Ski Butternut

So based on the advice of a few friends we decided to take the clan to Ski Butternut for some on-slope family good times. Ski Butternut is a descent sized (for the Berkshires) ski resort located just to the east of Great Barrington, making it one of the closest ski mountains to LI. You can make it to the slopes in two and a half hours depending on traffic. The resort has the usual array of kids programs (full-day, half-day, group and private lessons). We arrived on Monday afternoon and enrolled the kids in a 1 and a half hour group lesson. Getting rentals for my 4 yo was no hassle. The lessons were well organized and both of my kids had a good time. The learning area consists of some magic carpets and a small chair lift. There is some terrain based learning areas towards the top. Overall it's a good set up for learning to ski. Weather did not cooperate on Tuesday but we came back on Wednesday morning for a half-day program. We overheard the supervisor complaining about being understaffed for the day and it showed. It was a lot more hectic than our Monday group lesson. My son never got off of the lower magic carpet for the entire session - a bit irritating. Overall I like the learning area and I understand staffing problems as much as the next guy. I certainly like the proximity of the mountain to Long Island. But given the choice I'd rather drive the extra 30 minutes to Jiminy Peak I guess. I just prefer the Kids Rule program and I feel like thier ski school is a bit more organized. I also think their learning area is one of the best around. I'll try Butternut again though. Overall a good time!