Stratton 11/22/17
Time Skied- 9:15-3:45
Conditions- "spring" soft snow with some hardpack (ice) in the afternoon
Weather- Rain to snow to rain to sleet/freezing fog to snow...yeah...one of "those" days
Day 2 for me, opening day at Stratton. My first run was certainly the best- soft spring snow that my edges dug into effortlessly. After that it rained on the lower half of the mountain with "variable" precipitation on the upper half above Ursa for essentially the rest of the day. Snow, fog, rain, ice- everything. Stratton had excellent snow and coverage on a somewhat limited selection of trails. Spruce, Polar Bear, Black Bear, and Frank's provided a lot of variety on the top part of the mountain but it was a long, flat, slushy run-out back to the base of the gondola. Frank's was my ROTD. Best snow on the hill, especially on the lower portion. Super carvable.
Stratton had something I always look for in the early season...consistency. Snow surface was similar trail-to-trail and gun-to-gun. No random spots where there was a grooming error. No wet guns that blew an ice patch. No choke points on trails. So I was impressed. I had wanted to go to Okemo but my buddy convinced me to go to Stratton and I'm glad we did.
Weather was not ideal but I never got my base layers wet.
I have a MAX pass this year and this was my third day at Stratton in 5+ years, so I'm still learning my way around the hill a bit. While the posh base lodge and mega-crowds on the weekends are a bit of a turn-off...I'm looking forward to making it my go-to VT daytrip option this year.
Conditions- "spring" soft snow with some hardpack (ice) in the afternoon
Weather- Rain to snow to rain to sleet/freezing fog to snow...yeah...one of "those" days
Day 2 for me, opening day at Stratton. My first run was certainly the best- soft spring snow that my edges dug into effortlessly. After that it rained on the lower half of the mountain with "variable" precipitation on the upper half above Ursa for essentially the rest of the day. Snow, fog, rain, ice- everything. Stratton had excellent snow and coverage on a somewhat limited selection of trails. Spruce, Polar Bear, Black Bear, and Frank's provided a lot of variety on the top part of the mountain but it was a long, flat, slushy run-out back to the base of the gondola. Frank's was my ROTD. Best snow on the hill, especially on the lower portion. Super carvable.
Stratton had something I always look for in the early season...consistency. Snow surface was similar trail-to-trail and gun-to-gun. No random spots where there was a grooming error. No wet guns that blew an ice patch. No choke points on trails. So I was impressed. I had wanted to go to Okemo but my buddy convinced me to go to Stratton and I'm glad we did.
Weather was not ideal but I never got my base layers wet.
I have a MAX pass this year and this was my third day at Stratton in 5+ years, so I'm still learning my way around the hill a bit. While the posh base lodge and mega-crowds on the weekends are a bit of a turn-off...I'm looking forward to making it my go-to VT daytrip option this year.