The 70s—The sky’s the limit!
Competition
NASTAR was big an
d daily on Suntan-ner. Slalom courses were set with three colors of bamboo—red, blue and yellow—though hinged plastic gates would appear late in the decade. Snowboarding, half-pipes and terrain parks were still a couple decades away from the skiing public’s mind. The anti-racers wiggled through the bumps. It was freestyle’s first heyday, made up of three events, ballet (the word “acro” would come and go later), aerials and bumps. Stratton had one of the biggest freestyle programs in the country.
I’ve returned to Stratton every winter since I graduated from SMS in 1979 and most summers as well. Stratton Mountain is a much bigger resort today, and though the mountain, the skiwear, the gear and most of the people have changed, it remains the same in one important way. When-ever I reach the point on the Access Road where I can see the ribbons of trails cascading off the summit, I feel as if I never left. ◊
An Emmy-winning television producer and freelance writer/photographer, Lisa Densmore graduated from SMS in 1979. She later lived at Stratton while racing on the Women’s Pro Ski Tour and was a Trustee of SMS for 15 years. She now lives in Montana, but Stratton will always be her home ski area.