ThinkSnow
Member
These are not the mountains you are looking for
-
Welcome to AlpineZone, the largest online community of skiers and snowboarders in the Northeast!
You may have to REGISTER before you can post. Registering is FREE, gets rid of the majority of advertisements, and lets you participate in giveaways and other AlpineZone events!
What are your thoughts on Stratton?
- Thread starter SkiRay
- Start date
These are not the mountains you are looking for
sankaty
Member
Stratton usually seems to evoke more negativity relative to the rest of the mountains in S VT, but I don't think it deserves it. It doesn't have much in the way of challenge, but neither does anything else south of Killington with the major exception of Magic, which is in its own category for many reasons.
Mount Snow does have the one truly steep pitch around Rip Cord, but it's almost always a glacier. Skiing lower World Cup at Stratton is usually more fun IMO. The glades at Stratton are very fun and served by high-speed lifts.
The main knock on Stratton from a terrain perspecive is that when the glades aren't in play, they frequently overgroom the rest of the mountain. Snow almost always has a few bump options on the North Face. I've been to Stratton on days when there are virtually zero open bump options, and it's really annoying.
From a crowd perspective, my experience is that Stratton is similar to Snow and maybe slightly more crowded than Okemo. If you are looking to truly avoid crowds on peak weekend days, you'll need to look elsewhere.
Mount Snow does have the one truly steep pitch around Rip Cord, but it's almost always a glacier. Skiing lower World Cup at Stratton is usually more fun IMO. The glades at Stratton are very fun and served by high-speed lifts.
The main knock on Stratton from a terrain perspecive is that when the glades aren't in play, they frequently overgroom the rest of the mountain. Snow almost always has a few bump options on the North Face. I've been to Stratton on days when there are virtually zero open bump options, and it's really annoying.
From a crowd perspective, my experience is that Stratton is similar to Snow and maybe slightly more crowded than Okemo. If you are looking to truly avoid crowds on peak weekend days, you'll need to look elsewhere.
Rushski
New member
Used to get the Sunapee-Okemo-Stratton midweek pass.
Pluses:
Grooming is good, if you like it that way.
Glades are pretty diverse and quite a few.
50/50:
Lifts. One side of the mountain is covered by many chairs. The other side is sparse, of course where some of the more interestin terrain. Hate their gondi. If busy, packed too tight and occasionally will have a pompous a-hole on his phone thinking he's in his office.
Minuses:
A bit flat. A mild trail is fine, but most everything is pretty mild.
Much worse is the cat tracks and runouts everywhere.
Location. Coming from Southern NH, it's a nightmare ride.
Main lodge village area. Trying to be too upscale and parking is a nightmare with a long walk to the lodge/lifts. Sun Bowl area is a better starting point.
Attitude. Many there are way more impressed with their self-importance Vs. their abilities of the skiers/riders.
So, in summary and only in my humble opinion... Well groomed, that most can handle with prices and attitude beyond what is deserved. Just avoid the main lodge/village area and the gondi. Unless you liek those things...
Pluses:
Grooming is good, if you like it that way.
Glades are pretty diverse and quite a few.
50/50:
Lifts. One side of the mountain is covered by many chairs. The other side is sparse, of course where some of the more interestin terrain. Hate their gondi. If busy, packed too tight and occasionally will have a pompous a-hole on his phone thinking he's in his office.
Minuses:
A bit flat. A mild trail is fine, but most everything is pretty mild.
Much worse is the cat tracks and runouts everywhere.
Location. Coming from Southern NH, it's a nightmare ride.
Main lodge village area. Trying to be too upscale and parking is a nightmare with a long walk to the lodge/lifts. Sun Bowl area is a better starting point.
Attitude. Many there are way more impressed with their self-importance Vs. their abilities of the skiers/riders.
So, in summary and only in my humble opinion... Well groomed, that most can handle with prices and attitude beyond what is deserved. Just avoid the main lodge/village area and the gondi. Unless you liek those things...
