a little kid. Good little bar too. Makes that BE / Catamount pass even more appealing.

"her walk was a several mile round trip, different world back then." - I remember my grand aunt telling me her parents, when they were kids, would walk several miles to the adjoining town for church, lunch, etc. every Sunday. Would have been 20s, 30s.

 

[Cobbold]

Great news. Skied Bousquet just once a couple years back but really loved it with a little kid. Good little bar too. Makes that BE / Catamount pass even more appealing.

"her walk was a several mile round trip, different world back then." - I remember my grand aunt telling me her parents, when they were kids, would walk several miles to the adjoining town for church, lunch, etc. every Sunday. Would have been 20s, 30s.

My mother after school(high school)would walk up to city hall and see one of her older sisters at work, then go around the corner to visit her dad at grants 5 and 10, then walk home, had to be 5 miles, she told me that she didn’t get over a hundred pounds till she was pregnant with my oldest sister, walking really keeps the weight off.

 

[Killingtime]

Word on the street is a new lodge, new lifts, new snowmaking, not sure if the new lifts mean brand new or just new to Bousquet.

Looks like the word on the street was correct. A new (used) triple for Bousquet this year:
Shortly after announcing its purchase of Bousquet Mountain, Mill Town Capital has told News10 that it will be installing a triple chairlift this summer. According to LiftBlog.com, the lift will be a refurbished Poma. The owners of Berkshire East, who are serving as advisors to Mill Town Capital, acquired a 1980s Poma triple chairlift from Canada a few years ago.

Good for them. New life for forgotten local hills. Maybe an Indy Pass connection this season?

 

[crystalmountainskier]

Shortly after announcing its purchase of Bousquet Mountain, Mill Town Capital has told News10 that it will be installing a triple chairlift this summer. According to LiftBlog.com, the lift will be a refurbished Poma. The owners of Berkshire East, who are serving as advisors to Mill Town Capital, acquired a 1980s Poma triple chairlift from Canada a few years ago.

That article on NewEnglandSkiIndustry.com is sort of misleading. The lift from Canada isn't going to Bousquet.