Spring Skiing Stratton and Whistler, Part I

By George Davis - When the telephone call came, I thought, You bet! Doubleheader… I mean, it seemed too good to be true. I was already headed out to Whistler Blackcomb for a short week of spring skiing during the third week in March. Jump start the adrenaline rush with a short week in Stratton before heading our west? No brainer! I was in.

My buddy, Chris, works in Burlington, Vermont for Burton, and each spring he heads off to Stratton Mountain Resort in southern Vermont for the US Open Snowboarding Championships. He invited my brother and me to join him as volunteers on the banner crew, responsible for installing advertising signage in the days leading up to and during the competition. We immediately accepted the invitation.

The 2004 Philips US Open (March 15-21) would be my first “up close and personal” experience with the unabashedly “up close and personal” sport of snowboarding. Sure, I’ve spent plenty of time skiing on the same slopes with snowboarders, and a fair share of my own friends opt for one board instead of two when swooshing down alpine pistes. I’ve even had a go at it myself, but the snowboarding lifestyle and philosophy – and to consider it anything less is to miss the point entirely – remained alien and impenetrable to me. My buddy was offering me not only the opportunity to attend what is unquestionably the premier international snowboarding event for the past two decades, he was also inviting me to discover snowboarding culture by immersing myself in the most authentic, grassroots, snowboarding event around.

But there was a glitch. A calendar overlap. I’d have to miss the last three days of the US Open in order to make it out to Whistler, and our previously purchased airline tickets and accommodations left no room for changes. This meant that I’d witness the lead-up to the competition, have the opportunity to watch the trials and prelims and practice sessions, but would have to pull out just before the pros arrived and the bigger-than-life theatrics began. Unfortunate but not dire. After all, I’d be spending most of my time skiing Stratton’s impressive (and, by eastern standards, vast) terrain.

Despite missing the grand finale, I would still be around snowboarders 24x7 and, after all, Stratton is referred to as “The Birthplace of Snowboarding.” At least by Intrawest, the company that owns and operates Stratton. And Whistler Blackcomb, as it turns out. Aha, a connection. The discovery that both ski resorts are extensions of the same corporation intrigued me. Owning (totally or partially) and operating almost a dozen ski resorts including Tremblant in Quebec, Copper in Colorado and Mammoth in California, Intrawest is no slouch. Their Corporate Overview states: "With the encroachment of work into every corner of our waking lives, never before has the notion of play been of greater value."

Now that’s vision. Intrawest pledges to "Create memories for our guests and staff as the best mountain, beach and resort experience...again and again." Reading this corporate speak made me curious, so I decided to check out what Burton sees as its mission: "Burton Snowboards is a rider driven company solely dedicated to creating the best snowboarding equipment on the planet."

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