Ski Bradford is a small ski area located in the Bradford section of Haverhill, Massachusetts

Haverhill, Massachusetts

Haverhill is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 60,879 at the 2010 census.Located on the Merrimack River, it began as a farming community that would evolve into an important industrial center, beginning with sawmills and gristmills run by water power. In the...

.

Terrain

Currently, Ski Bradford contains 13 trails: 2 green circles (easiest), 4 blue squares (intermediate) and 7 black diamonds (difficult) including a terrain park.

According to USGS topographical maps^{http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=42.7436&lon=-71.0594&datum=nad27&u=4&layer=DRG&size=l&s=24}, Ski Bradford is part of Dead Hill which has a summit elevation of 272 feet (82.9 m).

Terrain Park

Ski Bradford currently has a fairly large terrain park. The park changes every year but there is always a mini halfpipe set up, several rails including an A-frame rail and box, 2 or 3 down rails, and 2 small boxes for beginners. Their setup usually has one large kicker and then a few small ramps here and there. Overall it is a very nice setup for a ski area that small.

Lift System

Ski Bradford currently contains eight operating lifts. Sources online, including their own website, currently do not provide the current, accurate lift information. As of March 2007 the lift information is as follows:

Name	Type	Manufacturer	Installed	Horsepower	Length	Vertical Rise	Capacity	Speed	Note
Hornet	Triple Chair	Borvig	1983	-	1100 feet (335.3 m)	213 feet (64.9 m)	1800(pas/hr)	400(ft/min)	This is the most popular lift as one can reach any part of the mountain after riding it.
Wasp	Triple Chair	Borvig	1988	60	1024 feet (312.1 m)	207 feet (63.1 m)	1800(pas/hr)	400(ft/min)	This lift is more popular with ski racers using the wasp trail, although it does serve many other trails. It is a good lift to go to if lines on the other lifts build up.
Evvy's Double Nickel	Triple Chair	Partek	2003	60	995 feet (303.3 m)	200 feet (61 m)	1800(pas/hr)	400(ft/min)	This lift does not appear on Ski Bradford's Website Trail Map. It serves mostly the terrain park.
Hornet	T-Bar	Mueller	1971	-	1200 feet (365.8 m)	208 feet (63.4 m)	1000(pas/hr)	-	This lift often runs if the line for the Hornet chair builds up.
Stinger	Rope Tow	-	-	-	440(apr.)	50(apr)	-	-	The main, and slightly longer rope tow serving the beginner area.
Queen	Rope Tow	-	-	-	345(apr.)	35(apr.)	-	-	One of three rope tows serving the beginner area, it runs parallel to the Drone rope.
Drone	Rope Tow	-	-	-	345(apr)	35(apr.)	-	-	One of three rope tows serving the beginner area, it runs parallel to the Queen rope.
Roger's	Carpet Conveyor	Sun Kid	2006	-	-	-	-	-	Athought this lift was built in 2006, it did not appear on the trail map until the 2009-2010 season. It run perpendicular to the three rope tows.
Ken's	Carpet Conveyor	Sun Kid	2009	-	-	-	-	-	This lift was the second conveyor type lift built for Ski Bradford and apperared on the 2009-2010 trail map along with the new "Lower Honey Bee" trail
Wasp	T-Bar	Hall	Removed in 2005	-	1150(apr.)	200(apr.)	-	-	This lift was sold and removed before the 2005-2006 ski season. The lift still appears on the website trail map even though it has been gone for years and was not operated many years prior to its removal.
Bumble Bee	Rope Tow	-	Defunct since 2003	-	650(apr.)	125(apr.)	-	-	This lift stopped operating after the 2002-2003 season when Evvy's Double Nickel Triple Chairlift was installed to serve the same area. It was included in the lift count until the Roger carpet was built before the 2006-2007 season. The lift still remains in place but is unusable because the rope has snapped. The lift still appears on the website trail map even though it has been defunct for quite a few years and is not counted in the total lift count.

Lesson Programs

Ski Bradford has a large teaching staff and lesson programs. Dozens of schools are involved in after school ski clubs where many of the children involved partake in an hour long lesson every week. The capacity is there that 30 lessons can be run simultaneously per hour and even more for after school programs where hour long lessons begin every half hour between 3 and 5 PM. Walk-in lessons are also extremely popular at the area as many guests are spontaneous customers who had not planned in advance for a day of skiing but may have been encouraged to ski by good weather etc.

External links

• Ski Bradford - official site