Catamount Ski Area

Catamount Ski Area straddles the Massachusetts-New York state line on Mount Fray. Per Wikipedia's article on Egremont, Massachusetts, the mountain "is the site of the Catamount Ski Area, which is located both in Egremont, Massachusetts and Hillsdale, New York, and is one of only four ski areas in the United States to be located in two states." Wikipedia's article on Hillsdale, New York, by contrast, states only that Hillsdale "is near ... the Catamount Ski Area" -- and it is that asymmetry, "is the site of" versus merely "near," that files this guide under Egremont, Massachusetts, at medium confidence. Which state actually holds Catamount's base lodge, ticket office, or lift-inspection jurisdiction is not established by available sources: Catamount's own website lists two addresses side by side without distinguishing function -- "Hillsdale, NY 12529, S. Egremont, MA 01258." Wikipedia's Catamount Ski Area article states the resort "opened for business in 1939, with three rope tows, run by a car engine with a bull wheel attached." New England Ski History gives a more hedged account: Catamount's "lift served ski history likely dates back to 1940, when John \"Jack\" Fisher and George Earling entered into a 10 year lease for 160 acres of farmland on the side of Mt. Fray," construction "accelerated in the fall of 1940," and "Catamount likely opened in December 1940." That same New England Ski History page disagrees with itself: its infobox lists "First Season: 1939-40," agreeing with Wikipedia's 1939 date, while its body text hedges toward a December 1940 opening. In late January 1973, per New England Ski History, Catamount's stockholders voted to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing $80,000 more in debt than assets, and "Catamount was acquired in the fall of 1973 by Bill Gilbert, Sandy Gilbert, and Don Edwards," a trio who had previously managed the Fahnestock and Silvermine ski areas and created the Sterling Forest ski area; SAM Magazine independently corroborates the 1973 date. The base lodge was rebuilt and snowmaking was improved for the 1977-78 season, per New England Ski History. SAM Magazine reported on May 7, 2018 that the owners of Berkshire East Mountain Resort had reached an agreement to acquire Catamount from president Tom Gilbert and vice president Rich Edwards, with the deal expected to close within two weeks; the closing followed on May 25, 2018, when "Berkshire East owners Jon, Jim, and Roy Schaefer" closed on the purchase at a total price of $2.3 million, including $1.66 million in outstanding debt, with the main lodge to be renovated and a new base lodge constructed that summer, "according to reports." The Greenfield Recorder reported on March 24, 2026 that the Schaefer family had announced, the day before, that they were transitioning ownership of Berkshire East and Catamount to Bear Den Partners LLC, a mountain-ownership company founded by Jon Schaefer and Ken Graham that already owned Burke Mountain Resort and Smugglers' Notch Resort in Vermont; Jon Schaefer called it "an evolution for my family, not an exit," with Berkshire East's and Catamount's leadership remaining the same -- an announced transition, not a closed sale, as of that report.