Lost ski areaMassachusettsBerkshire HillsNortheast
Petersburg Pass
Ran 1962–1980. A chairlift ski area at the Route 2 pass on the New York–Massachusetts line that ran 1962–69 and, renamed Mt. Raimer, 1972–80.
Overview
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Imagery: USGS The National Map · Terrain: Mapzen, USGS and others
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Petersburg Pass sat where Route 2 crosses the state line between New York and Massachusetts, with its base lodge on the New York side in Petersburgh. Francis Wilson and Gilbert Devy, executives at Sprague Electric in North Adams, opened it in 1962 with a Poma double chairlift and three main trails.1,2,3
Read the whole historyTodayMuch of the upper mountain is protected conservation land crossed by the Taconic Crest Trail, and backcountry skiers still use the old trails.1,2
Timeline
6 events · swipe
Memories
Skied Petersburg Pass, or worked there?
Tell us what you remember, or what this page has wrong. Memories show here, credited to you, after we read them; facts are checked against a source before they change a figure.
Lost near Petersburg Pass
The closest other lost ski areas, as the crow flies.
- 1939–2002 · 8.9 mi away · MassachusettsA ski area on Brodie Mountain in New Ashford, Massachusetts, known for night skiing, whose modern era ran from 1964 to its last season in 2001–02.
- 1944–1985 · 15.3 mi away · VermontA surface-lift ski area at Heartwellville in Readsboro, called Dutch Hill for most of its life and Dutch Mountain for a few years, open from 1944 to 1985.
- 1937–1979 · 20.1 mi away · MassachusettsA snow-train-era ski area on Route 8A in Hawley that opened in December 1937 and ran rope tows and a T-bar until the late 1970s.
History
Written by aurora.ski from the 3 pages below, each sentence numbered to its sources.
Petersburg Pass sat where Route 2 crosses the state line between New York and Massachusetts, with its base lodge on the New York side in Petersburgh. Francis Wilson and Gilbert Devy, executives at Sprague Electric in North Adams, opened it in 1962 with a Poma double chairlift and three main trails. A beginner surface lift was added below the base in 1964, and more trails followed through the 1960s.1,2,3
A Mr. Deliso bought the area in 1967, but it closed in 1969 and sat empty for three years; the first base lodge probably burned around 1970. Mark Raimer bought it in 1972, built a new lodge and reopened it, first as Taconic Trails and then as Mt. Raimer. Money troubles closed it for good in 1980. In the early 1980s Butternut's owner bought the lifts and put the double chair on Butternut's beginner slopes.1,2,3
TodayMuch of the upper mountain is protected conservation land crossed by the Taconic Crest Trail, and backcountry skiers still use the old trails.1,2
Timeline
- 1962Two Sprague Electric executives open it with a Poma double chairlift1,2
- 1964A novice surface lift is added below the base2
- 1967Sold to a Mr. Deliso1
- 1969The area closes and sits empty for three years1,3
- 1972Mark Raimer buys and reopens it, later renaming it Mt. Raimer1,2
- 1980The area goes out of business1,2,3
Sources for this history (3)
- 1New England Lost Ski Areas Project · Petersburg Pass
- 2Wikipedia · Mount Raimer
- 3NYSkiBlog · Petersburg Pass Trail Map
Photos
No photographs of Petersburg Pass we may republish yet
Its old photos and trail maps live on the sites that collected them, and Google finds the rest.
Memories
What skiers remember of Petersburg Pass, in their own words.
Facts
Location
42.7231° N · 73.2781° W · Massachusetts · Berkshire Hills
OpenStreetMap still maps 1 lift and 14 downhill runs here; OpenSkiMap lists it as abandoned.
Years operated
1962–1980
Closed after the 1980 season. It stays here as part of the record of U.S. ski areas.
Its numbers
all 2all 2, in one list
Terrain contours: USGS 3D Elevation Program, public domain