he worst ski area I've ever seen
I'm sure I'm going to get flamed for this by the owner's pals, but I've got to save you all from wasting your money. The worst ski area I've ever seen has got to be Bousquet, in Pittsfield, Mass.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. This was a birthplace of New England skiing that attracted posh New Yorkers on ski trains. It produced a lot of Olympians. (There was a great article about the history of the area and the Bousquet family, who were geniuses, in an early issue of Berkshire Living, an otherwise forgetable magazine.) And now it looks like a junk yard, except that at least a junk yard might have some cool stuff in it.
I have skied at scores of ski areas in the US, Canada, even Slovakia. I've written for major ski publications. My favorite mountains are not the fancy resorts; I like the funky old-time places, like Mad River Glen. So Bousquet, with my kids in tow, ought to have been a winner. But Mad River Glen has maintained the goodness of the olden days. This place just says "decay."
It starts with their ticket policy. The place has a vertical drop of something like 700 feet, so it's not exactly Whistler to begin with, making the $32 tickets for adults seem fair. But get this: they charge $16 for my 5 year old, and the same for my...THREE YEAR OLD! Every other ski area in the country understands that you've got to let the little ones in free, partly because they might take one run and decide they're done, and partly because if you don't get little kids skiing, the sport and the industry are going to die. So it cost me, my wife, and our two midgets almost as much to ski at Bousquet ($96) as it would have cost us to ski at a big resort that lets kids under six ski for free. The ticket seller's attitude when I asked about this? "Hey, I don't make the rules. Get over it."
When we got on the lift I could see why they had big signs at the ticket office saying "Think before you buy! No refunds!" This place was nasty. Both chair-lifts creak and groan like they're ready to bust. I'd hate to be Bousquet's insurance agent. (One chair returns downhill so low a tall person could easily get clocked, and I saw several people do unintended back flips on the slippery, snow-covered wooden deck at the lodge.) There aren't many trails, and the ones they do have are wide and dull, designed for groomers, not skiers. My 5-year-old was bored after two runs.
What really struck me, though, was all the crap lying around. Next to the beginner slope was a hundred feet of rusty old motors and snow guns that any other owner would have hauled to the dump, or at least hidden somewhere. The groomers were parked in front of the garage, which was right next to the lodge. The lodge was so dark it seemed like a good place to grow mushrooms, and seemed like it hadn't been painted---or cleaned---in thirty years. When my little guy took off into the woods on one trail, we discovered more rusty metal and old parts. I can't imagine why anyone would ski here, except that maybe they don't realize they can go somewhere---anywhere!---else. The owner apparently sold a bunch of condos on the property. Wouldn't it be nice if he actually used some of that money to repair this place?
I'm sure I'm going to get flamed for this by the owner's pals, but I've got to save you all from wasting your money. The worst ski area I've ever seen has got to be Bousquet, in Pittsfield, Mass.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. This was a birthplace of New England skiing that attracted posh New Yorkers on ski trains. It produced a lot of Olympians. (There was a great article about the history of the area and the Bousquet family, who were geniuses, in an early issue of Berkshire Living, an otherwise forgetable magazine.) And now it looks like a junk yard, except that at least a junk yard might have some cool stuff in it.
I have skied at scores of ski areas in the US, Canada, even Slovakia. I've written for major ski publications. My favorite mountains are not the fancy resorts; I like the funky old-time places, like Mad River Glen. So Bousquet, with my kids in tow, ought to have been a winner. But Mad River Glen has maintained the goodness of the olden days. This place just says "decay."
It starts with their ticket policy. The place has a vertical drop of something like 700 feet, so it's not exactly Whistler to begin with, making the $32 tickets for adults seem fair. But get this: they charge $16 for my 5 year old, and the same for my...THREE YEAR OLD! Every other ski area in the country understands that you've got to let the little ones in free, partly because they might take one run and decide they're done, and partly because if you don't get little kids skiing, the sport and the industry are going to die. So it cost me, my wife, and our two midgets almost as much to ski at Bousquet ($96) as it would have cost us to ski at a big resort that lets kids under six ski for free. The ticket seller's attitude when I asked about this? "Hey, I don't make the rules. Get over it."
When we got on the lift I could see why they had big signs at the ticket office saying "Think before you buy! No refunds!" This place was nasty. Both chair-lifts creak and groan like they're ready to bust. I'd hate to be Bousquet's insurance agent. (One chair returns downhill so low a tall person could easily get clocked, and I saw several people do unintended back flips on the slippery, snow-covered wooden deck at the lodge.) There aren't many trails, and the ones they do have are wide and dull, designed for groomers, not skiers. My 5-year-old was bored after two runs.
What really struck me, though, was all the crap lying around. Next to the beginner slope was a hundred feet of rusty old motors and snow guns that any other owner would have hauled to the dump, or at least hidden somewhere. The groomers were parked in front of the garage, which was right next to the lodge. The lodge was so dark it seemed like a good place to grow mushrooms, and seemed like it hadn't been painted---or cleaned---in thirty years. When my little guy took off into the woods on one trail, we discovered more rusty metal and old parts. I can't imagine why anyone would ski here, except that maybe they don't realize they can go somewhere---anywhere!---else. The owner apparently sold a bunch of condos on the property. Wouldn't it be nice if he actually used some of that money to repair this place?
:???: l: wink:
