Everybody’s heard of Mt. Greylock, right? It’s the highest point in Massachusetts, nestled in the beautiful, bucolic Berkshires. But as I found on a recent shoot for Connecting Point’s Winter Sports Series, there’s a big slice of skiing history that’s buried under the snow cover on the mountain.
Mt. Greylock, home of the Thunderbolt Ski Run
Forgotten for many years, the Thunderbolt Ski Trail has been making a comeback in recent times. Long before chairlifts and ski resorts, you had to hike up a mountain first if you wanted to ski down it. And the Thunderbolt is the granddaddy of them all our neck of the woods: a two hour hike up the mountain on foot, and a demanding two mile trail to navigate down a steep vertical slope on skis. Created by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930’s, the Thunderbolt has hosted local and world renowned athletes over its 80 year history, many of whom went on to compete in the Olympics.
So think twice the next time you pass by a seemingly innocuous mountain path in the winter, because you never know what history might lie buried beneath the snow!
