Jay Peak Conditions

Sick Bird Rider wrote

Harv, remember NSBS at Jay Peak, day one? It was kind of like that.

Why yes, yes I do. It was a Christmas miracle, only in March.

We drove a long way on a date planned months in advance and 8 inches came out of NOWHERE on our first morning.

Good on ya SBR so cool.

Harvey wrote

Sick Bird Rider wrote

Harv, remember NSBS at Jay Peak, day one? It was kind of like that.

Why yes, yes I do. It was a Christmas miracle, only in March.

We drove a long way on a date planned months in advance and 8 inches came out of NOWHERE on our first morning.

Good on ya SBR so cool.

That happens all the time at Jay.  So far on all booked in advanced trips at Jay 3 days or more we always come across a powder day.  Twice on the first day of a preplanded trip we caught a foot on the first day.  Of course we always book March or early April.

I am well aware of Jay and her snow.  You don't rack up 300+ inch seasons without a few dozen multi-inch surprises.

Still I stand behind my statement.  A Christmas miracle!

Here are a few from today. The whole story will be told later...

Going up the Jet Triple at about 9.30 am. Lots of room for more tracks.



We're talkin' Timbuktu at ten AM:



The sun came out and I found a nice rabbit hole in the middle of the afternoon:

Sadly I had to head home today. But not before some skiing was done in the morning. I speculated that conditions at JPR would be fast, carvy cordoroy (which is always fun), or I could see what the yesterday's surprise storm had left on Mt. Trixie. Hmm, two paths to chose from.

To quote a famous poem:

Robert Frost wrote

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
.....

...I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

The descent was lovely, very surfy snow. Swish, swish. Then it was time to to head home, driving into a Hinterlandian flatland sunset (sorry about the dirty windshield but I thought it was a cool image):

I feel kind of bad, writing this after re-reading the last two pages. That was a great trip.

SBR and Blue Toes are heading toward Vermont tomorrow, part two of our holiday drive-a-thon. I thought I would check in with Jonny Jay and see what "real" conditions are like. Here is the summary: he has been down there for a week and has not bothered going skiing yet. He did almost go yesterday but heard a first-hand report about the "glacier" and changed his mind. Currently there are six runs open and you can't ski from Stateside to Tramside or vice-versa. Ugh. The good news is that they are making snow like mad and the forecast is calling for more to fall from the sky.

Oh well, we will go anywhere and will take Brownski's positive attitude with me. Hopefully we will get some nice runs on New Year's Day when everyone else is hung over.

Vermont trip cancelled - SBR has the flu. Symptoms came on yesterday, I was in denial, felt better this morning, relapsed this afternoon.

Double ugh. Will post if the relatives go skiing and report.

Feeling very flu-like myself and it isn't a powder cough :(

Nice pic! Heading there tomorrow, nice to see skiable trees in play.

You could do that.

Nice! Keep your eyes peeled for Jonny Jay.

Sick Bird Rider wrote

Nice! Keep your eyes peeled for Jonny Jay.

I don't think I've met Jonny Jay before so I could have shared a lift with him and not even have known it.

Jay was a natural snow paradise today, freaking sweet! Stateside was the only open glade. I ventured into Timbuk but it wasn't worth the effort. Fun skiing in the trees again, coverage was okay in Stateside, go slow and pay attention. Derrick had previously been opened so it was hit pretty hard. Green Mountain Boys debuted yesterday along with the upper part of NWP so I lapped that a bunch. Natural snow, bumps, and occasional thin spots. Pretty damn sweet. Snowed all day with more in the forecast tomorrow. I left when Goat became a skating rink and it wasn't worth dealing with Goat to get to GMB. Not a great day to be a groomer only skier, Jet was pretty scratched up as well. Great day to be a natural snow bump skier.

Just back from three days skiing at JPR. In short, conditions are firm and fast, best in the morning. Groomers are fun. Many ropes up, a few were dropped today after some new snow. Those runs were not worth skiing: four inches of fluff on top of death crust. Full report later..

FYI, it is Mexican night at Bernie's Restaurant in Monkey Center, VT.

What a contrast, from yesterday to today. Yesterday was the perfect ski day for some people, sunny, mild, no wind and groomed runs in good shape. Woods a bit scrapey but not too bad.  Today, many people would not have skied. Howling wind, driving wet snow, changing to freezing rain then back to snow. Tram, Flyer and even Bonnie on wind delay. Jet was busy.  But the snow kept falling and runs just kept filling in. The snow was fast and creamy. Bonnie opened around noon but I missed fresh tracks by stopping for lunch. Oh well, I had my share already. Even did Powerline, which was surprisingly good. Aim for the snow patches.

The warm-up is scheduled for tomorrow and Wednesday but it shouldn't last long. There is lots of snow here. General conclusion from chairlift chats is that Jay has the best conditions in New England right now.

In-bounds woods, fresh tracks, Almost noon. Sweet.

Mexican Night at Bernie's gave me the fuel for a fantastic day today. In fact, I might even put it in the lifetime top 10 ski day account. Sunny, two degrees C, no wind and soft new snow. Very forgiving and fun conditions. It was early spring skiing and the new coverage allowed me to check out all the old favourites: Can Am, JFK, River Quai, Green Beret (wimped out and used the lower entrance, which is a bit hard to find right now), Exhibition and even Wedelmaster (with the Groomer Trap variation). Even did Valhalla twice, it was lovely (used the lower entrance, it is less of a snowboard luge run).

The forecast for tomorrow and Thursday is pretty bleak but the weekend looks good. There is certainly enough base to handle some rain, though natural snow runs might get pooched. You don't know if you don't go.

It's always better when the Mexican food gets you the runs rather than giving them to you.

I usually don't take that gamble if it's a big day

MikeK wrote

It's always better when the Mexican food gets you the runs rather than giving them to you.

I usually don't take that gamble if it's a big day

I must admit that the side effects of said meal did delay my departure a bit this morning.

Foggy start got even foggier.Headed to Jet side first, Jet, Haynes corned up nicely. UN, Derrick's not groomed had a bit of a funk. Moved to Bonnie, Kitz, Milk, Montrealer, Goat all groomed creamy but with large sheets of flow that were edgeable. The tram treated us with the same thing. The Freezer was not running? Hopped in some woods, if you could stay in the track ( didnt ) was ok otherwise punky / manky. Can Am is toast, Liftline Powerline well on their way skiable if careful. If it's not warm it looks like a rugged day..

Classic photo SBR.

freeheeln wrote

large sheets of flow that were edgeable