Haystack Mountain Ski Area in Wilmington, Vermont, began as a public ski area in December 1964 and quickly expanded with new lifts, more runs, and a reputation for innovative adaptive ski instruction for blind and disabled skiers. Broader resort plans added an 18-hole golf course in 1971, but regulatory pressures, incomplete infrastructure, financial problems, and lawsuits led to repeated takeovers, bankruptcy, and closure in 1981. After reopening in 1985 with major upgrades, the mountain again struggled under debt. Public ski operations ended in 2005, and since then the mountain has been transformed into The Hermitage Club, a private, member-owned ski destination.