Mysterious monolith appears in Pittsfield

PITTSFIELD, Vt. (WCAX) - There’s something peculiar standing on the top of a Pittsfield mountain-- something you’ve probably never seen before. Our Katharine Huntley snowshoed up to give you a closer look at the phenomenon.

Monolith madness has come to Vermont! Monoliths hit the news recently when one mysteriously appeared in Utah. Since the first, others have been popping up across the world.

“My initial reaction when I first saw it was like, ‘C’mon... who went to this much trouble?’” said Riverside Farm General Manager Peter Borden.

The 8-foot-tall monolith stands 1,800 feet up the mountain, above Riverside Farm. It’s unclear how it was constructed, but it’s definitely made of metal.

“There’s a seam here, there’s a seam here, and this side is riveted,” Borden said, inspecting the structure.

The area is where the phenomenon of Spartan Obstacle Races was born. Some think Spartan athletes carried the structure up the mountain or a local artist picking up on the global appeal. But it remains a mystery to Borden.

“Working theory, I don’t know who put it up here,” Borden said. “There are no footprints, there are no burn marks from the alien ship, there’s just no way to know how it got here.”

One lucky hiker spotted the structure first on Dec. 12. Soon after, two feet of snow fell.

“Something to look forward to when you get outside, get in nature,” said Miriam Zlotin, who made the discovery. “People should definitely go out and explore. I wasn’t expecting to find anything interesting that day, but I did. Beats sitting at home.”

The trek up is a fairly difficult, largely uphill climb, sparking even more intrigue.

“I’m not sure what this thing weighs. It looks fairly significant,” Borden said. “I can’t imagine someone actually carrying it up here. I’m not sure how you do that. I just can’t imagine.”

The monolith is the talk of the town, inspiring many to come up with theories. And Borden says if it gets people outside, that’s a huge plus.

“Come to Pittsfield, see the monolith! No one ever thought they’d be saying something like that,” Borden laughed.

There’s no way of knowing how long the structure will stay.

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