Lost ski areaMassachusettsBerkshire HillsNortheast
Berkshire Snow Basin
Ran 1949–1989. A family-run ski area on Route 9 in West Cummington that operated from the 1949–50 winter until March 1989.
Overview
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Imagery: USGS The National Map · Terrain: Mapzen, USGS and others
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Stan and Ruth Brown, ski racers in the 1930s, opened Berkshire Snow Basin for the 1949–50 winter. Two rope tows ran that first season, using 350 feet of a 550-foot drop because the upper tow was not finished in time.1,2
Read the whole historyTodayThe old slopes lie in Bryant State Forest, where a backcountry alliance and the state manage them for self-powered skiing.3
Timeline
8 events · swipe
Memories
Skied Berkshire Snow Basin, or worked there?
Tell us what you remember, or what this page has wrong. Memories show here, credited to you, after we read them; facts are checked against a source before they change a figure.
Lost near Berkshire Snow Basin
The closest other lost ski areas, as the crow flies.
- 1937–1979 · 9.9 mi away · MassachusettsA snow-train-era ski area on Route 8A in Hawley that opened in December 1937 and ran rope tows and a T-bar until the late 1970s.
- Years not yet collected · 13.4 mi away · MassachusettsA small ski development with one rope tow on Petticoat Hill in Williamsburg, listed in the 1949 Massachusetts Ski Guide.
- 1939–2002 · 16.8 mi away · MassachusettsA ski area on Brodie Mountain in New Ashford, Massachusetts, known for night skiing, whose modern era ran from 1964 to its last season in 2001–02.
History
Written by aurora.ski from the 3 pages below, each sentence numbered to its sources.
Stan and Ruth Brown, ski racers in the 1930s, opened Berkshire Snow Basin for the 1949–50 winter. Two rope tows ran that first season, using 350 feet of a 550-foot drop because the upper tow was not finished in time. A long T-bar arrived in 1961, and an expansion in the late 1960s added two more T-bars; a 1973 guide counted 11 trails. When the state relocated Route 9 around 1958 to 1960, the road cut through the base area, and the Browns' company won damages in 1960.1,2
Stan Brown died in 1969, and Ruth kept the area running. In the early 1980s a planned sale fell through and the slopes sat idle for the 1983–84 winter. A new owner bought the ski operation in 1984 and added snowmaking, but debt, bank auctions and changes of owner followed. The last day of skiing was March 12, 1989. The base lodge burned in 1991, and the Commonwealth bought the 456-acre property in 1994. One of the last T-bars standing was torn down in 2016.1,2
TodayThe old slopes lie in Bryant State Forest, where a backcountry alliance and the state manage them for self-powered skiing.3
Timeline
- 1949Stan and Ruth Brown open the area with two rope tows1,2
- 1961A long T-bar replaces two connecting rope tows1,2
- 1969Stan Brown dies; Ruth Brown keeps running the area1
- 1983The area sits idle for the 1983–84 season1,2
- 1984A new owner buys the ski operation; snowmaking is added1,2
- 1989Last day of skiing on March 121,2,3
- 1994The Commonwealth of Massachusetts buys the 456-acre property1,3
- 2016One of the last standing T-bars is demolished1
Sources for this history (3)
- 1New England Ski History · Berkshire Snow Basin History
- 2New England Lost Ski Areas Project · Berkshire Snow Basin Ski Area
- 3WMass Backcountry Alliance · Berkshire Snow Basin
Photos
No photographs of Berkshire Snow Basin we may republish yet
Its old photos and trail maps live on the sites that collected them, and Google finds the rest.
Memories
What skiers remember of Berkshire Snow Basin, in their own words.
Facts
Location
42.4887° N · 72.9644° W · Massachusetts · Berkshire Hills
OpenSkiMap lists it as abandoned.
Years operated
1949–1989
Closed after the 1989 season. It stays here as part of the record of U.S. ski areas.
Its numbers
all 5all 5, in one list
Terrain contours: USGS 3D Elevation Program, public domain