times, and was last updated on March 25th, 2013
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A mid 1930's picture of Mt. Greylock clearly showing the newly cut Thunderbolt.
The Steps
Access Trail
This ridge obscures the
lower third of the re-routed
Thunderbolt Trail.
Here you can find Thunderbolt Ski Trail statistics, test your Thunderbolt
knowledge, or click on the links to the left to explore the parts of the trail
where you will find more information, pictures, video clips, and
Thunderbolt memorabilia.
The Original Thunderbolt Ski Run
  • Built in 1934 by the 107th Company of the Civilian
    Conservation Corps
  • 1st Race on February 17th, 1935, won by Dick
    Durrance
  • Famous Parts of the Trail
          - Big Bend
          - The Steps
          - Needle's Eye
  • Course Record: 2 min. 38 sec., set by Jarvis Schauffler
    in the 1936 Mass. Downhill Championships
  • Exposure: North, East, South             
  • Length: 1.2 miles (racing), 1.4 miles (total)
  • Vertical Drop: 1,760 ft.
  • Average Grade: 25 degrees
  • Steepest Grade: 38 degrees
  • Narrowest Point: 15 feet at the Needle's Eye
  • Widest Point: 60 feet at the Big Bend
  • Finish Line Elevation: 1,800 ft.
The Second Thunderbolt Ski Trail
  • Re-routed in 1937 by the 107th CCC Company
  • Site of Massachusetts State Downhill, Eastern Downhill
    Championship, and various local time trials and trophy
    races throughout the 1930's and 40's.
  • Famous Parts of the Trail
          - Big Bend
          - The Steps
          - Needle's Eye
          - Big Schuss
          - The Bumps
          - The S-Turn
  • Course Record: 2 min. 8 sec., set by Per Klippgen in
    the 1948 Eastern Downhill Championship Race.
  • Exposure: North, East, and North-east
  • Length: 1.6 miles (racing), 2.0 miles (total)
  • Vertical Drop: 2,050 ft.
  • Average Grade: 16 degrees
  • Steepest Grade: 35 degrees
  • Narrowest Point: 15 feet at Needle's Eye
  • Widest Point: 75 feet at the Big Schuss
  • Finish Line Elevation: 1,450 ft.
Contact the webmaster with questions or comments.
A mid 1930's picture of Mt. Greylock clearly showing the newly cut Thunderbolt.
A 2008 photograph of Mt. Greylock showing the layout of the original and re-routed Thunderbolt Ski Run.  The 1901 landslide, who many
confuse with the Thunderbolt, is skiable with good, deep snow cover.  
1934
  • From August to December 25 men from the 107th
    company of the Civilian Conservation Corps cut the
    Thunderbolt Trail

1935
  • 1st Massachusetts State Downhill Championship won by
    Dartmouth freshman Dick Durrance (2 min. 48 sec.)

1936
  • 2nd Massachusetts State Downhill race won by Amherst
    College's Jarvis Schauffler (2 min. 26 sec.)
  • Dartmouth head coach Otto Schniebs recommends
    rerouting the lower third of the Thunderbolt.  The 107th
    CCC boys do the work under the direction of Charlie
    Parker

1937
  • No snow on Mt. Greylock.  Races were moved to the
    Nose Dive trail on Mt. Mansfield in Vermont

1938
  • A big year for the new, rerouted Thunderbolt.  7,000
    spectators watched Fritz Dehmel of the University of
    Munich win the Eastern Downhill Championship (2 min.
    25 sec.)
  • Peter Garret of Yale won the Massachusetts State
    Downhill race.
  • Rudy Konieczny won the time trial race held immediately
    after the Eastern race (2 min. 57 sec.)

1939
  • Massachusetts Downhill won by Olympian Ted Hunter (2
    min. 29 sec.)
  • Maurice "Greeny" Guertin won the Time Trial race
  • Toni Matt won the first Greylock Trophy Race
  • The Ski Runners of Adams won the team trophy during
    the Mass. Downhill beating their rivals from Dartmouth

1940
  • Massachusetts Downhill won by 42 year old Boston
    broker, Alex Bright from the Ski Club Hochgebirge (2 min.
    24 sec.)
  • The Ski Runners of Adams won the team trophy for the
    second time during the Mass. Downhill, once again
    beating Dartmouth
  • Former Olympian Robert Livermore won the Eastern
    Downhill Championship Race (2 min. 19 sec.)
  • Toni Matt won the 2nd Greylock Trophy Race
  • Thunderbolt Ski Shelter built by CCC
1941
  • Charles McLane, Dartmouth College ski team captain, won
    the Massachusetts Downhill race (2 min. 40 sec.)

1942
  • 16 year old high school sophomore Bill Linscott won the
    Massachusetts State Downhill Championship (3 min. 17
    sec.)
  • The Thunderbolt Ski Club won the team trophy during the
    Massachusetts Downhill Championships

1946
  • Victor Constant, captain of the West Point ski team, won
    the Mass. State Downhill race (2 min. 44 sec.)

1948
  • Per Klippgen from Norway set the Thunderbolt course
    record during the Eastern Downhill Championship race,
    the last major race held on the Thunderbolt (2 min. 8 sec.)

1950
  • Verne Goodwin won the 1st Rudolph Konieczny Memorial
    Race (2 min. 20 sec.)

1951
  • Dick Collins III won the 2nd Rudolph Konieczny Memorial
    Race

1952
  • Williams College widened the Needle's Eye and made
    other improvements to the trail, holding official collegiate
    races into the late 1950's

1960's
  • Williams College continued to hold unofficial races on the
    Thunderbolt into the late 1960's during their Winter
    Carnival

2010
  • The Thunderbolt Ski Runners hold the 75th Anniversary
    Race on the Thunderbolt Ski Run on March 13th.  
    Roughly 1,000 spectators braved the windy and rainy
    conditions to watch 80 racers make their way down the
    'Bolt.  The race was won by Gery R. Benedetti with a time
    of 3 min. 1 sec.
2011
  • The 2011 Thunderbolt Ski Race was held on February
    11th.  Gery Benedetti returned to defend his 1st place
    finish in 2010.  He won the race with a time of 2 min. 59
    sec.
2012 - Race cancelled due to lack of snow
2013 - Race cancelled due to lack of snow
Test your Thunderbolt knowledge.  See if you can identify these legends of the
Thunderbolt.  Then drag your mouse over each image to see if you were correct.