Stratton Seasonal Program Blog – February ’24 Edition

Hello Everyone,

The President’s Holiday Weekend is finally here and we’re excited to spend the long weekend sliding with you and your family! As a reminder, programs will run on the following days during the holiday week:

• Saturday, February 17
  • AM & PM
• Sunday, February 18
  • AM & PM
• Monday, February 19
  • AM Only (Cross Cub, Synergy, STR, and AAMP)
• Saturday, February 24
  • AM & PM
• Sunday, February 25
  • AM Only (Cross Cub, Synergy, STR, and AAMP)

At this point, there is extremely limited availability for lessons during the week when programs are not running, February 20-23. If you’re still looking to book a lesson, please call 1-800-Stratton for the most up-to-date lesson availability.

Events and Activities

As we settle in to the second half of our seasonal program season we have a lot of great events, parties, and theme days scheduled throughout the rest of February and March. In case you missed it, below is a link to our events calendar.

• Stratton Seasonal Program Blog – Events Calendar

In addition to all of our great seasonal program events, Stratton has a lot of fun events and activities planned for the holiday week that you don’t want to miss! Below you’ll find a list of some of these offerings including links to our website to sign up.

Paramount+ ‘The Lodge’
Making a triumphant return this year with an extended lineup of fan-favorite titles and an increased number of stops, Paramount+’s ‘The Lodge’ promises an exhilarating adventure for audiences nationwide. A Mountain of Entertainment™ awaits at Stratton Mountain, offering interactive elements for fans of all ages. From the narratives of FRASIER and the futuristic landscapes of HALO, to the Nickelodeon Kids’ Zone featuring SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS and DORA, The Lodge immerses attendees in the captivating worlds of Paramount+.

ALL NEW! Join Paramount+ on Saturday February 17th for Lodge After Dark, from 8:00pm – 10:00pm. Paramount+’s ‘The Lodge is free but requires reservation, standby line available. #ParamountPlusLodge

Click here to learn more and sign up

President’s Week at Stratton
Enjoy the fresh air and events in the Green Mountains this holiday week. From sliding down the slopes to shopping and dining in the Village and all-day activities, there is something for everyone during Presidents’ Week at Stratton Mountain. Grizzly’s, Sun Bowl, Table 43.1, Green Door Pub and The Drift will be delivering après music and weekend vibes. Winter activities include snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, snow tubing, ice skating, fat biking, snowshoeing and more. Join us under the lights at the Nordic Center when the trails get lit up on Saturday for a scenic Light the Night Tour. We can’t wait to see you for a week full of fun!

Click here for a complete list of the event offerings

Below you’ll find additional information for each program. Please take a moment to read the posts from our program supervisors and reach out if you have any questions.

Best,

Tony Bailey
Stratton Seasonal Program Manager
tbailey@stratton.com
802-297-4074

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Cub Club

Hello Cub Clubbers!

We can’t wait to ski or ride with you all over the long holiday weekend! Now that we are about halfway through the season, the cubs are advancing through the levels, and many were promoted over the last few weekends. As a reminder, promotions happen on Sunday after the students are identified as meeting the criteria for their current level. They’ll join their new group on their next visit.

I just want to remind you that it’s not a race to the top. Putting so much focus on what’s next can diminish what they’ve accomplished. Parents who started with Mice this season, please take a moment to reflect on how far they’ve come! The work that our Cub Club coaches have done to help these children gain skills and confidence is not something that should be overlooked. Parents with high level Cubs, please note that the skills required to attain higher levels take time to develop ownership. If your child is a Wolf or higher, please understand that it may take weeks, even months to move up to the next level. This doesn’t mean they’re not learning or growing, but often they need more mileage to have actual ownership of these movements.  The higher you go, the more difficult it becomes. In the early levels through Deer, the staff is looking for certain movements generally in the lower body. At the higher levels, it is more task-related like “skiing parallel in the fall line on black terrain”.

Also, now is a good time to take a look at your cub’s skis or snowboard:

• Get their equipment sharpened and waxed.
  • We do a lot of sliding and the wax wears down over time which will slow our cubs down.
• Check the length of the skis and boards.  
• As cubs grow and progress, longer skis or boards may be needed. If their equipment is too short they may have difficulty sliding fast enough to stay with the group.
• If you have any questions, please ask.

Here are a couple of additional things to keep in mind as we move through the rest of the season:

• We have been getting some wonderful feedback on the cubs, “Loving to slide” and the “cookies at lunch”! We do try hard to make the experience enjoyable, if you have any kudos or concerns please let me know.
• On a safety note, if you are picking up your child during the lunch break, make sure you check out with me at the desk, so that we can cross them off on the board.
• Looking ahead to March we have a fun-filled month planned that includes the:
  • “Big Ski”
  • The Spring Eggstravaganza”
  • End of the Season Ice Cream Social”

Lastly, some students are aging out this year, if you would like some suggestions on the next program that would best suit your Cub please see me or Kristi.

See you all this weekend!

Matt Erickson Cub Club Supervisor merickson@stratton.com

Kristi Menzies Recreation Programs Supervisor kmenzies@stratton.com

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Cross Cub

Hi Cross Cub Parents and Skiers,

Can you believe we’re already half way through February and are nearing the end of the season?! As we gear up for our last holiday weekend of the season, it may be a good time to check the bottom of your skis to make sure the edges/ base are not too worn down. Please consider getting your kids skis sharpened and waxed (First Run is my go to place).

Groups have been discovering new terrain all over the mountain from the (limited) trees, to terrain parks. In the parks, they started with jumping progressions and have moved on to hitting boxes, and rainbows. Our main focus for both the trees and the parks is safety and respect, while also having fun.

I know February tends to be the end of ski season for some families (and coaches) due to the start of spring sports, but if you can stick around for March, we have several events planned! 

• The 2^nd is a fan favorite- our Parent vs Child race. Time and Location will be sent out once we secure hill space. 
• The 3^rd is our last Snowboard Sunday (please be sure to email me the week prior to ensure we have enough coaches to cover this!).  
• The 9th is the Big Ski! If you have had children in Cub Club, you know all about this event. This year all seasonal programs are teaming up to make this the Biggest Ski yet!

• March 10^th is Onsie Day. 
• March 16^th we are bringing back Hot Dogs on the Hill! We will be taking our lunch break at the top of Emerald Frost whether or coaches will serve hot dogs, snack and drinks to all Cross Cubbers. 
• March 17^th is our annual scavenger Hunt coupled with St. Patrick’s Day! Be sure to wear something green for extra points in the scavenger hunt. 
• Our last event of the season is our Ice Cream Social. Please join us on the Jr School Patio on March 23^rd at 2:00 pm.

As always, if you have any questions or comments on how the season is going, feel free to reach out.

We can’t wait to ski with you during the holiday weekend!

Frances Hoeffner
Cross Cub Supervisor
fhoeffner@stratton.com

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Synergy

Hi Synergy Families,

Can you believe that we are already halfway through the 23/24 ski season? To recap the first half of the season, all of our groups have been working on using various turn-shapes (small, medium, and large radius) to control their speed and adapt to different terrain. Similarly to pirates, our favorite letter of the alphabet is “C” because we have increased control of our speed with a more rounded turn. 

While we have not had many opportunities to explore in the woods or play around in the bumps, many of our groups have challenged themselves with fine tuning their technique to make as many turns that are the same size and speed on steeper pitches on Polar Bear, Upper Spruce, and Upper Downeaster.  We have also been reviewing safety and etiquette in the terrain parks, including staying in one lane, calling your drop, and 4-point landings during the take-off and landing phases of jumps.  

As the weather gets colder, please remember to have our skiers dressed appropriately with several layers! This includes a thin base layer(s), a second heavier layer such as a vest or thin jacket, and a puffy jacket or insulation layer under or with the jacket shell. Don’t forget a neckie/neck warmer, skull cap, hand warmers/toe warmers, and one pair of socks (thick socks or multiple pairs of socks prevents proper circulation which equates to cold and uncomfortable feet) to add some extra warmth and style to your ski wear! 

On behalf of all the Synergy coaches we can’t wait to ski with you over the holiday weekend! Please reach out if you have any questions.

Best,

Sarah Kneip
Synergy Supervisor 
skneip@stratton.com

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STR

Hello STR,

For as long as I have been involved with our seasonal programs, there has been one thing that has remained a constant. It’s that STR skiers love tree skiing more than anything else. While this season hasn’t been the best for tree skiing, whenever conditions are safe, you can bet STR will be in the woods.

Over the last few seasons, I’ve been making weather predictions with our seasonal coaches and I almost always jinx it and we don’t end up with the snowfall that’s predicted. As a result, I have been banned from discussing the weather. I’d like to say that I think there’s a good chance that STR will find their way back into the trees this weekend but I cannot. All I can do is encourage our STR team to hope, wish, and pray for what some meteorologists are predicting for Friday to happen.

As we make our way into March, many of our STR team will start to depart for spring sports. We’d like to get everyone together for a non-skiing outing. In years past we’ve done a pizza party in the Junior School but we’re open to something different if that’s what the group would like. Please send me an email with your STR participant’s preference for a get together or have them share their thoughts with Jim over the weekend.

See you all soon!

Tony Bailey
Seasonal Program Manager
tbailey@stratton.com

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AAMP

Hello AAMPers,

It’s been such a great season for AAMP and we’re excited to ski with you over the long weekend! As you know, Randy has stepped in as the interim leader of the program this season and I hope you’re as happy with his leadership as I am. I think AAMP is heading in a great direction and I look forward to seeing the progress made by all over the remainder of this season and beyond.

AAMP really is such a unique and special program and we’re so grateful that you’ve chosen to be a part of it. There are not many adult seasonal programs with this level of participation in the country. With that said, I think there are more people out there who would benefit from the coaching and social components of this program. Stratton recently hosted two Women on Snow camps and the participation in these camps was one of the highest to date!

I will be reaching out to these women and encouraging them to set up a trial of the AAMP program this season. If you see some new faces at the AAMP flag, please give them a warm welcome. We, the AAMP coaches and I, would like to see even more people join this great program and community.

Well, that’s all for now. Please reach out if you have any questions or feedback.

Best,

Tony Bailey
Seasonal Program Manager
tbailey@stratton.com