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Arnold
from Connecticut
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Mar 20, 2008 |
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Overall Rating: 4.0   |
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No questions asked, this is Southers New England's BEST mountain. No greens in the region beats Outback which skiers of all abilities enjoy. Only mountain with ACTUAL glades. This place has something to offer for ALL abilities and you'll want to come back in the future. Doesn't get that crowded as it has a triple, quad lift, and night skiing. Good mountain, day or night.
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Lea Givens
from Charleston, SC
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Mar 10, 2008 |
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| Overall Rating: 3.4 |
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This is an interesting place. It is really in the middle of nowhere. I stayed in Jiminy Peak when I visited Berkshire East. The drive from Jiminy Peak to Berkshire East is one of the ones covered in "The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips". The drive is spectacular but it is not for the faint of heart. On one of the lifts, I was riding up with a Ski Patrol and told him that I was from South Carolina. He said, "Well, you're propably the first! We don't see many people who arn't locals, here. The drive over the mountain is too much for them."
I found the lift tickets to be the cheapest I bought all week. The crowds were non-existant, probably something to do with the white knuckled, hair raising drive to get there. The activities, other than skiing, were not to be found, unless you want to train driving for a Grand Prix race. The terrain was excellent for the MA, CT, RI part of New England, as was the snow quality. The people in this part of the country are very friendly.
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Darryl K. Lewis
from Jamaica, New York
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Mar 1, 2008 |
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| Overall Rating: 3.0 |
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SkiTown Review
Ski resort reviews can be helpful only if you know the skill level and skiing perspective of the person authoring the review. I am a middle age advanced skier with no interest in jumping off cornices or cliffs. I will often at high speeds hit a small lip in the terrain and get a little air, but that is about the extent of it. I venture in and out of moderate mogul fields in an attempt to become a better all-around skier, but I tend not to spend a majority of my ski day dealing with the bumps. The week after Presidents Day, my granddaughter and I decided to leave the big guys alone and ski the smaller mom and pop operated midsized mountains of Gunstock, New Hampshire; Shawnee Peak, Maine; and Berkshire East, Massachusetts. The average vertical drop for these three is 1,300 feet. In actuality, we planned to ski Wachusett Mountain as our final mountain, but when we were turned away due to overcrowding, we decided to give Berkshire East a try. With that said, here are my impressions of Berkshire East (The Beast)
Terrain: Rated 4.0:
Thank God for overcrowded conditions at Wachusett Mountain. When we arrived at The Beast, we were blessed with 10 inches of newly fallen powder. Terrain-wise I am amazed that no one ever speaks of The Beast with respect to good terrain. Its 1,200 vertical is greater than any ski hill in the Berkshires or Pocono mountains, and trail diversity and challenge is a pleasant surprise for this part of the region. They also have Exhibition, which I am sure is one of the widest and longest beginner trails in the Pocono/Berkshire region. Even advanced skiers enjoy this trail. You can really carry out some wide, sweeping GS turns. Almost the entire upper middle of the mountain is advanced/expert territory. There are bump runs under the two adjacent lifts, The Diamond Express Double and the Summit Triple. To the left of the Diamond Express (as you are looking up the hill) are some killer thick glades called Tomahawk. When my granddaughter took a break, I headed for a narrow twisting bumped up black diamond called Jug, which was right next to the Tomahawk glades (Jug gives you a good look at those glades, and that is how I developed the good sense to stay out of those suckers). The Jug had a bail out option, but I was having such a good run that I continued until it merged with the intermediate trail called Big Chief. With 10 inches of fresh powder, even for a moderate mogul skier like me, bumps beware! I know that I have concentrated on the advanced/expert territory, but in addition to the fantastic Exhibition beginner trail, the Beast has summit to base beginner skiing. It starts at the summit with a trail called Outback and then connects with Roundabout which circles the entire right portion of the mountain (as you face the hill).
Service: Rated 3.0:
The service at The Beast is on par with the majority of ski resorts. The lifts are a little on the slow side. The bathrooms could use a little sprucing up and the floors were very wet. They have remodeled and expanded the lodge since I had last been there, but they do need to get rid of those horrendous long and uncomfortable lunchroom benches. Their chili wasnt too bad. A little watery but the flavor was okay.
Crowds: Rating 3.0:
Since it was the Saturday after Presidents Day, and Wachusetts had turned us away due to overcrowding, I was expecting the worst from The Beast. But to my surprise, the crowd was not bad. There were on a couple of occasions a 5 to 10 minute liftline wait, but that was due to delays regarding the lift itself.
Activities: Rating 2.0:
Boonieville! Boonieville! The Beast resides in Charlemont, Massachusetts, and if you sneeze you will miss the town. The Beast has no tubing, no terrain park, no shopping, no nothing except some pretty good skiing.
Value: Rating 3.0:
Lift tickets prices and the cost of cafeteria food was on par with other ski resorts of similar size in this region. No special pricing measures were evident.
In summary: The Beast is the perfect place to go after a snow dump and you are only interested in skiing and riding to your hearts content. If you are looking for anything else, or you visit when the snow conditions are sketchy, then you may be disappointed. Please keep in mind that my personal focus is on the terrain and excitement of the actual skiing activity. If I had to choose my favorite of the three mountains visited based upon those aspects, it would be as follows: 1. Shawnee Peak, 2. Berkshire East., and 3.- Gunstock.
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jeffrey lee
from pittsfield,ma
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Jan 30, 2008 |
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| Overall Rating: 3.6 |
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I SKI THE BEAST TWO OR THREE TIMES A YEAR I ALWAYS GO A DAY OR TWO AFTER A GOOD STORM, AND STILL FIND FRESH POW. IN MY OPINION BERKSHIRE EAST IS A SKIERS MT.SOME STEEPS AND SOME VERY WIDE TRAILS, MY FAVE IS BIG CHIEF, I FEEL LIKE I'M IN VT.[WITHOUT THE CROWDS] DURRING THE WEEK ITS GREAT,OVERALL A GRATE VALUE AND ALWAYS FUN TO GO SKIING.
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vrk
from Westchester, NY
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Jan 9, 2008 |
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| Overall Rating: 4.0 |
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This is a nice, mid-to-small size area. Focus on natural snow over snowmaking means base cover is not perfect, but given the right weather, conditions can be very good.
A real highlight is night skiing - all the way to the peak and with a good selection of the trails, including a couple diamonds. Very hard to find that elsewhere. Plus upgrading a day ticket to night - 5.5 hours more skiing - is only $5.
As mentioned elsewhere the lodge is nothing special, and the ski shop is tiny (though prices are much more reasonable than other areas). Lifts aren't blazingly fast, but lack of lines means you're always either going up or down, never standing still.
The terrain park is fairly small, and is serviced by a lift that doesn't cover much vertical (all greens to the bottom). Though listed at over 1100' vertical on the main lifts, runs (especially on the diamonds) feel a bit brief.
Value is exceptional, especially for night skiing. Pick a good day to go weather-wise and it will be a blast. In addition, area lodging and dining is abundant and a great value (stayed in a comfortable 2-bed room for $55 at the Red Rose Motel, 3 miles away).
Location makes it a great weekend trip from either NY or Boston without the crowds and prices of some Catskills resorts.
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steve c
from new jersey
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Oct 29, 2007 |
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| Overall Rating: 3.6 |
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This is the place to go if you don't want crowds and are nursing a hangover. You're not going to get the terrain of some of the other southern vermont mts, however you don't get the crowds either. I think this is a fun little place in a great area. If you want a little contrast to the vermont scene, I would definately recommend this place. You can also stay in Northampton and make the trip from there. Its about an hour on the highway and there's lots to do. If you've ever been to Magic in Vermont, it's similar minus the overall quality of the hill..
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Superbman
from western, MA
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Mar 17, 2007 |
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| Overall Rating: 4.8 |
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The two-bad reviews below are-I believe tongue in cheek--the Beast has the best terrain (that is, if you actually like skiing and know how to ski) of any area south of killington. Honest to goodness glades, steeps, moguls. There is never-never a lift line. There is a nice lodge-wth a great little pub upstairs. It has a tremendous racing program. And a Patrol that is actually manned by skiers (unlike many other patrols in western, Ma) which is great because they try to open every tree run, chute they can and let the ski enthusiast customer make their own decisions about what's skiable!
A few weeks ago we had a big race after a snow storm and there were a lot of Patrollers from other areas on hand-I must say I had to laugh watching these guys slip, slide and struggle through some wonderful ungroomed soft steep snowy terrain while complaining (when they could catch their breath) all the way.
Basically B-East is the un-glitzy resort that still serves up quality skiing (and they're are plenty of long easy groomers too-the place rules). Frankly there's no other place in western, MA worth even looking at--So let the glitteratti have the once great Jiminy Peak, and all the non-skiing gapers can have Bousquet, Butternut, and the rest-the skiers will take Berkshire east!
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Chris
from Somewhere
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Feb 21, 2007 |
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| Overall Rating: 3.8 |
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I read the previous reviews and had to chime in. Not all ski area are meant for everyone. Berkshire East is amazing at what they do. They provide natural snow and the only legitimate glade/tree skiing south of VT. Its old school much like Magic Mountain and MRG in VT. The BEast would definitely come in third amongst the two before mentioned mountains but that is the vibe one gets when skiing the BEast. If you want extensive snow making and groomed trails as far as the eye can see, go to Stratton or Mt. Snow. Berkshire East is affordable because they don't blow so much snow and spending time grooming. The BEast is a sick old school New England ski area with soul!
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nick
from stafford ct
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Feb 18, 2007 |
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| Overall Rating: 3.8 |
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Berkshire East has always been one of my favorite ski areas. It's nice for beginners, and it has some real black diamonds, that will satisfy the expert skiers. There's never a long lift line, and trails are not crowded. This isn't a fancy yuppy type place,and that's what gives Berkshire East it's warm friendly atmosphere. I've spent many days at bigger mountains waiting in long lift lines, never getting in as much skiing as I wanted to.They don't make a lot of snow here,but if you try this place after we get some natural, you will be pleasantly surprised.
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BSinclair
from MA
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Dec 7, 2006 |
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| Overall Rating: 1.0 |
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I ski the beast a couple times a year. It is relatively inexpensive and not too far from my home. I would not travel a long way to ski this hill if I were you. They don't make enough snow, the hill is nearly flat and if you're not careful, you will ruin your skis on the rocks that stick up through the snow. I use my rock skis here. Other than that, its a nice little hill.
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Joey Ballbaggio
from Northampton MA
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Dec 16, 2005 |
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| Overall Rating: 1.6 |
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I have never skied an area quite like Berkshire East. I would have to say it is a beginner's mountain, but an icy one. I would of been better off wearing skates than skis. I had to dodge a lot of bare spots, rocks and roots on the trails. They need to expand their snowmaking system and grooming. Be careful in the resturaunt. I was feeling kinda frisky after having a couple beers and I ordered their "special"...WILD GAME STEW? It had a pungent aroma and was very chewy so i asked the waitress what they used in the recipe. She said it was a mixture of locally available mammals???
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John
from Hartford, CT
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Oct 24, 2005 |
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| Overall Rating: 4.6 |
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Great pitch! In a lot of mountains (Snow, Stratton) you get these flat zones which take the umpf out of a run. This is straight up and down and although it is only 1100 vericle drop you simply ski a lot more. I've skied there more in the last couple of years and the conditions are entirely different then years earlier. Great snowmaking and better grooming round out this skiers mountain.
