A New Life for Prospect Mountain

Prospect Mountain is now preserved for posterity

As of February 28, Woodford’s Prospect Mountain is protected from development under a conservation easement from the Vermont Land Trust.

The mountain has over 30K of groomed cross-country ski trails, a large network of snowshoe trails and  maintained alpine touring trails, relics from its early days as a T-bar- and rope tow-served ski area. Lift access continued through the 1990s.

In 2018, the Prospect Mountain Association, a nonprofit formed by a group of conservation-minded locals, purchased the cross-country ski area from owners Steve Whitham and Andrea Amadeo. Whitham and Amadeo had operated it as a cross-country ski business since the 1990s, when they purchased the property to save it from foreclosure. They built the business with the intent to hand it over to the community.

Today, the mountain is the home of Williams’ College’s NCAA Division I cross country ski team. Funds for the transition came from donations, Williams College and the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board.

Featured Photo Caption: Prospect Mountain first opened to skiers in the late 1930s. Today, it’s the highest-elevation cross country ski area in Vermont. Photo courtesy Prospect Mountain Association