[A] nonprofit group has a contract to buy Prospect Mountain Nordic Ski Center in Woodford from the longtime owners.
Members of the newly formed group said Tuesday they will continue to operate the cross-country center and expect that seller Steve Whitham and staff members will stay on.
Whitham owns the center with Andrea Amodeo.
“It’s time to step back and take a lesser role in the area,” Whitham said of the planned sale. He would oversee maintenance and grooming of the cross-country trails under the new owners.
The nonprofit Prospect Mountain Association is composed primarily of ski enthusiasts from Bennington, Wilmington and Williamstown, Massachusetts. About a dozen people have been involved in the initiative over the past couple of years, but that number is expected to grow as the group seeks financial support from individuals and other sources, said attorney Jonathan Cohen, of Bennington.
He said the group is asking “everybody who enjoys Prospect to consider contributing.”
Under the sales contract, details of the transaction aren’t being released at this time, Cohen said, but a closing on the property is expected by mid-May.
“This is a great community resource,” said group member David Newell, adding that part of the motivation for those involved is to ensure the property remains a “family-focused” Nordic facility under local ownership.
He and Cohen said 9.8 miles of trail within the Prospect Mountain network is on Green Mountain National Forest land in Woodford and maintained by the center under a permit from the U.S. Forest Service.
The Prospect Mountain center encompasses about 144 acres off Route 9 in the mountain town, 7 miles east of Bennington. According to the website, the base lodge elevation is 2,250 feet.
The group plans to continue work with the youth skiing organizations and the high school and college Nordic teams that train and hold competitions at the center. It will also consider adding events or programs during the offseason.
Prospect is the home facility for the Mount Anthony Union High School ski team and is used as a venue for events involving teams from Massachusetts. Williams College trains at Prospect Mountain and hosts events there.
The Bill Koch League has offered ski lessons for children and youth at the center for many years. Koch, a member of the 1976 U.S. Olympic team and the first American to win a Nordic gold medal, skied at Prospect as a youth.
Bennington native David Jareckie, a two-time Olympic biathlon skier, participated in the Koch league program at Prospect, as did Newell’s son, Andy Newell, of Shaftsbury, a current member of the U.S. Olympic Nordic team.
Anyone interested in becoming involved with the Prospect Mountain Association effort can contact David Newell at 802-688-7807; Sarah Fisher at 802-236-0901; or Jack Miller at 413-441-3568.
