Fred Baybutt reopened the defunct Pinnacle ski area in 2003.
Saturday, August 8, 2020, NewEnglandSkiIndustry.com
Granite Gorge owner Fred Baybutt passed away earlier this week from a heart event. He was 60.
Born in Newton, Massachusetts, Baybutt's family relocated to the Keene, New Hampshire area when he was a baby. He and his siblings grew up skiing at the nearby Pinnacle ski area.
After graduating from Tufts University, he worked as an engineer, eventually joining the family's Baybutt Construction business.
Circa 1999, he purchased the defunct Pinnacle ski area, which had been closed for over 20 years. He reopened it as Granite Gorge in 2003, initially with surface lifts for skiing and snow tubing. In 2005, a chairlift was installed.
The area experienced a variety of issues in the 2010s, eventually resulting in surface lift only operations for the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.
Baybutt is survived by his mother, wife, and daughters. A celebration of life will be held at a future date.
