Stratton VT March 1-8

I took a “vacation from my Adventure” and flew to the east coast to capitalize on a week of free skiing in Stratton, Vermont. 😁

On Thursday 3/1 I flew east so I could squeeze in an eye doctor appointment Friday morning before heading to Stratton VT. Every year Randy and his brother Steve take a week “vacation” from their jobs as physicians in Portland to work at Stratton VT as the physicians in the clinic at the base of the mountain. The clinic was started by their father and his partner in 1972, and it has a reputation as one of the top ski area clinics in the country. The perks are that Randy and Steve each get a 3-bedroom ski condo and ski passes for themselves and their families - the bummer is that they are on call every day from 8A-5P and are hailed often when patients require their expertise. But the nice part is that they can ski during the day until called in …. and their families and friends can enjoy the skiing and slope side condos responsibility free.

This week had so much going on - we had a 50+ degree day, pouring rain, fog, mud traversing, snowshoeing into the darkness .... and so much more. Here are a few highlights and pics from the week:

Friday: The extended Barr clan arrived and we enjoyed cocktails, dinner and played cards late into the night. And for those of you asking about by eye - vitreous has completely detached without harming my retina so all is good!

Saturday: Ski Day #1: I had never skied Stratton before and enjoyed exploring the mountain - because of windy conditions only a few lifts were open so there were long lift lines. Trevor & Hannah arrived in the late afternoon and there were more shenanigans that evening.

Sunday: Bluebird skies and great conditions - perfect ski day! So fun to be able to ski with T&H!

Monday: Everyone else went home so just Sadie the dog and I remained with Randy and Steve. Super foggy today but warm. Randy "forced" me to do a post skiing workout by hiking up the mountain with skis/boots on our backs and then we skied down when it got dark. I was reluctant to go cause why walk up when there are lifts during the day .... but it was fun!

Tuesday: Today was a rainy day - but we didn't let it dampen our spirits and skied anyway. Wow was I soaked! Luckily our condo has washer/dryer so easy to dry stuff at lunch.

Wednesday: HOT! HOT! HOT! It was soooo warm today - skied without a jacket or gloves - one of the warmer days I have ever skied - so nice!!!

Thursday: it rained hard all night from Wed-Thurs and we stayed in Thursday morning because it was still yucky out. Headed out after lunch and to my surprise conditions were surprisingly good - slushy wet snow but still decent coverage.

Friday: Final day of skiing - it was a beautiful bluebird sky today but cooler temps made for some icy conditions on the slopes that didn’t get direct sun. We loved one run in particular … which required we traverse a muddy “river” to get back over to the lift. We slogged thru with skis on and off … messy either way but totally worth it to enjoy the great skiing. At the end of the day we packed the car to the brim and I squeezed in the back with Sadie and we headed back to Scarborough.

Saturday: Had errands to do (ski laundry, repacking, grocery shopping) and Randy invited a bunch of Scarborough friends to his place Saturday evening. Nice to see everyone and catch up!

Sunday: I flew out of Logan so we left a few minutes early and visited Randy’s dad in Norwood on the way. So nice to meet the patriarch of the Barr clan and be able to share some skiing stories. Then on to LA where Kristen’s friend college Anna was visiting from Boston.

Enjoyed dinner with Kristen, Peter and Anna ... what a busy day and a GREAT week overfall!!!!