Citing continued losses and economic uncertainty, the owner of Ski Blandford is pulling the plug on one of the oldest ski areas in Massachusetts. Owner Jef Murdock, who also operates Ski Butternut, purchased the closed Blandford in 2017 and invested significant dollars to upgrade the mountain’s lift and snowmaking systems in advance of the 2018-19 season. Prior to that, the nonprofit Springfield Ski Club ran the area for 80 years. “Our goal was to keep the ski area operational and to grow the sport of skiing and riding,” reads a letter to passholders from Murdock and general manager Ronald Crozier. “However, after all of this hard work, we are still losing money. Unfortunately, Butternut cannot continue to support the losses we have experienced at Blandford. When you add present economic uncertainties to the mix, we are forced to make a very hard business decision. With much disappointment, we are announcing the closure of Ski Blandford.”

Ski Blandford featured three Hall chairlifts built in 1969, 1971 and 1978. Two of them recently received new control systems and other upgrades.