Stratton, VT - Friday 3/06/2015

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I skied Stratton once and the trees were in play. It was a long time ago and I really appreciated the fact that they rated them. I think "Moon Beam" was the trail X's daughter was raving about?

Nice report Jeff.

Nice TR and photos. Going on a Friday is a great choice.    

The West Pilot Glades are my daughter's fave. They are off the Work Road all the way on the west side of Stratton. There are 2 entrances and there are 2 distinct glades that come in contact at one point. They are long. Moonbeam is another fun one next to Lower Wanderer. I could be wrong, but the one picture you called Moon Beam looks more like Moon Dance between Polar Bear and Grizzly Bear (there are too many Bears) I don't think there are so many evergreens in Moonbeam. Either way I love the shots. The glades really make a difference for me. There are so many and can be found off most lifts. The glades on the East/Kidderbrook side are even less used due to the removal of the Kidderbrook quad. The run out to get to the Sun Bowl is brutal.  

x10003q wrote

I could be wrong, but the one picture you called Moon Beam looks more like Moon Dance between Polar Bear and Grizzly Bear (there are too many Bears) I don't think there are so many evergreens in Moonbeam

You were right.  That's Moon Dance. I updated the caption.  Didn't make it into Moon Beam or West Pilot Glades or the ones off Kidderbrook.  There seem to be a good number of off-the-map glades as well.  Nice variety.  

I should also add that there were some fun bump runs - Spruce, World Cup, the Ursa lift line (or was it Shooting Star?), and skier's left on Upper Standard, all in very nice shape. Stratton's not known for moguls but there were more bump trails there on Friday than at Gore on Saturday. Not that Gore's known for moguls either...

Adk Jeff wrote

This kind of view makes me smile when I arrive at the top.  Wide open deciduous, soft snow.

It is like Twister with the personality removed. Looks fun as hell.

Harvey wrote

This kind of view makes me smile when I arrive at the top.  Wide open deciduous, soft snow.
It is like Twister with the personality removed. Looks fun as hell.

That's the bottom half of Eclipse glade, a blue square on the trail map.  The upper portion was a bit steeper.  Not super challenging but a ton of fun to rip with all those mellow bumps.  Drop a couple glacial erratics in there and it could definitely be the Twister trees.

I skied Stratton last year and it was great.  I'd probably go a lot more if Intrawest still ran Mountain Creek since I could get some cheap tickets.  The lifts are super fast and the conditions were great the day I went, even after a bunch of freezing r*in.  Hopefully I can get there soon again to ride in the new gondola cabins.  The ones they had last year were terribly uncomfortable.

Yeah, the new cabins are a big improvement.  You had to stand in the old ones, which was awkward and not very comfortable.  The new ones are sit-down.  I noticed the placard in the cabin said it was rated for 10 passengers, but they didn't seem any larger than Gore's and WF's cabins.  However the cabins do seem noticeably taller.  We only rode the gondi once, and one of the other passengers who rode up with us said that the new cabins are very susceptible to wind closures.