times, and was last updated on January 4th, 2010.
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This site has been visited
Throughout the 1930's and 40's Massachusetts State
Championship, Eastern Downhill Championship, and local
club time trial and trophy races were held on the Thunderbolt.
Some of the best skiers of the era, many of whom were
Olympic skiers, came to race on the Thunderbolt. Besides the
racers, thousands of spectators would also climb to the lower
slopes to watch the racers negotiate the Thunderbolt's
famously dangerous and fast course. The ski craze had come
to the Berkshires! The town of Adams, which is where the
Thunderbolt is located, was informally known as "Little
Switzerland" because it resembled a small Swiss ski village.
Championship, Eastern Downhill Championship, and local
club time trial and trophy races were held on the Thunderbolt.
Some of the best skiers of the era, many of whom were
Olympic skiers, came to race on the Thunderbolt. Besides the
racers, thousands of spectators would also climb to the lower
slopes to watch the racers negotiate the Thunderbolt's
famously dangerous and fast course. The ski craze had come
to the Berkshires! The town of Adams, which is where the
Thunderbolt is located, was informally known as "Little
Switzerland" because it resembled a small Swiss ski village.
The Thunderbolt Ski Run was
born from and idea; an idea to
build a world class downhill ski
racing trail on the precipitous
east slope of Massachusetts'
highest peak, Mt. Greylock
(3,491 ft.). In 1933, efforts by
the Mt. Greylock Ski Club and
support from other local ski
clubs, ski enthusiasts, and
born from and idea; an idea to
build a world class downhill ski
racing trail on the precipitous
east slope of Massachusetts'
highest peak, Mt. Greylock
(3,491 ft.). In 1933, efforts by
the Mt. Greylock Ski Club and
support from other local ski
clubs, ski enthusiasts, and
state and local agencies culminated in a project that would bring
skiing to Mt. Greylock. A world class ski trail was laid out on the
east slope of Mt Greylock, and in the fall of 1934 the 107th
Company of the newly created Civilian Conservation Corps cut the
trail in 3 months. Soon after it was completed, national downhill
champion Joseph Duncan visited the trail and called it
"undoubtedly the most thrilling wooded run yet built in the country."
The trail was named after a roller coaster at Revere Beach and in
February of 1935 it was ready for the first Massachusetts State
Downhill Championship race.
skiing to Mt. Greylock. A world class ski trail was laid out on the
east slope of Mt Greylock, and in the fall of 1934 the 107th
Company of the newly created Civilian Conservation Corps cut the
trail in 3 months. Soon after it was completed, national downhill
champion Joseph Duncan visited the trail and called it
"undoubtedly the most thrilling wooded run yet built in the country."
The trail was named after a roller coaster at Revere Beach and in
February of 1935 it was ready for the first Massachusetts State
Downhill Championship race.
During WWII many of the local men from Berkshire
County who had picked up skiing on the Thunderbolt
enlisted in the 10th Mountain Division. They trained at
Camp Hale in Pando, Colorado and experienced
combat against the Germans in the Appenine
Mountains in Italy. After the war skiing on the
Thunderbolt declined. Ski areas with modern lifts were
more common, skiing became less competitive and
more recreational, and it seemed as though the
Thunderbolt was destined to become an abandoned
trail. In the 1950's Williams College widened the
dangerously narrow Needle's Eye and held collegiate
races on the trail into the 1960's. There was a post-war
effort to bring a modern gondola and ski trails to Mt.
Greylock, but funding and support were limited and the
project never materialized. By the 1980's, decades of
neglect made the Thunderbolt almost unskiable and it
was relegated to a hiking trail.
County who had picked up skiing on the Thunderbolt
enlisted in the 10th Mountain Division. They trained at
Camp Hale in Pando, Colorado and experienced
combat against the Germans in the Appenine
Mountains in Italy. After the war skiing on the
Thunderbolt declined. Ski areas with modern lifts were
more common, skiing became less competitive and
more recreational, and it seemed as though the
Thunderbolt was destined to become an abandoned
trail. In the 1950's Williams College widened the
dangerously narrow Needle's Eye and held collegiate
races on the trail into the 1960's. There was a post-war
effort to bring a modern gondola and ski trails to Mt.
Greylock, but funding and support were limited and the
project never materialized. By the 1980's, decades of
neglect made the Thunderbolt almost unskiable and it
was relegated to a hiking trail.
Although small groups and individuals skied on the
Thunderbolt throughout the 70's and 80's, a serious
and concerted effort to restore the trail didn't
materialize until the late 90's. In the mid-1990's
backcountry skiers and snowboarders rediscovered
the Thunderbolt and began to cut the thick brush that
had grown unabated for decades. In 1999 a
documentary film about the Thunderbolt was
produced by a local high school teacher and his
students. The film, Purple Mountain Majesty, went
Thunderbolt throughout the 70's and 80's, a serious
and concerted effort to restore the trail didn't
materialize until the late 90's. In the mid-1990's
backcountry skiers and snowboarders rediscovered
the Thunderbolt and began to cut the thick brush that
had grown unabated for decades. In 1999 a
documentary film about the Thunderbolt was
produced by a local high school teacher and his
students. The film, Purple Mountain Majesty, went
Some merchants in local downtown stores began selling skis and ski gear and locals from the
foothill towns that surrounded Mt. Greylock soon found themselves picking up this new sport
that was sweeping the Nation. After the work whistles blew, the young men would meet on the
trail and practice their technique, making the 2 hour climb just for a single run down. Many of
these local amateurs soon became top rated downhill skiers and earned their Class A rating
(achieved by skiing the Thunderbolt in under 3 minutes) and a chance to compete against the
likes of Dick Durrance, Alex Bright, and Ted Hunter, all of whom were Olympic skiers. They
formed clubs with names like The Mt. Greylock Ski Club, The Thunderbolt Ski Club, and the
Ski Runners of Adams. In 1939 and 1940, the Ski Runners of Adams, whose members were
mostly teen-age farm boys and mill workers from Adams, raced on The Thunderbolt and won
the team trophy, beating their rivals, the blue bloods from Dartmouth College.
foothill towns that surrounded Mt. Greylock soon found themselves picking up this new sport
that was sweeping the Nation. After the work whistles blew, the young men would meet on the
trail and practice their technique, making the 2 hour climb just for a single run down. Many of
these local amateurs soon became top rated downhill skiers and earned their Class A rating
(achieved by skiing the Thunderbolt in under 3 minutes) and a chance to compete against the
likes of Dick Durrance, Alex Bright, and Ted Hunter, all of whom were Olympic skiers. They
formed clubs with names like The Mt. Greylock Ski Club, The Thunderbolt Ski Club, and the
Ski Runners of Adams. In 1939 and 1940, the Ski Runners of Adams, whose members were
mostly teen-age farm boys and mill workers from Adams, raced on The Thunderbolt and won
the team trophy, beating their rivals, the blue bloods from Dartmouth College.
Contact the webmaster with questions or comments.
on to win awards and stimulated a wave of interest in the trail. Soon after its release, the
Thunderbolt was showing up in back-country ski guides, was the topic of conversation on
backcountry ski blogs, and was being skied regularly. Ski clubs and individuals organized trail
clean-up days on the Thunderbolt, and today the trail is in the best condition it has been in 35 years.
For skiers and history buffs alike, the Thunderbolt Ski Run offers a pristine look at the early days of
skiing. Of the four Class A trails built by the CCC in New England, the Taft Trail, Nose Dive,
Wildcat, and Thunderbolt, only the latter exists as it did in the 1930's. Skiing the Thunderbolt is like
going back in time. Only the Thunderbolt offers a true backcountry experience, void of modern lifts,
grooming, lights, or ski patrol. Every year hundreds of skiers and riders come to Mt. Greylock to
test their skill against the mountain's most famous trail. It's not for everybody. The trail is fast,
narrow, and steep. But to ski the Thunderbolt is to ski a legend, and to ski where legends skied.
The Thunderbolt Ski Run...schuss it if you can!
Thunderbolt was showing up in back-country ski guides, was the topic of conversation on
backcountry ski blogs, and was being skied regularly. Ski clubs and individuals organized trail
clean-up days on the Thunderbolt, and today the trail is in the best condition it has been in 35 years.
For skiers and history buffs alike, the Thunderbolt Ski Run offers a pristine look at the early days of
skiing. Of the four Class A trails built by the CCC in New England, the Taft Trail, Nose Dive,
Wildcat, and Thunderbolt, only the latter exists as it did in the 1930's. Skiing the Thunderbolt is like
going back in time. Only the Thunderbolt offers a true backcountry experience, void of modern lifts,
grooming, lights, or ski patrol. Every year hundreds of skiers and riders come to Mt. Greylock to
test their skill against the mountain's most famous trail. It's not for everybody. The trail is fast,
narrow, and steep. But to ski the Thunderbolt is to ski a legend, and to ski where legends skied.
The Thunderbolt Ski Run...schuss it if you can!
