Citing continued losses and economic uncertainty, the Massachusetts area will not operate next winter.
Thursday, March 26, 2020, NewEnglandSkiIndustry.com
In a letter to Ski Blandford season passholders today, General Manager Ronald Crozier and President Jeffrey Murdock announced the ski area is closing due to continued losses and economic uncertainty.
2020-21 season pass purchasers may either request a refund or transfer their credit to a Ski Butternut pass. There was no mention of transferring the credit to Otis Ridge, another area operated by Ski Butternut.
Located in the town of Blandford, the current Blandford ski area was operated by the Springfield Ski Club from 1936 to 2017. In the spring of 2017, the club's board notified membership that "Blandford Ski Area is financially insolvent" due to enrollment falling from a high of roughly 5,000 down to 1,426 in 2014-15.
Stating that it "does not have the money to continue operations," the Springfield Ski Club told members that if the area was not sold, it would be closed. On July 18, 2017, the membership approved a prospective sale to the ownership of nearby Ski Butternut. On July 25, 2017, Ski Butternut owner Jeffrey Murdock formed Blandford Properties LLC to acquire the ski area.
On September 1, 2017, Blandford Properties LLC acquired the ski area deed from the Springfield Ski Club for $269,000. Subsequently, hundreds of thousands of dollars of mortgages were discharged.
In early December 2017, Ski Blandford took delivery of a fleet of SMI Polecat fan guns and a PistenBully snowcat. However, the area's vintage Hall double chairlifts, ranging from 39 to 48 years old, were not yet ready to roll due to safety issues, resulting in the area's first non-season in modern history.
After additional snowmaking and lift upgrades, the area reopened for the 2018-19 and 2019-20 season. The last day of operation was March 8, 2020.
The area features three Hall double chairlifts, a surface lift, snowmaking, night skiing, and 465 foot vertical drop.
