Stratton Mountain, VT in the early days. Photo: © Hubert Schriebl
VTSSM Red Bench Speaker Series Presents: 60 Years of Memories
Thursday, March 10th at 7:00 PM via Zoom
Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum has gathered an impressive panel of Stratton Mountain insiders to sit on the virtual “red bench” to share their memories and the history of Stratton Mountain as it celebrates its 60th anniversary, "60 Years of Memories: Celebrating Stratton's 60th Winter with Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum" will be held on March 10th at 7 pm via Zoom as part of the Museum’s Red Bench Speaker Series.
Stratton’s lifts began turning in December 1961 and it has since notched a succession of “firsts,” including flying lift towers in with a helicopter, hosting the first World Cup ski race in Vermont, being the first major resort to welcome snowboarding, and the 30-year home of the US Open Snowboarding Championships.
Stratton was also a pioneer in building a medical clinic at the base of the mountain to take care of injured skiers, and one of the first ski areas to host a ski racing academy, Stratton Mountain School in 1972.
Panelists Lee Romano and Mercedes Henrich Ross will lead viewers through Stratton’s first sixty years including how Tyrolean-inspired inns and a chalet community, Austrian ski instructors and the famous musical Stratton Mountain Boys all influenced and shaped the character of a resort first envisioned by Frank Snyder, Tink Smith and Senator Ed Janeway. Romano is a former Stratton marketing employee and publisher of Stratton Magazine. Henrich Ross grew up at the base of Stratton at the Birkenhaus, an inn owned by her mother Ann and Ski School Director father, Emo Henrich. She’s also a Stratton Mountain School graduate.
Stratton Mountain School, founded as a winter tutorial program for young ski racers turns fifty this winter. Retired SMS Nordic coach and past Head of School, Sverre Caldwell will explain its inception and how this small academy has produced fifty-one Olympians that have brought home eight Olympic medals, including recent Beijing medal winners SMS Alum Lindsey Jacobellis and Jessie Diggins.
Twenty year Stratton veteran, Seth Boyd, the Executive Director of the Carlos Otis Clinic, will be on hand to outline the original vision for the on-site medical clinic, named after local doctor Carlos Otis and built in 1972 to provide excellent medical and orthopedic care. He’ll talk about the improvements that have been made in the past fifty years.
Kimet Hand first began working in Stratton’s marketing department when she was a young woman. Her career at Stratton has spanned more than five decades where she has spearheaded some of the resort's most successful programs. She continues to be involved with the mountain and her deep institutional knowledge makes her an ideal moderator for this event.
Viewers will have a chance to ask questions and share memories at the end of the program.
For decades the red bench drew skiers together around the fireplace in the Octagon at the top of Mount Mansfield to swap tales of adventure and innovation. The tradition continues today with the Red Bench Speaker Series which focuses on topics currently relevant to skiing and snowboarding. Today the red bench is prominently located on the Museum's first floor in Stowe, VT.
Visit www.vtssm.org/new-events to reserve a virtual Zoom ticket. A $10 donation is appreciated. Series sponsors include r.k. Miles, AJ’s Ski & Sports, Schoeller Textile, Sisler Builders, and Vermont Ski + Ride.
A Tyrolean evening with the Stratton Mountain Boys in the 1960's at Stratton . Photo © Hubert Schriebl
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