Stratton Mountain Resort facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Stratton Mountain |
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Aerial view of Stratton Mountain Resort
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 Stratton Mountain
Location in Vermont
Stratton Mountain
Location in the United States
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| Location | Stratton Mountain, Windham County, Vermont, United States |
| Nearest city | Winhall |
| Coordinates | 43°06′51″N 72°54′24″W / 43.11417°N 72.90667°W |
| Vertical | 2,003 ft (611 m) |
| Top elevation | 3,875 ft (1,181 m) |
| Base elevation | 1,872 ft (571 m) |
| Skiable area | 625 acres (2.53 km2) |
| Runs | 99 |
| Longest run | Easy Street 3.0 miles (4.8 km) |
| Lift system | 13 total 1 high speed gondola, 4 high-speed six-pack chairs, 1 high-speed quad chair, 2 fixed-grip quad chairs, 1 fixed-grip triple chair , 1 fixed-grip double chair, 3 carpets |
| Snowfall | 180 inches (15 ft; 4.6 m) |
| Snowmaking | 95% |
| Night skiing | no |
| Website | Stratton.com |
Stratton Mountain Resort is a popular ski area in the northeastern United States. It is located on Stratton Mountain in Stratton, Vermont, which is east of Manchester. It's a great place for skiing and snowboarding!
Contents
Stratton Mountain: A Fun History
Stratton Mountain Resort first opened its doors in December 1961. It started with three double chairlifts and a big three-story building at the base. The mountain was awesome, but the road to get there was very muddy!
In 1962, the road was paved, making it much easier to visit. Two T-bar lifts were added in 1963 to help more people get up the mountain.
Growing the Mountain: New Trails and Lifts
A big change happened in the 1964–65 season when the Snow Bowl area opened. This added a new double chairlift and over 30 acres of ski trails. More trails and another double chairlift were added for the 1966–67 season. This was also when the "Stratton Mountain Boys" started, a fun group of Austrian ski instructors who entertained guests after skiing.
In the early 1970s, Stratton created a new area just for beginners. This opened in 1972 with more easy trails. Later, in the late 1980s, a new area called "Kidderbrook" was built. It included a new quad chairlift.
Big Events and Modern Lifts
From 1985 to 2012, Stratton was home to the Burton U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships. This was the biggest snowboarding event in the country! After 27 years, the event moved to Vail in Colorado.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Stratton added several new, fast six-person chairlifts. These lifts can carry many skiers up the mountain quickly. In 2007, the Kidderbrook Quad lift was removed because it wasn't used very often.
In 1978, Stratton hosted the World Cup ski races. Top skiers from around the world competed there! American skiers Phil Mahre and Steve Mahre even won races.
New Owners and More Upgrades
In 1980, a company called Moore and Munger, Inc. bought Stratton. During the 1980s, Stratton became the first ski area to allow snowboarding. It also opened the first snowboard school and hosted the first US Open snowboard races. Stratton was a pioneer for snowboarding on the East Coast!
In 1985 and 1986, many old chairlifts were replaced with newer, more modern ones. In 1988, a famous gondola was installed to take people all the way to the top of Stratton Mountain.
In 1989, a Japanese company called Victoria USA, Inc. bought Stratton. They added the Kidderbrook chairlift.
Then, in 1994, Intrawest bought the ski area. They added four new high-speed six-person chairlifts. These lifts were named things like American Express and URSA Express. They also built new buildings like the Long Trail House and Rising Bear Lodge.
In 2017, a new company called Alterra Mountain Company took over Stratton. In 2018, they installed a new high-speed quad chairlift called Snow Bowl Express. In 2019, Stratton also started offering fun summertime mountain biking!
Mountain Fun: What Stratton Offers
Stratton has 99 trails spread over 670 acres of skiable land. About 95% of the trails have snowmaking, so there's usually plenty of snow!
- Easy Trails: 40% of the trails are easy, perfect for beginners.
- Intermediate Trails: 35% are intermediate, for skiers who are getting better.
- Advanced Trails: 25% are advanced, for expert skiers.
There are 11 lifts that can carry over 33,000 people up the mountain every hour. The base of the mountain is at 1,872 feet, and the top is at 3,875 feet. This means a vertical drop of 2,003 feet! Stratton gets about 180 inches of snow each year.
Ski Trails at Stratton
Stratton has 99 trails for all skill levels. Some trails are "gladed," meaning you ski through trees! Others might have "moguls," which are bumps in the snow.
| Easier | More Difficult | Most Difficult | Experts Only | Terrain Parks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 91 | Bear Bottom | Big D | Bear Down | East Byrneside SBX |
| 91 Extension | Beeline | Dino's Drop | Free Fall | Progression Park |
| Cabot's Run | Betwixt | Franks Fall Line | Lower Slalom Glade | Big Ben Park |
| Churchill Downs | Black Bear | Liftline Cut Through | Stevek | Tyrolienne Park |
| Craig's Run | Busters Trail | Lower Liftline | Upper Down Easter | Suntanner Park |
| Daniel Webster | Duck Soup | Lower Spruce (m) | Upper Grizzly Bear | |
| Downtowner | East Byrneside | Lower Switchback | Upper Spruce | |
| Drifter Link | Gentle Ben | Polar Bear | World Cup (m) | |
| Ethan's Alley | Get My Drift | Rick's Catch 22 | Vertigo (g) | |
| Flukey's Run | Interstate | Rimeline | Free Fall Gully (g) | |
| Grizzly Access | Janeway Junction | Rising Star | Kidderbrook Ravine (g) | |
| Hemlock | Lower Down Easter | The Chute | Squirrel's Nest Glade (g) | |
| Home Run | Lower Drifter | Upper Kidderbrook | Why Not (g) | |
| Lad's Legacy | Lower Grizzly Bear | Upper Liftline | Moon Dance (g) | |
| Lower East Meadow | Lower Standard | Upper Middlebrook | Test Pilot (g) | |
| Lower Kidderbrook | Number 6 | Upper Slalom Glade | Shred Wood Forest (g) | |
| Lower Middlebrook | Old Smoothie | Upper Standard | ||
| Lower Tamarack | Rowley's Run | Upper Tamarack | ||
| Lower Wanderer | Shooter | Dancing Bear (g) | ||
| Lower West Meadow | Shortcut Big Ben | Diamond in the Rough (g) | ||
| Main Line | Shortcut Gentle Ben | Cabin Fever (g) | ||
| Mark's Run | Snow Bowl Alley | |||
| Mike's Cut-through | Spillway | |||
| Mike's Way | Sun Bowl Express | |||
| Old Log Road | Sunbeam | |||
| Old Number 8 | Sunriser Supertrail | |||
| Overpass | Suntanner | |||
| Runaway | Tink's Link | |||
| Solstice Way | Tree Top Way | |||
| Stage 1 | Upper Drifter | |||
| Underpass | Way Home | |||
| Upper East Meadow | White Birch | |||
| Upper Wanderer | Yodeler | |||
| Upper West Meadow | Eclipse (g) | |||
| Village Walk | Emerald Forest (g) | |||
| Work Road | Buckshot (g) | |||
| Yodeler Express | West Pilot (g) | |||
| Daniel's Web (g) | Moonbeam (g) |
- (g) – gladed trail (skiing through trees)
- (m) – trail with moguls (snow bumps)
Lifts at Stratton Mountain
Stratton has many different types of lifts to get you up the mountain.
| Lift Name | Length | Vertical | Type | Make | Year Installed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gondola | 7,379 ft | 1,742 ft | Gondola | Poma | 1988 (original) 2014 (new cabins) |
| American Express | 3,238 ft | 658 ft | High Speed Six Pack | Doppelmayr | 1995 |
| URSA Express | 4,620 ft | 1,340 ft | High Speed Six Pack | Garaventa CTEC | 1999 |
| Sunrise Express | 4,502 ft | 1,122 ft | High Speed Six Pack | Garaventa CTEC | 2001 |
| Shooting Star | 3,305 ft | 798 ft | High Speed Six Pack | Garaventa CTEC | 2001 |
| Snow Bowl Express | 4,382 ft | 1,371 ft | High Speed Quad | Doppelmayr | 2018 |
| Solstice | Fixed Quad | Poma | 2001 | ||
| South American | Fixed Quad | Poma | 2001 | ||
| Tamarack | 3,499 ft | 569 ft | Fixed Triple | Borvig | 1977 |
| Villager | 1,073 ft | 155 ft | Fixed Double | Poma | 1985 |
Past Lifts: What Used to Be There
Over the years, some lifts have been replaced or moved to make way for newer, better ones.
| Lift Name | Length | Vertical | Type | Make | Year Installed | Year Removed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Betwixed Double | 3,235 ft | 649 ft | Fixed Double | Borvig | 1982 | 1995 | Replaced by American Express |
| Grizzly Double | 4,765 ft | 1,317 ft | Fixed Double | Borvig | 1977 | 1999 | Replaced by URSA Express |
| Kidderbrook Quad | 6,285 ft | 1,476 ft | Fixed Quad | Poma | 1989 | 2007 | Sold to other resorts |
| Lower T-Bar | 2,455 ft | 373 ft | T-Bar | Hall | 1963 | 1976 | |
| North American Double | 4,500 ft | 1,125 ft | Fixed Double | Heron | 1961 | 1985 | Replaced by North American Quad |
| North American Quad | 4,380 ft | 1,173 ft | Fixed Quad | Poma | 1985 | 1999 | Moved to Yodeler as South American |
| SMS Poma | 1,726 ft | 572 ft | Platter Lift | Heron-Poma | 1971 | 2018 | |
| Snow Bowl Quad | 4,877 ft | 1,380 ft | Fixed Quad | Poma | 1986 | 2018 | Replaced by Snow Bowl Express |
| Snow Bowl Double | 4,900 ft | 1,386 ft | Fixed Double | Heron | 1964 | 1986 | Replaced by Snow Bowl |
| Standard Double | 3,256 ft | 644 ft | Fixed Double | Heron | 1966 | 1995 | Removed when American Express was installed |
| Sun Bowl Double | 4,773 ft | 1,113 ft | Fixed Double | Heron | 1968 | 1986 | Replaced by Sun Bowl Quad |
| Sun Bowl Quad | 4,639 ft | 1,110 ft | Fixed Quad | Poma | 1986 | 2001 | Realigned and became Solstice |
| Suntanner Double | 2,800 ft | 650 ft | Fixed Double | Heron | 1961 | 1995 | Removed when American Express was installed |
| Tamarack Double | 3,499 ft | 569 ft | Fixed Double | Borvig | 1976 | 1977 | Changed to a triple chairlift |
| Teddy Bear | Platter Lift | Poma | 2000 | 2007 | |||
| Tyrolienne Double | 1,700 ft | 315 ft | Fixed Double | Heron | 1961 | 2001 | Removed when South American was installed |
| Upper T-Bar | 1,580 ft | 302 ft | T-Bar | Hall | 1963 | 1978 | Sold to another ski area |
Future Fun at Stratton
Stratton plans to open more mountain biking trails in the future. This means even more ways to have fun there, even when there's no snow!
Images for kids
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Aerial view of Stratton Mountain Resort
