February 24, 2001 -- Thunderbolt

On February 24, 2001, I drove up to Mt. Greylock, the highest summit in the Berkshires, to ski Thunderbolt Trail.  The trail is described in David Goodman's Backcountry Skiing Aventures -- Vermont & New York (yes, I, and I'm sure David Goodman, know that Mt. Greylock is in Massachusetts).

As Goodman describes it, the trail drops more than 1,800 vertical feet in 1.6 miles.  Not extreme by any means, but it makes for a fun, sometimes challenging run, especially taking into account the trees and variable snow conditions.  

I left the truck at approximately 10:15 a.m.  The ski/hike up begins with an easy skin up to the actual Thunderbolt run.  I attempted to continue skining up the run, but the conditions would not allow -- the trail was mostly about 6 inches of fresh very powdery snow on top of ice crust.   So I pulled off the skis and booted up, following the trail of a sole snowshoer who had ventured up the Thunderbolt since the last snowfall.  It was actually enjoyable kick stepping up the hill with ONLY a day pack and skis on my back -- having spent a day and a half the prior weekend carrying a full winter pack and skis up in the Adirondacks.

In abount a little more than an hour and a half I reached the summit (approximately 2,200 feet of vertical from the start). I stopped, ate a snack, and prepared for the descent.  

After a quarter-mile or so of gentle downhill on the Appalachian Trial, the Thunderbolt Trail begins.  As Goodman describes it, "the whole side of the mountain falls away," and the run begins.  I'm not sure the trail is as dramatic as Goodman describes it, but the trail was cut in the 1930s, and I had the great advantage of modern AT gear.  

I took my time going down, working on actually carving turns in the soft powder.  The snow conditions increased the challenge.  Beneath the powder was a mix of crusty snow and vegitation, making it tough to carve and making the run very uneaven.  I took one tumble when my right ski caught a root.  But otherwise the run was great.  After the lessons in Utah, my skill level, and perhaps more importantly my comfort level, had increased dramatically.

By 1:00 p.m. I was back in the truck and heading home.  A short, but very enjoyable run down a classic New England backcountry ski run.