# Berkshire East Gathering - 3/19/04



## Greg (Mar 19, 2004)

*Date(s) Skied: * Friday, 3/19/04, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

*Resort or Ski Area: *  Berkshire East, Charlemont, Massachusetts

*Conditions: * Heavy, dense powder. No crowds. Variable weather - everything from light snow to sun to heavy snow squalls. No wind. ~30*F

*Trip Report: * Was aiming to meet ChileMass, CM's friend Rob, and skijay between 8:30 and 9:00. I showed up around 9:00 and wound up parking right next to skijay. There was less than 20 cars in the lot when I arrived! Went into the lodge and was asked by Rob if I was Greg. Greeted both Rob and ChileMass. We also met Beast's Jeremy Clark while getting lift tickets. Got dressed and ready to go.

Rob and CM loaded the triple and skijay and I followed for what would probably be a 30 minute lift ride! They were having some trouble with a sensor on it. First run was down Flying Cloud which had some nice powder. Jeremy had mentioned they haven't groomed at all. The skiing was great. We noticed a groomer coming up and took advantage oh his track for the rest of the run. We then headed over to the double that they started as an alternative to the triple but found out it wasn't going to be ready for 15 minutes. We huffed it over to the quad for a few nice short powder runs on Exhibition and War Dance. We then crossed over to Competition to find the triple was back in action. We rode it for the rest of the day.

Took a number of runs before lunch on Big Chief, Flying Cloud, Competition, Minnie Dole, and even Outback. The conditions overall were excellent. Lots of powder, although somewhat heavy and thick. Some of the steeper runs showed some scratchy, yet very edgeable base in the middles. We took a break for lunch and a beer at 12:45 and took a few more runs in the afternoon. skijay and I took an extra run down Big Chief at the end of a great day at the Beast. Run of the day was Flying Cloud. Nice powder skiier's right and a bit of groomed center/skier's left. The mountain proabably will do nicely with some grooming as the powder on the mountain is getting really heavy and dense. I bet they're grooming right now for the weekend.

The weather was weird today. A mix of everything - light snow, sun, squalls and any combination of the three. Not an ounce of wind though with warm temps made for great skiing.

We bid farewell to skijay and I enjoyed a final brew with ChileMass and Rob. All three of you guys are really cool and I had a lot of fun today. If anyone has the chance to ski with any of these guys, take the opportunity. I think we may have even convinced Rob to sign up here! 

I decided to take 8A South to 8 South home. It's a nice ride through the Berkshires and let me avoid Springfield, Hartford and Waterbury traffic. I got home in just over two hours. I'll use that route from now on. All in all, a great day!

*HERE* are a bunch of pix. And skijay caught a few short videos inadvertantly (camera was in video mode by mistake). They're short (like 2 second) clips:

*Video 1* (Rob zooming by and Greg skiing)
*Video 2* (Quick clip of ChileMass sking)

Thanks again guys for the wonderful company! I really enjoyed myself.


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## Joshua B (Mar 19, 2004)

Sorry to hear about the lift issue, but judging by your pictures, the conditions were stupendous! So Greg, what do you think of Berkshire East's terrain...specifically the challenge?

Great photos and I see great skiing form in the 2nd vid with ChileMass.

I'll be skiing Berkshire East tomorrow. I hope some powder is left.


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## Greg (Mar 19, 2004)

Joshua B said:
			
		

> Greg, what do you think of Berkshire East's terrain...specifically the challenge?


Oh...I love the terrain and the overall feel of the mountain. It's not my first time there. The 2+ hours drive through Waterbury, Hartford, and Springfield is what has kept me from going there more often. Those cities can really slow down the return trip. I suspect I'll visit more often after finding that Route 8/8A route.


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## severine (Mar 20, 2004)

Great report!  Wish I could have gone with you guys, but I would have just held you back anyway.   Maybe next year...


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## ChileMass (Mar 20, 2004)

We had a great time.  The snow was terrific and the weather was perfect - when it wasn't snowing hard, the sun would come out and it was warm and beautiful!  Really had a lot of fun skiing with Greg, skijay and of course my old pal Rob.  Berkshire East is a great "throw-back" kind of hill, Greg says they like to think of themselves as Mad River Glen south.  Couldn't beat the crowds (30 cars in lot total all day) or the price (free - thanks Greg).  It will be tough to get back to the slopes again this season, so if this was my last, it wasn't a bad way to end.  

Greg - looking forward to AZ hikes this summer......


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## skijay (Mar 20, 2004)

It was an awesome day of skiing at the Beast!  It was great to ski with all of you.  The conditions were like my trip to Mont Shefford in February.  Skiing at Butternut today was the complete opposite of the Beast.  

When I was at the Beast in February most of the trails I skied were not open due to ice.  I was impressed with the challenging terrain on Friday. We did have the lift problem in the morning and it is very rare to see an owner of a ski area out working the lifts.


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## Greg (Mar 22, 2004)

skijay said:
			
		

> ..and it is very rare to see an owner of a ski area out working the lifts.


That was pretty cool, eh? I saw a good article on that guy somewhere, but I can't find it now...


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## Joshua B (Mar 22, 2004)

You're probably speaking about the Global Over 50 Ski Club newsletter with the profile on Roy Schaefer.

http://www.go50.org/client_data/newsletters/Volume 2 Summer 2003.pdf

They could have used a more flattering photo!


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## Greg (Mar 22, 2004)

That was it. Thanks Josh!


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## threecy (Mar 22, 2004)

The best trails at Berkshire East are the ones that only open with natural snow, ie not too much this season, Jug, Tomahawk, Liftline, Beast, Grizzly...


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## Joshua B (Mar 23, 2004)

I thought Beast had 100% snowmaking.  8)


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## threecy (Mar 23, 2004)

possible capacity vs. capacity used this season are two different things


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## Joshua B (Mar 23, 2004)

We should try to find out.


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## Greg (Mar 23, 2004)

Joshua B said:
			
		

> We should try to find out.


Well...you're pretty tight with Jeremy. What's his take on this?


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## Joshua B (Mar 23, 2004)

Good idea Greg. I will try to pick his brain on this subject.


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## rpal (Mar 24, 2004)

Finally signed up!  Had a great time with everyone at Berkshire East. Enjoyed the skiing and the beverages :beer: First time on something other than man made ice crystals. Thanks Greg for not mentioning how many times I fell!


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## ChileMass (Mar 24, 2004)

RPal - You are my pal - what a great time........oh, yeah - and the skiing was cool, too.......


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## Greg (Mar 24, 2004)

rpal said:
			
		

> Thanks Greg for not mentioning how many times I fell!


You fell?  :wink: 

Welcome to the boards, Rob! I hope you visit and post often. It was a great day!


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## skijay (Mar 24, 2004)

Good to see that you signed up.  It was a blast skiing last Friday!
Tim


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## Greg (Mar 30, 2004)

Hey guys - we made the Beast Web site:

http://www.berkshireeast.com/photoarchive.html

Check out the 3/19 pic. Ha! I thought I saw Jeremy with a digital camera one time boarding the lift...


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## ChileMass (Mar 30, 2004)

Thanks Jeremy - !!  That was a great day.....


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