The Mount Greylock Ski Club

Finally - the Greylock Ski Club and it was worth a season's wait. Tucked away on the backside of Mount Greylock is the very unique, "blast from the past" Mount Greylock Ski Club. I don't remember how I had heard about it, but I did go hunt it down one winter while snowshoeing the mountain and vowed to return with skis.

In 2006 my hopes were dashed because it never opened due to lack of snow on the weekends. In 2007 we had just gotten a 2 foot dumping of snow in February and I was off to Japan for business the next day. Rotten timing. Fortunately there was still plenty of snow and 5 more inches when I returned a week later.

As its name implies, it is a ski club. A ski club with over 70 years of history. It's tucked away in a beautiful hollow off the western side of Greylock. I met one of the members, Tim and his family. It's like a co-op. Every member has chores such as firing up the rope tow, fetching water for the hot cocoa or grooming a trail.

It's a step back in time and things move at a slower pace like waiting for the rope tow engine to warm up.

Word of warning - bring old ski gloves or work gloves. The rope tow is really hard on your gloves until you get the hang of it. My ripped mittens still bear the scars of my experience, but every winter when I slip them on, it brings back wonderful memories.

I had a horrible time learning to ride the rope tow. I'm sure if it had been video-taped, it would have been a success on You-Tube. Basically you put on a harness, which all hang neatly within the lodge, and then in one smooth motion you pick up the moving rope with one hand and with a garlic-press looking object (which is connected to the harness) in your other hand you whip it around the rope and clamp down on it. A slight tug on the harness and you are off. Ha! I fell over and over while little kids would give me sad looks and say, "you'll get the hang of it soon" as they were whizzed away up the hill. The rope tow operator found endless words of encouragement until I finally stayed upright. My hard earned initiation was met with shouts of glee from other members.

The reason for the harness, unlike other rope tows, is that the hill is really steep and without the "garlic-press" there is no way your arms would hold out. Unhooking from the rope tow was not uneventful, but I managed to stay upright with just a couple pulled muscles.

There are only a few trails, but they are beautiful paths through the woods. Being used to the overly groomed trails of the big resorts, these trails were a challenge. Found myself snowplowing a lot but was able to put down some tracks which was exciting. The wide open field at the bottom was lots of fun and I enjoyed the back trail which heads to the left off the rope tow.

The camaraderie is really special at the club. I helped some kids fetch water from the spring for the hot cocoa. The lodge is spartan but warm and cozy with a pot of soup always warming on the stove.

Now that my quest is complete, I am seriously thinking about joining the club even if I only ski once or twice a year. It's an icon that represents what's good about skiing. Nothing fancy, affordable, friendly people, beautiful setting and some incredibly good skiers.

Note: skiing is by invitation only for non-members so check out their web-site for a guest pass. I think once you try it, you may get hooked on the simplicity of it all.