Terrain Parks '08

Stratton Mountain, VT. - Stratton Mountain has served as home to the U.S. Open for more than 20 years. During that time, the event has grown from a somewhat obscure event into the biggest snowboard celebration of the year. And now for the first time ever, Stratton will allow the public to access the same super pipe and terrain park the U.S. Open riders compete in.

The resort has dubbed the period of March 28-April 6 as the U.S. Open After Party and the public will be able to purchase a pass that will allow them to ride the same terrain as Shaun White, Ross Powers and Hannah Teeter. The entire Sun Bowl will be transformed for this first-ever post-Open event. Special events, live music and a variety of food and giveaways are just a few of the many happenings.

Preparation for the U.S. Open takes weeks and serves as the ultimate demonstration of Stratton's park building prowess. The superpipe that is used in the U.S. Open is considered one of the finest in the world by snowboarders and resort insiders alike and the resort is consistently rated as home to the best terrain parks in the country. Ski Magazine gave them the distinction of having the best terrain park in North America in their annual resort rankings and they have claimed the title of "best parks in the East" for nine consecutive years.

Stratton has continued to push park innovation to the next level again this season. The resort recently celebrated the grand opening of Burton's Parkway. Built in collaboration with the snowboarding giant, Parkway is a kid-friendly progression park and the first of its type in the world. Built with the novice park rider at mind, the park serves as an instructional tool, complete with signs and features that teach fundamental freestyle skills and proper park conduct.

In addition to Parkway, Stratton builds and maintains four other terrain parks, a boarder x course and a halfpipe. The park on Tyrolienne functions as the resorts beginner park. Built with smaller features and wider, lower rails it's perhaps the resorts most popular park. The mountain also boasts a rail garden for lower level park riders. 

Tyrolienne is home to Stratton's small terrain features.  One step larger then Parkway, but not quite as big as Smoothie or Suntanner, Tyrolienne offers terrain features such as table-tops and butter boxes to help skiers and riders work on their skills.

Stratton's intermediate park is located on Old Smoothie and begins to introduce riders and twin tippers to larger and more technical features such as table tops and rails that are higher off the ground.

Stratton's largest and most advanced park can be found on Suntanner. The flagship of Stratton's park operations, Suntanner contains the largest and most technical features on the mountain. Large tabletops, a roller coaster rail, a 30 foot flat down flat rail and a large diving board box are just a few of many features found on Suntanner. (This park is not for the uninitiated and should only be used by advanced skiers and riders).

Stratton is also home to a boarder x course on Lower East Meadow that contains hips, banked turns and rollers. The resorts boarder x courses of the past have helped produce Olympic athletes like Lindsey Jacobellis.


Stratton also has plans to build a halfpipe on Beeline. When it's finished it should have walls that are approximately 13 feet high. And although that doesn't compare with the U.S. Open superpipe, it should allow for use by a larger number of ability levels. The pipe, which is currently under construction, will be ready by the end of January.

Stratton's park innovation doesn't end on the hill. They have also received honors from the National Ski Area's Association for their safety program. The safety education session or SES as it's know at Stratton, requires that all park users attend a safety program that advocates and teaches proper park etiquette. In short it keeps people safe and out of the medical clinic. The program has been so successful that other ski areas have begun to emulate the program.

Stratton will serve as host to several other freestyle events in addition to the U.S. Open and After-Party. On February 16, the resort will host One Hit Wonder, an event co-sponsored by Red Bull. The park crew will set up a wall ride and host a competition later that afternoon. Other events include the Volcom Peanut Butter Rail Jam, an amateur event held on March 8th.---

Stratton Mountain is a year round resort located in Southern Vermont. The resort boasts nearly 600 acres of skiable terrain and is home to the highest peak in Southern Vermont. Stratton has 92 marked trails, 95% snowmaking capabilities, the fastest fleet of lifts in the East and an industry renowned grooming crew. They also have an eclectic village of shops and restaurants. During the summer, the resort hosts a top notch tennis school and a 27 hole golf course. To learn more visit their website at www.stratton.com