Stratton Thread

[raisingarizona]

95% isn't necessary, more like 70% is where it should be, I do understand that the clientele Stratton caters to doesn't go on ungroomed terrain but 95% is ridiculous.

Maintaining 30% of your terrain that in many years is only open for a few weeks doesn't make much sense from a business standpoint. I get it, you like natural snow terrain, mostly everyone does but it just isn't sustainable for most eastern ski areas south of Sugarbush. Maybe not even Sugarbush, I dunno.

 

[skiur]

Maintaining 30% of your terrain that in many years is only open for a few weeks doesn't make much sense from a business standpoint. I get it, you like natural snow terrain, mostly everyone does but it just isn't sustainable for most eastern ski areas south of Sugarbush. Maybe not even Sugarbush, I dunno.

Most northeast resorts have no problem with natural snow trails from late January thru late March. It certainly makes business sense which is why most resorts do it.

 

[ss20]

The last time I skied Stratton it was mid-December 2020. They had gotten a big snowstorm and 90% of the mountain was open with mostly natural snow. It was a great day. I'm going to catch a lot of crap for this but a lot of their trails are significantly narrower and more "old school" following the contours of the mountain than Okemo, Mount Snow, or even a lot of areas at Killington. It was a very fun day.

I guess all I have is this super blurry picture that totally contradicts what I wrote above...

 

[Smellytele]

The last time I skied Stratton it was mid-December 2020. They had gotten a big snowstorm and 90% of the mountain was open with mostly natural snow. It was a great day. I'm going to catch a lot of crap for this but a lot of their trails are significantly narrower and more "old school" following the contours of the mountain than Okemo, Mount Snow, or even a lot of areas at Killington. It was a very fun day.

I guess all I have is this super blurry picture that totally contradicts what I wrote above...
View attachment 63304

Not saying much saying it seems the trails are more old school than Okemo or Mount Snow.

 

[raisingarizona]

Most northeast resorts have no problem with natural snow trails from late January thru late March. It certainly makes business sense which is why most resorts do it.

Really? Theres so many rain events and warm stretches that kill the conditions even if there's enough coverage for an eastern skier the surface often sucks. Those thin trails often can't be groomed or maintained to the point where most customers would actually enjoy them. Now I know that there are the outliers that cater to the natural snow crowd such as MRG and Magic but for the most part any ski business veteran isn't going to agree with you. I'd be willing to bet ya that most ski areas are currently and constantly trying to improve their snowmaking systems and coverage. South of Vermont it makes even less sense to have natural snow trails that need summer maintenance because they likely cost the ski area more than they are worth. I mean, if a trail takes x amount of maintenance a year and is only open on average of a few weeks or even a few days a season you're going to start questioning the value of it. Also, by NE I'm including ski areas in NY, NJ, PA, and Mass. and this is why I said south of Killington but even a ski area like Jay that reports an average well over 300 inches a season has 80% coverage.

I looked up snow making coverage at few successful north east ski areas.

Okemo - 98%
Stratton - 95%
Mount Snow - 85%
Stowe - 83%
Jay Peak - 80%

 

[The Sneak]

The last time I skied Stratton it was mid-December 2020. They had gotten a big snowstorm and 90% of the mountain was open with mostly natural snow. It was a great day. I'm going to catch a lot of crap for this but a lot of their trails are significantly narrower and more "old school" following the contours of the mountain than Okemo, Mount Snow, or even a lot of areas at Killington. It was a very fun day.

I agree. Stratton is fun, especially with fresh snow. And on weekdays. It's way better IMO than Okemo or Mount Snow. I am not as knocked out by Killington as some others are, tbh. I will be spending a lot of time at both places this winter.

 

[jimmywilson69]

This place gets the "Flatton" moniker, how does it compare to Okemo in that regards? I'd like to take the Mrs there this year. are the weekends generally a shit show there?

 

[xlr8r]

This place gets the "Flatton" moniker, how does it compare to Okemo in that regards? I'd like to take the Mrs there this year. are the weekends generally a shit show there?

Stratton consistently has more pitch than Okemo, but Stratton lacks any proper steep expert pitch. Where Okemo has plenty of easy blues, Stratton on the other hand has plenty of hard blues and easy blacks. Stratton was designed by Sel Hannah, and therefore the trails tend to be narrower than Okemo with more twists and turns that follow the natural contours of the mountain. This trail layout leads to Stratton getting skied off faster on Weekends than Okemo, but overall Okemo gets bigger crowds and has longer lift lines.

The Flatton moniker is a double meaning, it applies to the lack of steep trails, but also applies to the flatness of the summit geography of Stratton. It is the flattest summit of any major mountain, they could put a couple football fields on the summit and not have to do much grading.

 

[jimmywilson69]

Thanks for the intell. Wife loves Okemo, so it sounds like it might be a slight step up but not much.

Yeah I've actually been to the summit via the AT when I section hiked the VT portion. Even climbed up the Fire Tower and was surprised at how flat it was between the fire tower and the top of the ski resort.

 

[ss20]

Stratton consistently has more pitch than Okemo, but Stratton lacks any proper steep expert pitch. Where Okemo has plenty of easy blues, Stratton on the other hand has plenty of hard blues and easy blacks. Stratton was designed by Sel Hannah, and therefore the trails tend to be narrower than Okemo with more twists and turns that follow the natural contours of the mountain. This trail layout leads to Stratton getting skied off faster on Weekends than Okemo, but overall Okemo gets bigger crowds and has longer lift lines.

The Flatton moniker is a double meaning, it applies to the lack of steep trails, but also applies to the flatness of the summit geography of Stratton. It is the flattest summit of any major mountain, they could put a couple football fields on the summit and not have to do much grading.

Agreed. Stratton is a higher density okemo with slightly narrower trails. Double Diamond, Outrage, and Big Bang at Okemo are all a lot more challenging than anything at Stratton.

Stratton has great trees... fun place on a midweek powder day. Lots of long glades, easy glades, and a few places where you could really get yourself in trouble if you're not paying attention (Squirrels Nest and a couple other spots in the Kidderbrook area).

 

[KustyTheKlown]

stratton definitely has more fun and interesting tree skiing than okemo.

i dont think the jackson gore side trees are anything special. the only terrain at okemo i find interesting at all is the stuff at the very top left of the trail map

 

[icecoast1]

This place gets the "Flatton" moniker, how does it compare to Okemo in that regards? I'd like to take the Mrs there this year. are the weekends generally a shit show there?

If you like boring, flat groomers, Okemo will be OK. Trees are better at Stratton (when the whole mountain is open)

 

[Zand]

I agree that the trees are better at Stratton, but one thing you very rarely get at Stratton is good natural ungroomed trails. When I was there this past February, the only bumps on the whole mountain were on Liftline and that is really only a few short segments (and the Stratton clientele on the lift is just mortified to actually see someone ski it). I'm not sure if Okemo seeds bumps like they used to but those were always fun to ski, plus they actually have some decent natural runs like Searles Way, Challenger, Wild Thing, and a couple at Jackson Gore.

Mt Snow probably has more natural terrain than the other two combined. Ledge, Uncle's, Challenger, PDF, Boulder Pile, etc are usually good fun.

Everytime I read positive feedback about Stratton I try to be positive about it myself. I still always have fun when I go there, but I just can't myself to really like the place. And if the one good thing about it is skiable (the woods) then you bet your ass I'm probably going to Magic instead.

 

[Smellytele]

The Flatton moniker is a double meaning, it applies to the lack of steep trails, but also applies to the flatness of the summit geography of Stratton. It is the flattest summit of any major mountain, they could put a couple football fields on the summit and not have to do much grading.

Triple meaning they groom the place flat.

 

[NYDB]

Stratton has the best combo of vert, aspect, elevation and natural snowfall anywhere south of Pico. yet it still feels lacking, like less than it should be.

Bromley and Stratton both benefit from upslope events that Magic, okemo and mt snow miss out on.

people there complain all the time about ungroomed snow. Tragic really. No wonder they groom like madmen.

Ursa is an underrated storm chair.

Don‘t go after a huge dump like 18” plus cuz it’s too flat and even the diamonds have flat spots. Stratton shines when it’s 3-6” refill time Midweek.

No go zone on a Saturday, except for the blackout ones.

if it was your main mountain, and you were a weekend warrior, you’d have to have early ups to make it palatable.

 

[xlr8r]

Triple meaning they groom the place flat.

Agreed, forgot about that.

Seems like most of us agree on what Stratton is. To me it is a great early season option when naturals everywhere are out of play, and my body is not yet in mid season shape. They do a good job of snowmaking and getting runs open in December. Once conditions get real good up north sometime after new years, I stick to Killington, Pico, and Sugarbush. This year I plan to go there for a few days before Christmas. It is my favorite mountain in VT south of Killington, but I have never been to Magic.

 

[ColdRain&Snow]

Heading there this weekend for some final setup stuff, leaf peeping, and going to the Killington ski swap. Looks like some music at the base for Oktoberfest. There was a little snow in the forecast for some vt mountain peaks tonight.

 

[ColdRain&Snow]

Took the gondola this morning, still some ongoing work here.

Repaving on Stratton Mountain road finished, cars driving fast.

 

[WoodCore]

Massive culvert replacement is underway in the Sunbowl, right in front of the lodge. No pictures but from a Civil Eng who's current job is all about drainage, this is a big deal. Remnants of the old corrugated metal pipe pipe already removed appear to be completely rotted out and show almost no structural integrity, a repair made just in time IMHO!

 

[jimmywilson69]

Massive culvert replacement is underway in the Sunbowl, right in front of the lodge. No pictures but from a Civil Eng who's current job is all about drainage, this is a big deal. Remnants of the old corrugated metal pipe pipe already removed appear to be completely rotted out and show almost no structural integrity, a repair made just in time IMHO!

Hi-5! This is what I do and from your description, yes. right in time! A failure of a pipe like that with one of the tropical rains we've been getting the last decade and would spell disaster.