Stratton or Okemo?

[Islander]

I am going skiing tommorow & Sat. and have a choice between the 2. Any recommendationons based on recent experiences, I haven't skied in about 3 weeks.

 

[ALLSKIING]

They are both the same type of Mt. I would say go to the Mt that is closer to you.

 

[Islander]

I am familiar with both of them, I was just wondering about current conditions, crowds etc.

 

[SKIQUATTRO]

I'm headed up Sunday (early) for a day trip to either Stratton/Okemo/Bromley or maybe even Killington...all depending on conditions.....

 

[Rushski]

Have a weekday pass which covers both (and Sunapee).

Very similar areas. Almost completely intermediate terrain at each. Snowmaking/grooming excellent at either as well.

Okemo: a little cheaper ticket-wise, groom almost every trail (even after fresh snow) and better off-mountain services. One of the best cafeteria style food at jackson Gore's lodge.

Stratton: moves more skiers than almost anyone with six sixpack chairs and the gondola (which may lead to scarily crowded trails on busy days), quaint village tied into ski area (though everything there is pricy) and they usually leave a few trails ungroomed after storms.

Hard to choose between the two...

 

[Brettski]

Okemo

 

[BeanoNYC]

I was up at Okemo yesterday (No Ski Report as of yet because I'm heading up to Mount Snow in 15 minutes.) The conditions were great! The two lifts at the bottom plus the Northstar express were the most crowded at 5-10 minute waits each. The lifties were doing a great job of filling every chair to capacity. Trails were in real good condition as the groomers did a fantastic job and there was a dusting of snow (I'm sure they had the guns going at night). The top half of the mountain was fairly empty. Only one glade (if you can call "double diamond" a glade was open, but was skied over by the afternoon. We skied from 9:30 to last chair finding minimal ice only in the highly congested areas. Hope this helps. I'll be back on Sunday night. :beer:

Edit: Oh ... that South Quad, South Peak Quad? ... Whatever the name of it is was real quick lines and the trails on that side of the mountain were the best.

BE CAREFUL ON RT 103!!!! I got nailed (47 in a 30) where sign for the decrease in speed was. Right before you make that hard right to continue up 103, a few miles from the interstate. I think the town was Rockingham ... I haven't looked at the ticket yet.

 

[Big Game]

I have the midweek at Stratton and Okemo.

The woods at Stratton are nice.Nice variety. When there is more natural snow cover, they leave a lot of the their steeper stuff ungroomed, so that's where I go.

When natural conditions aren't so good, I go to Okemo. No one does the job they do making and grooming snow. So, yeah, I;ve been goin to Okemo a lot this year.

 

[SKIQUATTRO]

NWS is calling for winds and windchill values approaching 25 below on sunday.....hmmmm
-just hoping winds wont effect lift ops

 

[teachski]

I am familiar with both of them, I was just wondering about current conditions, crowds etc.

I went to Stratton yesterday and the conditions were FANTASTIC. It was some of the best skiing I've had all year. I would recommend staying away from the green and blue trails as they looked to be quite congested. The only blue we hit was our first warm up run on Black Bear. At the end of the day we had to take a green to get back to the base.

It was an excellent day of skiing. The best trails of the day were North American, Upper Middlebrook and Polar Bear. There were no crowds on any of the diamond and double damond trails. There was no wait on the URSA lift.

 

[catskills]

I went to Stratton yesterday and the conditions were FANTASTIC. It was some of the best skiing I've had all year.

LaurieP you forgot to mention that the bathrooms in the main lodge had a water main break and were closed. The bathrooms at the top lodge were how should we say over worked. Okemo may be a better choice.

 

[teachski]

You're right, they were, but I did not have to stop to use them so it did not effect my day. We stopped at mid mountain for a quick bite to eat and that bathroom worked fine.

 

[SKIQUATTRO]

any Okemo/Stratton forecast for Sunday?

 

[Big Game]

There were no crowds on any of the diamond and double damond trails.

That's what great about Stratton. The vast majority of people who go there are solely interested in the E-Z groomed-out greens and blues, the rest of the hill is opened up for regular people. Bear Down, Lower Slalom Glade, Spruce, those trails have some pitch. Good times.

 

[TwinTips21]

Whichever one is closer, basically the same mountain!