Jay Peak March 31 2012

Another instructor and I from Whiteface drove over to Jay yesterday.  We got there at 9:30 and it was 29 degrees in the parking lot with some high clouds which burned off as the day went on.  It got up to about 42 or so.  We started at statesside and skied until lunch time lapping Jet and Haynes.  The once the initial grooming wore off it was pretty darn firm and hard snow particularly on Jet.  There were a few young guys trying to ski on the closed slopes and in the woods but it didn't look fun or good.  We saw quite a few Whiteface regulars over there.



We took the shuttle over to the tram house lodge bar for lunch then skied some of the trails off the Flyer which were ok but with thinner snow in spots than on statesside.  We were tempted to ski back to stateside on Northway which had been groomed but was closed but didn't and sort of regretted it later.  You could ski from Tramside to Statesside but not from stateside to Tramside

The mud walking back to the Jet was epic in the afternoon.



If never really did soften up on the steepper spots but it was great to get back out on snow for the day.  It was well worth the drive over.  Jay is an amazing place.

Nice report! I don't understand how you couldn't get from Stateside to Tramside on skis though - couldn't you take the Bonaventure and go down the Goat? Anyway, looks like a fun day was had and the mud picture is priceless.

Upper River Quai looks almost skiable in that first pic.

Sick Bird Rider wrote

Nice report! I don't understand how you couldn't get from Stateside to Tramside on skis though - couldn't you take the Bonaventure and go down the Goat? Anyway, looks like a fun day was had and the mud picture is priceless.

Upper River Quai looks almost skiable in that first pic.

The Bonnie and the t-bar were both closed.  Closing the Bonnie didn't make any sense to me since you could ski from it onto one of the runs that were open on tramside.  I would think that running the chair is less expensive than the 4 vans they had to run to shuttle people back and forth.  Anyone that makes snow this time of the year can not be too concerned about running a lift compared to vans.  

It was pretty crowded and it seemed like a really good percentage were day skiers not just on season passes.  I think they definitely were making money.

Quai was in no way skiable when you looked at it from below on what ever run we crossed under it on the way back to stateside.

The patrol had a funny sign warning those that were tempted to ski off to the skiers left of the Flyer that is would be the worst decision that you could make that day except for drunk driving.  It would have been a very long walk back from out there at the bottom.  I wish i had taken a photo of that sign.

Coach Z wrote

It was pretty crowded and it seemed like a really good percentage were day skiers not just on season passes.  I think they definitely were making money.

I hope you are right Coach.

If the lodging prices are any indicator I'd say that they were pretty full at the hotel and tramhouse.  I looked at staying the night and skiing today as well but the prices were full boat with little or no discount and a two night min.

I was there..stayed just on stateside.  I did 6 or so runs and then we just hung out in the sun and the parking lot.

cause it was very firm..and pretty boring.  I want soft spring bumps this time of year.  too flat and groomed.  We had fun anyway though.  still recovering.