Saturday’s Thunderbolt ski race may be last

ADAMS, Mass. — This is a ski race like few others. Competitors climb or “skin” their way up to the top of the course using mohair-like material attached to their skis for traction.

After making their way to the 3,491-foot top of Mount Greylock, the Bay State’s highest, they remove their ski skins and bomb down a trail that is replete with dips, sharp turns and bumps, equivalent to a black diamond or expert slope designation on most ski areas.

But unlike most ski resorts, there are no chairlifts, snow-making or grooming here.

The skier who makes three round trips in the shortest time on Saturday will be declared the winner of the storied Thunderbolt ski competition on Mount Greylock.

This race is a throwback to the early days of skiing.

Indeed, the Thunderbolt trail was built by Civilian Conservation Corps workers in the 1930s. It was named after a famous roller coaster at Revere Beach near Boston and the name was a fitting description.

The race in the 1930s was a regional event, drawing skiers and crowds of spectators from across the Northeast.

Dick Durrance, then a Dartmouth College student, won the inaugural race in 1935, then known as the Massachusetts State Downhill. The next year, he competed in the Winter Olympics at Garmisch-partenkirchen, Germany, where the first modern alpine ski events were held. During the Great Depression the race was renowned, with thousands of spectators taking trains from New York City and Boston to watch the daredevil competitors.

It was also a source of pride for the blue-collar mill town of Adams,

Courtesy Maddie Meyer A competitor makes his way down in a previous edition of the Thunderbolt, a race that’s a throwback to the early days of skiing. This year may be the last for the event.