Mount Greylock Ski Club

Mount Greylock Ski Club is a small members-only ski area located on the flank of the tallest mountain in Massachusetts. Established in the 1930s, the club has no electricity, plumbing or telephone.

It also has no snowmaking and no chairlifts and two rope tows. In most meaningful ways it’s no different then when it was established during the Great Depression. I learned of the place a few years ago though NELSAP, the New England Lost Ski Area Project. I was surprised that the rustic little place had escaped my attention because I learned to ski just a few miles away.

Once I learned about Mount Greylock, I knew I would have to check it out.  Recently I sent an email, to see if I could set up a visit.

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Catamount in the Sweet Spot

I started skiing at Catamount because they had two magic carpet lifts. It may seem like a small thing, but when you’re trying to get two brand new skiers up to speed it really helps.

Catamount's Catapult trail

Back then the quality of a mountain’s ski school and beginner lifts were just as important to me as it’s vertical and it’s snowmaking capacity. I tried out a number of different small and medium sized hills before I found Catamount.

Catamount exists in what I now think of as the sweet spot for family skiing. It’s two hours from New York City, has a thousand feet of vertical, a world class kids’ ski program and terrain for all levels.

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Windham: Get ’em Going

My kids don’t exactly object to getting out of bed early. It’s more like they’re incapable of functioning without precise guidance before 8am. Each insulating layer requires new instructions. Putting on socks does not, apparently, imply that shoes should follow.

In spite of this, we made good time up the Thruway on Sunday. We arrived at Windham, parked, grabbed our gear and jumped on the shuttle bus. I left the kids to boot up while I got our lift tickets.

Junior made it to Hunter’s opening day with me, but Sunday was my 10 year old’s first day of the season. He’s stepping up to a longer pair of skis this year, so we got on D-lift, a fixed grip triple to start out mellow. The little grom did great but I noticed he was skiing really slowly.

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