Stratton Mountain 12/17 and 12/18

[RISkier]

Date(s) Skied: 12/17-12/18

Resort or Ski Area: Stratton Mountain

Conditions:

Powder and groomed. Really excellent snow conditions for this time of year. Windy at the summit and a bit scoured, a few scraped off spots by mid-afternoon, but overall really excellent.

Trip Report:

Went to the mountain that many like to hate. We went because my wife found a a deal for $274 for two nights at the Inn at Stratton Mountain, plus 2-days of lift tickets for two. Thought it was an offer we couldn't pass up. We're intermediates and I'd say the terrain at Stratton is very good for intermediates, and the conditions were very good. Still, the village is a copy of something and really offers very little charm. Yes, the food was good, albeit pricey, but the resort lacks character. We were also not big on the overall vibe -- nothing specific but it just didn't seem very friendly. Seemed like nobody was laughing. We had a very nice weekend skiing at Stratton, and would return for the same kind of deal. That said, I wouldn't even consider going at anything like the sticker price.

[thetrailboss]

So you didn't take advantage of the free day ticket deal? That's how I'm going to ski there this season...stay tuned.

[RISkier]

Originally Posted by thetrailboss

So you didn't take advantage of the free day ticket deal? That's how I'm going to ski there this season...stay tuned.

My wife is on some mailing list that sends out travel deals, I think it might be travel zoo. She got this early season deal way early and we just thought it was a too good a deal to pass up. Figured that even if the conditions sucked it would be a nice little weekend trip for us. We bought the package before the free Stratton ticket deal. If you think of spliting the costs in thirds, the room was about 46$/night ($92) and each lift ticket would have been about $46 / day ($184) -- thats for both of us for two days.

[billski]

Originally Posted by thetrailboss

So you didn't take advantage of the free day ticket deal? That's how I'm going to ski there this season...stay tuned.

Whatcha keeping secret TB? When I was there on Thursday, the fliers said to join the email list, they are giving away lift tickets - no specific disclosed however.

I picked Stratton because if I'm going to pay that price, I know the amount of snowmaking will be substantive. I had also heard that the sweet spot in snowfall thus far has bee Southern Vt., at least as far as anecdotal reports, even if the NOAA didn't add up:
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/nerfc/graphi...sea1_today.jpg