Jay Peak 2/13/13

We drove 6 1/2 hours from central NY before we saw the first flakes. By the time we got to Jay Peak Tuesday night it was a full on snowstorm, only on the mountain. It snowed through the night. They were reporting an 18" storm total Weds morning, however, it did not ski like 18", it skied more like 8-10". There was plenty of powder on all the trails, but we headed right for the trees, for which Jay is known.



Our friends Bobby and Marta got word via Facebook friends that we were here and texted us that they were at MRG and it kinda sucked there, should they come up. We said "Hell Yeah" and they packed up and headed up.

Rochester Mark and I spent the morning putting our signatures on fresh snow over in Beaver Pond, Everglade, North Glade and a few other places. It was magical. Bobby and Marta showed up just as we were coming in for lunch. They don't have a lot of experience up here, so we took these brother and sister telemarkers on a tour of the trees. We mostly rode the Green Mtn Flyer, but we did a couple of tram runs to hit Valhalla and other woods along the way and got one run over in Timbuktu just before the lifts closed. Tomorrow we will go back over to Timbuktu and investigate the remaining powder out that way and the sidecountry.

This was what the morning looked like:


Bobby, Marta, R Mark and PDQ


We were fortunate enough to stay at the Tram Haus Lodge, just a stone's throw from the lifts. The service here is excellent and we really like the small touches such as an Iphone charging alarm clock, comfy beds, plenty of outlets for boot dryers and electronics, a full kitchen, equipped with coffee, and a fridge stocked with our favorite beer . The valet parking in heated garage was over the top for us. The location cannot be beat. Fobs to open your door also open the ski locker room and let you through the lift line electronic turn-style.

Bobby and Marta joined us for apres ski which included a foray in the waterpark and soaked in the hot tubs and did the water slide. Bobby tried the surf wave. This truly is a playground for kids of all ages.

Powderqueen wrote

 They were reporting an 18" storm total Weds morning, however, it did not ski like 18", it skied more like 8-10".

Does that mean over reported?

skimore wrote

Powderqueen wrote

 They were reporting an 18" storm total Weds morning, however, it did not ski like 18", it skied more like 8-10".

Does that mean over reported?

I suppose. But it started snowing early Tuesday morning. They reported 3" Tuesday. So they are saying 15" additional fell total by Weds. I suppose that could be true, but it didn't ski like 18". Probably felt like 15" in places.

I'll be interested to see what they report tomorrow. It snowed a bit throughout today, but I couldn't say that it accumulated much. I would be surprised if they report more than an additional inch.

What a fun report.  

Nothing beats having Jay to yourself on a pow weekday.

Skiing with Rochester Mark = major bonus.

Good audible.

I like the pic where only the skier is in focus, nice effect.

The inside of that water park looks like an airplane hangar. After all of the "it'll ruin the ski experience" predictions, building that monster was absolutely the right thing to do, purely from a business/marketing point of view. Heh, I still can't believe that they put it right at the bottom of the hill. Even Greek Peak didn't have the cojones to do that.

Jamesdeluxe wrote

I like the pic where only the skier is in focus, nice effect.

The inside of that water park looks like an airplane hangar. After all of the "it'll ruin the ski experience" predictions, building that monster was absolutely the right thing to do, purely from a business/marketing point of view. Heh, I still can't believe that they put it right at the bottom of the hill. Even Greek Peak didn't have the cojones to do that.

Yeah, I agree, it was a great thing to do for the resort, but now the resort is so "resorty". It feels much different here. At least the mountain is about the same. While we had a bunch of snow, it could still use more snow. Rocks were lurking. Overall snowfall is below average. More coming in this weekend, along with the holiday crowds.

Powderqueen wrote

Overall snowfall is below average.

This makes it look pretty average?

http://www.jaypeakresort.com/skiing-riding/the-mountain/snowfall-charts

Jamesdeluxe wrote

I like the pic where only the skier is in focus, nice effect.

+1

Looks really great PDQ.  In a winter like this, any powder day in the trees is great, whether it's 8, 10, 15 or 18 inches.

Harvey44 wrote

This makes it look pretty average?

http://www.jaypeakresort.com/skiing-riding/the-mountain/snowfall-charts

Still have a ways to go. At least we are on the right track now. But the double thaw in January washed out the base. Jay recovers better than any place out there. But I bet it is skiing like early January up there right now regardless of season total.

Harvey44 wrote

Powderqueen wrote

Overall snowfall is below average.

This makes it look pretty average?

http://www.jaypeakresort.com/skiing-riding/the-mountain/snowfall-charts

That chart seems to make it look below average.

Maybe I'm reading it wrong. Seasonal avg looks around 350 and this season is 220 to date?

Do you think Jay will get 130" of snow before the season is over?

I think they might have gottten 18in total but the first 10 or so was heavy then it dried out and we got 8in of light stuff on top. It was probably a good thing because it was ice under the new snow. Still alot of rocks and logs visible and all light snow wouldn't have covered them very well. We lucked out and hit it just right. For better or worse Jay is now a resort.  The most important thing, the mountain remains pretty much the same. In my opinion it has some of the best terrain in the northeast and is one of my favorite places. Not a bad recovery from having to delay our Montana trip!      

you guys made sure made some sweet lemonade with a splash out of those lemons!