This is the real deal

The Catamount Trail Association is a passionate group of backcountry skiers and outdoor enthusiasts. We believe days spent in the mountains with friends are powerful, and that those experiences should be open to everyone. As advocates, volunteers, supporters, and trailblazers, we are working to expand access to Vermont’s backcountry by:

Stewarding the Catamount Trail and a growing network of world-class backcountry terrain.
Working to permanently protect access to the mountain lands that support backcountry recreation through conservation easements and the acquisition of public land.
Pioneering programs to expand equitable access to skiing so that everyone can enjoy our sport, regardless of their income or background

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he 300+ mile Catamount Trail, the CTA’s namesake, began as an idea in the minds of three adventurous young Vermont men: Steve Bushey, Paul Jarris and Ben Rose. In 1982 while on a camping trip and discussing what their next big adventure should be, Steve said, Let’s ski from Massachusetts to Quebec!

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Over the next two years Steve, then a University of Vermont student in geography, started researching the route and obtaining permission from various landowners. During the planning period the initial idea of a going on a long ski trip evolved into a long ski trail. Then–in 1984–Steve, Ben, Paul, and sometimes Jim Painter and some others, strapped on their skis and skied from one end of Vermont to the other establishing the preliminary route that would birth the Catamount Trail Association. Following their trip, the group received a grant from the State of Vermont to publish a map of the trail. The CTA was incorporated in 1984 with the purpose of building, administering and maintaining the Catamount Trail as a public resource, with Ben Rose serving as the CTA’s first Executive Director.

Thanks to the tireless work of countless volunteers and supporters, the Catamount Trail was completed in 2002, and is the longest backcountry ski trail in North America.