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Gear management at stratton

Peaheartsmama

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Hi all. A bit of an odd question - since I ski with the kids by myself I use a large jogging stroller and wheeled ski bag to haul all the gear from the parking lot to the base areas. What is the setup at Stratton like? Is there paid parking closer to the base? Is there unpaid parking with a sidewalk or path to push the stroller on? What time does it tend to fill up? Once we get to the base itself, is there a good area to change into the gear and more importantly a place to store the stroller and empty bags/ boots? Or would it be better to ditch the stroller and make the kids haul their own skis? ( not ideal as I would be like a pack mule carrying all the boots and other things). Thanks! I have my system down in our home mountain but new mountains are always tricky.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
How old are you kids now? Are they old enough to wait together at the drop off area with the gear while you park the car?

As I remember, if you arrive early enough there is parking in a garage very close to the building. Then stairs at some point to get into the base lodge. I wouldn't want to be dealing with any sort of stroller. Pretty sure there were free cubbies to leave the boot bags.

Paging @Tvan , @ski diva . I think they provided advice me parking last season before I checked out Stratton for a day during late season using Ikon. But @diymom and I went midweek so didn't need to worry about a crowd for parking or in the lodge.
 

Peaheartsmama

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I have a 9 and newly 7 year old. For the most part they would be ok to wait depending on how long it would take me to park and come back. I’d hesitate to leave them too long in a new place
 

Jilly

Moderator
Staff member
Why not boot up at the car? 7 and 9 should be able to carry their own skis and poles. Get their boots on at the car, or even at home/hotel room. They are not driving, so they don't need their snow boots on. I pass the drop off at Tremblant and most kids are getting out of cars/SUV's ready to go.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
I have a 9 and newly 7 year old. For the most part they would be ok to wait depending on how long it would take me to park and come back. I’d hesitate to leave them too long in a new place
When are you going to get to the area? Will you be staying overnight the night before or driving up the morning of the first ski day? When I have time, I like to drive over to the base and walk around the evening before to figure out the layout.

There were a few times that I had kids under 10 boot up before getting in the car for a short ride to the ski lodge at Massanutten. But with beginners/adv. beginners, I usually just had them boot up i the lodge. A bit more effort getting everything to the lodge at the start, but usually made the afternoon go better when they were tired.
 

Peaheartsmama

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
We boot up at the mountain for everyone’s comfort. And yes - so they can have the boots in the afternoon when they are tired and we are exploring the village. Less likely to slip on icy pathways too. I drive up today. Leaving jersey at around 3:30 and hopefully in Vermont by 8. Yes may try to head to base to check things out tonight.
 

Tvan

Angel Diva
On week days, parking near the main lodge is usually plentiful if you arrive early (8 am-ish). On weekends, you can try getting there early... but if you are not staying on property, you’ll likely have to park in one of the remote lots and take the shuttle. If you head over to the Sunbowl side, where parking is closer to the lodge and usually not as crowded. The downside is that it’s not easy for first timers to get from the Sunbowl side back to the main face, especially with littles.

In the main lodge, there is a bag check and usually plenty of places to boot up. there is not drive up access to the main lodge, so it’s gonna be a schlep, even if you park in the nearest lot, I’m sorry to say.
 

Peaheartsmama

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Ok we just had an amazing day. Snow was great. Mac and cheese even better. (Per the kids) It was a bit of a schelp this morning but I discovered that there is actually a drop off area and you can skip all the stairs by accessing the elevator near the handicap parking area. We loved the Long greens up top, the wide easy blues and the kids terrain park.
 

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