Chasing Icons: Stratton, An Austrian Haven in Southern Vermont
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We've made it to the East Coast! Kicking off the trip with a visit to Southern Vermont's highest peak at Stratton Mountain.
The resort has everything you need: shopping, dining, music, and lodging easily accessible from the slopeside village. TGR photo.
The resort—opened in 1961—is recognized for many firsts. Aside from being the first resort in the East to have a slopeside village, and the first Vermont resort to host a World Cup race in 1978, Stratton made its mark in the '80s. Particularly in 1983, when a radical idea was gaining momentum in the snowsports world. Jake Carpenter-who lived nearby-needed a place to ride his upcoming redesign of this thing called the snowboard.
Stratton has been nicknamed as being the "home of snowboarding", since opening its slopes to original pioneers of the sport. TGR photo.
The founder of Burton was openly welcomed at Stratton, making it the first mountain to allow the new sport. In 1983 when a radical new sport—snowboarding—was catching the skiing world off guard, Stratton welcomed it with a loving embrace.
Located within spitting distance of Manhattan and Boston in Southern Vermont's snowbelt, the area is defined by a vast network of glades. Just from the single summit, there's a variety of trails with lots of room to be creative.
Fresh corduroy for these groomers, with snow conditions guaranteed by 95 percent snowmaking coverage. There's no shortage of trails to rip. TGR photo.
And what better way to discover what the mountain has to offer than with local legend, Hubert Schriebl, a photographer who has been present at Stratton from its inception throughout its entire history.
On New Years', the local photographer even offers a sunrise guided skin up the mountain to celebrate the occasion. Sharing in the view with a "spot" of tea before dropping into first tracks. TGR photo
"As a climber, I don't compare the Green Mountains with the Himalayas or my native Alps, but a lifetime of natural curiosity has been richly rewarded here at Stratton;" Hubert wrote in the forward of the book Stratton: The First 50 Years. "Its multitude of activities, especially skiing and ski racing, combined with the ever-changing seasons have challenged and rewarded me."
Hubert has worked with skiers and athletes across many disciplines, but couldn't help but be charmed by Engerbretson. TGR photo.
The Austrian was originally convinced by the head of the ski school to move out in 1964 for a job. Leaving the Himalayas to work as an instructor, his love for photography eventually rerouted his path into a rewarding career in action sports media.
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Working athletes from Stratton to the Olympic games, his work has appeared in Time, Newsweek, and Sports Illustrated. Despite his global travel, Schriebl loves the variety he finds out here in Vermont.
The event coordinator for the mountain, Libby Dalziel, is fortunate to call these slopes her playground and office. TGR photo.
We followed Schriebl, along with locals Lauren Suriani and Libby Dalziel to hit classic trails.
According to them the list goes: Green - Easy Street, Blue - Drifter, Black - Spruce, Double Black - World Cup. However, the way to do it is combine runs together in a variety of ways.
According to Suriani, Stratton has awesome tree riding which is easily accessible from the top. TGR photo.
"That's the great thing about the Stratton trails, they are short connections so you can put a run together in a lot of different ways, it's interesting and an opportunity to be creative," said Suriani. The snowboarder and graphic designer for the resort, loves the area for it's hidden gems.
New friends and nachos, we can't ask for more than this. TGR photo
We also enjoyed exploring what the area had to offer, and ended the day with a hearty plate of nachos. Apparently Grizzly's is a local favorite for après, which is home of the Winter Stratton Mountain Music Series, but we're already on our way to Killington for stop two of the East!
