Southern Vermont's highest peak, Stratton Mountain is a long established southern Vermont resort with a cosmopolitan atmosphere that's rarely found in New England. A good illustration of the fact is the selection of quality French champagne stocked in the resort's general store. The 40 year old ski centre had always been planned as a mountain community, again in contrast to most other New England ski hills, where the idea of adding a resort base tends to be a new one.

Purchased by Intrawest, famously owners of Canada's Whistler, Stratton is now enjoying a makeover, with millions of dollars spent on improveding snowmaking, fast high-capacity lifts, a reshaping of the resort base and new or refurbished lodging. The corporation bought Stratton in 1994 and greatly enhanced its central pedestrian mall, most famous for its under-cobble heating system that melts any snow which falls on it, although in truth it's the sophisticated architectural design and planning thought that really matters, even if that's not what you notice (the idea is you don't notice, just enjoy, after all).

The fact that snowboarding was born here a few decades ago may seem slightly incongruous with the smooth corporate image and designer stores of Stratton today, but knarly or not, Jake Burton was here in the early 80s, hiking up hill with his prototypes. So Stratton remains one of, if not the longest established 'boarders welcome' resorts, has an unrivalled range of pipes, terrain parks and all other amenities a 'boarder could dream of, and is home to the world's longest running annual open snowboarding championship.

Stratton is one of the easiest major New England resorts for New York City and Boston residents to reach, with large numbers arriving at the weekend. Its lack of international fame outside snowboarding circles is surprising compared to some other Vermont ski areas - this may well change in the next few years.