Snow Business: Happily Ever After At Berkshire East, Catamount

CHARLEMONT, MA/HILLSDALE, NY — The marriage of Berkshire East and Catamount is shaping up to be one that allows the region's skiers and snowboarders to live happily ever after.

Think about it. The greater Hartford area is a perfect market — it is right smack in the middle of both snow sports areas. It's also an easy day trip from Fairfield County, particularly to Catamount, which straddles the New York-Massachusetts line. Berkshire is a quick jaunt up Interstate-91.

They both make up a pair of options for families and those who just want to sneak away — even under one ticket — and the options don't empty the gas tank.

Here's a look at both:

Berkshire East

The revelation must be prefaced by a confession. This guy has been writing about skiing and snowboarding since the end of the 20th century, has been the president of a snow sports journalists association covering the eastern U.S. and Canada, an officer in a North American writers organization and has tested equipment for various companies throughout the Northeast. But he had never been to Berkshire East until last season.

(Slap)

Well, a return visit is now a must. Here's the revelation:

The distance: From Hartford, it's 90 minutes on basically two roads — Interstate-91 to Greenfield, MA; then a few miles on Route 2.

Yeah, yeah, the reasoning for not going there is to keep driving into southern Vermont, but the drive was 'holy crap' short. And for a someone with a couple of 9-year-olds in tow, it translated into more runs and less driving.

The runs: Speaking of thoe runs ... Berkshire East offers 45 trails over 180 acres with a 1,180-foot vertical drop. The blues, blacks and greens are about equally distributed, at least that's the feel once on the hill. The point of concentration was a spot on the summit where two long green trails could be accessed. Outback and Thunder are both about a couple of miles long, feature a lot of terrain changes, offer fabulous scenery and even a little off-piste action if the snow is there. They both keep the kids busy all day.

The mountain also features a self-contained learning area.

The amenities: The lodge at Berkshire East is spacious, comfortable and friendly and the base area features plenty of food options, including a full-service restaurant. Remember, this guy has been dining at resorts all over the continent and the french fries arer easily the best he's even had at any of them.

Catamount

The merger has profoundly impacted Catamount. Yes, in terms of feeling, it's the same old welcoming Catamount, but a few things have evolved that has made it even more competitive in the 1,000-foot vertical market.

Here's a look:

The mountain: We're talking five new trails at Catamount — Four newly cut and another an extended link. They are at the front of the mountain from right to left — two between Lower Alley and Sidewinder (a black diamond and a blue), one next to Catapult (a double black) and one above Holiday (another double black) that is steeper than catapault.

Catamont marketing director and founding family member Rich Edwards said it is terrain he's always envisioned as expandable.

"The new owners saw what we saw in the terrain — a steep pitch, but very skiable … challenging terrain that is probably the most chsallenging in southern New England and terrain that offers great variety."

The infrastructure: The new terrain goes hand-in-hand with a new lift system on the left side of the mountain, looking up. It has drastically cut down the wait times to get to trails for all abilities.

The Berkshire Lodge, a mainstay at the base for years, has been renovated.

A short distance away is a new sister lodge that measures 10,700 square feet, has seating for 350 with ticketing, retail, food and rest rooms. It really spreads out the crowds. The 13,000 square feet inside Berkshire handled the crowds OK, but the new lodge adds a level of comfort Catamount certainly wanted.

The yurt is still used for the racers.

Two retention ponds have been added and snowmaking capacity has increased to 5,000 gallons per minute.

A new Primoth groomer has been added to the fleet, which now totals five machines.

The parking lot has been refinished.

So ... what does it all translate to?

Both mountains as a team have changed the game in the 1,000 vertical foot category. Together they are offering a competitive ticket rates, probably the beast terrain and solid amenities.

For pricing and other information at Catamount, click here.

For the Berkshire East site, click here.

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Chris Dehnel is a Patch editor who has been writing about snow sports for two decades. He is a past-president of the Eastern Ski Writers Association. The Snow Business column runs periodically durunbg the season.