mount greylock/thunderbolt trail

[mookie]

hi,
anyone done this either on skis or snowboard? wondering if its worth the drive, looking at 2+hours driving time. from what ive read it seems like a good time. just have to hope for some snow.
thanks

 

[focusonbalance]

Can't speak for skiing or boarding but we did it last winter on plastic tobogans. What a rush. The snowboarders said we were nuts ??. There were about 5 snowboarders and 3 skiers that day who all seemed to be enjoying the day. Plenty wide trail and good pitches.

Hope you get plenty of responses from those more qualified to give real accounts.

 

[teleskier]

Skied it many times and it's a wonderful trip; quite a bit of eastern skiing history to it as well, you can check out David Goodman's book for that. Someone on the TTips website organized two trail clearing days there this fall, so it should be brushed out pretty well right now. Don't know about the snow conditions, though. That thaw last week must have taken a toll, and while Pittsfield reported about 11" out of Friday night's storm, I hear they only had around 5-6 in the Adams area, which is on the Thunderbolt's side of the mountain. When there's enough snow, it's a great trail to ski or ride, though, that much I know.

 

[bcskier]

Tbolt

You can check out a description of the Bellow's Pipe and Thunderbolt Trails from a couple of weeks ago on the google group Hoosac Range Skiing There is a more recent report on there for Petersburg Pass this weekend.

 

[Explorer Editor]

Skied it many times and it's a wonderful trip; quite a bit of eastern skiing history to it as well, you can check out David Goodman's book for that. Someone on the TTips website organized two trail clearing days there this fall, so it should be brushed out pretty well right now. Don't know about the snow conditions, though. That thaw last week must have taken a toll, and while Pittsfield reported about 11" out of Friday night's storm, I hear they only had around 5-6 in the Adams area, which is on the Thunderbolt's side of the mountain. When there's enough snow, it's a great trail to ski or ride, though, that much I know.

How much snow is needed to ski the Thunderbolt?

 

[mookie]

thanks for the info.
its on my to do list, just wish there was 8 days in a week.

 

[bcskier]

Tbolt info

How much snow is needed to ski the Thunderbolt?

It depends. When there is a good firm base you don't need too much on top of it. The trail is not downhill area quality. There are some erosion gullies and ledges that either don't get well covered or melt out quickly so there is usually a mixture of conditions in an average year. Also the elevation difference plus the east facing aspect of the trail can mean that the top will be very skiable and the bottom third a walk. There is no sure way of knowing when it's in prime condition from a distance but if there is a foot or two of natural snow on the ground anywhere at the same latitude and fresh snow has just fallen it's a good bet the Tbolt will be skiable.