Stratton Mountain is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

located in Windham County,

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

, in the

Green Mountain National Forest Green Mountain National Forest is a national forest located in Vermont, a temperate broadleaf and mixed forest typical of the New England/Acadian forests ecoregion. The forest supports a variety of wildlife, including beaver, moose, coyote, b ...

. The mountain is the highest point of Windham County, and of the southern

Green Mountains The Green Mountains are a mountain range in the U.S. state of Vermont and are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains. The range runs primarily south to north and extends approximately from the border with Massachusetts to the border with Que ...

generally. A fire tower located on the summit is generally open for climbing by the public. There is also a small caretaker cabin (not open to the public) at the summit that is inhabited in season by a caretaker from the

Green Mountain Club The Green Mountain Club is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to preserving and protecting Vermont's Long Trail. The Long Trail is the oldest long-distance hiking trail in America and stretches from the Massachusetts state line to the ...

. The northern end of the mountain is occupied by

Stratton Mountain Resort Stratton Mountain Resort is a ski area in the northeastern United States, located on Stratton Mountain in Stratton, Vermont, east of Manchester. History Stratton was established in December 1961 with three double chairlifts and a three-story ...

Geography

Stratton Mountain stands within the

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

of the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...

, which drains into

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. The south and southeast slopes of Stratton Mountain drain into Ball Mountain Brook, thence into the West River, and into the Connecticut River. The east side of Stratton drains via Kidder Brook into the North Branch of Ball Mountain Brook. The north side of Stratton drains into the North Branch of Ball Mountain Brook. The northwest side of Stratton drains into the

Winhall River The Winhall River is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed December 9, 2011 tributary of the West River in Windham and Bennington counties, Vermont, in the United States. ...

, and thence into the West River. The southwest slopes of Stratton drain into the East Branch of the

Deerfield River Deerfield River is a river that runs for from southern Vermont through northwestern Massachusetts to the Connecticut River. The Deerfield River was historically influential in the settlement of western Franklin County, Massachusetts, and its ...

, another

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of the Connecticut River. The mountain has two peaks, of which the southern one is the highest, at 3940 feet. The mountain ridge descends to northward to a saddle at 3830 feet, before rising to the north peak at 3875 feet. The south summit is wooded, except for the small clearing housing the tower and caretaker's cabin. The Stratton Mountain Lookout Tower was built about 1934 by a crew of the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...

, and the cabin dates to about 1970. The tower is the subject of a 1992 listing on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

, as one of the state's last surviving towers, and one of the last three to be taken out service for fire spotting (in 1982).

Climate

Hiking history

Stratton Mountain claims a unique role in hiking trail history. In 1909, James P. Taylor (1872–1949) was on the mountain when he conceived the idea of a trail from

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, which became Vermont's

Long Trail The Long Trail is a hiking trail located in Vermont, running the length of the state. It is the oldest long-distance trail in the United States, constructed between 1910 and 1930 by the Green Mountain Club. The club remains the primary organiza ...

. While on the summit of Stratton during the construction of the Long Trail,

Benton MacKaye Benton MacKaye ( ; March 6, 1879 – December 11, 1975) was an American forester, planner and conservationist. He was born in Stamford, Connecticut; his father was actor and dramatist Steele MacKaye. After studying forestry at Harvard Unive ...

(1879–1975) considered that it would be a good idea to have a trail spanning the entire Appalachian Range. The result was the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail, also called the A.T., is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tra ...

, a

National Scenic Trail The National Trails System is a series of trails in the United States designated "to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nati ...

from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. In southern Vermont, the two trails are coincident, crossing the summit of Stratton from south to north. A short (.75-mile), relatively flat side trail leads from the summit to the

Stratton Mountain Resort

Stratton Mountain

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area–a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North Am ...

is located on the northeast slopes of the mountain. It has 97 trails over with a vertical drop, served by 16 lifts, including four 6-person

chair lift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers. They are the primary on-hill tran ...

s. The community of Stratton Mountain, a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

, comprises the base of the ski resort, the Stratton Golf Course, and the associated residential development.

Stratton Mountain School was founded in 1972 by Warren Hellman and Donald Tarinelli. It is a winter sports academy and college preparatory school. It continues to run today, and has produced 46 Olympic competitors. Jake Burton built his first

snowboard Snowboards are boards where the user places both feet, usually secured, to the same board. The board itself is wider than most skis, with the ability to glide on snow."snowboarding." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 17 Mar ...

while living in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, near Stratton, which was the first major ski resort to allow snowboarding. Burton snowboards continued the relationship with the snowboard school and developed many programs that were vital to the snowboarding industry. Stratton Mountain ski resort and the Stratton Mountain School have been home to some of the world's best snowboarders, including the 2002 Men's half pipe Olympic gold medalist

Ross Powers Ross Powers (born February 10, 1979) is an American world champion halfpipe snowboarder and Olympic gold medalist. Hailing from South Londonderry, Vermont, he is currently the director of the snowboarding program at the Stratton Mountain Schoo ...

, and

Lindsey Jacobellis Lindsey Jacobellis (born August 19, 1985) is an American snowboarder from Roxbury, Connecticut. The most decorated female snowboard cross athlete of all time, she dominated the sport for almost two decades as a five-time World Champion and ten- ...

, who achieved a silver medal in the

Snowboard cross Snowboard cross, also known as boardercross, is a snowboard competition in which four to six competitors race down a course. Snowboard cross courses are typically quite narrow and include cambered turns, various types of jumps, berms, rollers, ...

event in 2006. Stratton Mountain was home to and hosted 30th anniversary of the US OPEN Snowboarding & Freestyle Skiing Championships in March 2012. After nearly three decades of hosting this event, it moved to

Vail Ski Resort Vail Ski Resort is a ski resort in the Western United States, western United States, located near the town of Vail, Colorado, Vail in Eagle County, Colorado, Eagle County, Colorado. At , it is the third-largest single-mountain ski resort in the U ...

in 2013.

Notes

External links