Jay Peak... where would you ski?

Ok I know this is a NY state blog but I have to ask. Booked a trip to Jay at the end of Feb. I know a few of you have been there, so what trails and glades should I hit while I'm there?  I don't expect anyone to give up there secret stash but I am a Harvey Roader So what trails and glades on the map and why. Please tell me what you liked.   Hoping the Jay cloud comes through!

Hey Raymo40, here is a "Jay Beta" letter I have sent to a few first time visitors. I'm sure others will chime in...

Jay can be a confusing place for the first time visitor. Take the JP snow report with a grain of salt. Conditions can be amazing and or it can be cold and icy.  Stateside Lodge is very old-school and mellow, more amenities can be found at the Tramside (that's where the Waterpark is).

Pro tip #1: be prepared for cold and wind. The Flyer chairlift is not nicknamed The Freezer for nothing. Best lift for avoiding wind is the Jet Chair or second best, the Bonaventure chair, both at Stateside.

#2: wax your boards and sharpen your edges. If there are snowboarders in the crowd let them know that there are some nice runs that end with long flat runouts (eg. Ullr's Dream, JFK) and the Taxi trail from Stateside back to Tramside is not very snowboard-friendly IMHO. No matter how much snow they claim to get, there will always be some hardpack somewhere.

# 3: pay attention to turn-offs or you could end up at a different base lodge than you intended to.

#4: take a ride on the Tram if it is sunny and not too windy. The short hike to the summit gives an amazing view. The Vermonter is the best run off the Tram if you are riding groomers. Valhalla is a good (steep) glade off Vermonter. Green Beret is GNAR! Otherwise stick to chairlifts.

SBR's best fast cruiser trail picks:

off the Tram:
Vermonter to Montrealer/Northway then to Stateside lodge by any number of trails. Angel's Wiggle to Lower Milk Run is a fun way to the Stateside lodge off the Northway.

off the Flyer chair:
Northway to Goat (can be icy where it goes under the chair but usually improves after that). If going to Stateside, take the Goat all the way. If going back to Tramside, my faves are Goat/Green Mtn Boys/Racer or Goat/Lower River Kwai/Interstate

Ullr's Dream is a great easy run (with a steep pitch near the top) if freshly groomed and not crowded. It can be the "full-on super G" if conditions are right. Take Kokomo to avoid the final flat stretches of Ullr's.

JFK is one of my favourite runs of all time. I'd call it an easy black diamond. A little hard to find. If you are up for riding in the woods, try JFK then duck into Lower Everglade at the bottom of the pitch (before it turns left and takes you to Ullr's). Lower Everglade is a great glade, mellow pitch, pretty open, good snow.

off the Bonaventure chair:
- good warm-up run is Northway. Great expert run: Can-Am.
- if you want to display your mad park skilz, the 720 park on Lower Can-Am is the BIG one.

off the Jet chair:
- Jet, Haines & Derick Hot-Shot. If you ride the Derick, cut over to Haines & Lower Jet to avoid the LONG run-out of the Willard. Easy way down, take the Montrealer.

Good glades to start with:
Lower Everglade; Buckaroo Banzai (off the Goat), Bonaventure Glade, Show-Off Glade; Buck Woods; Expo Glade (Expo is the hardest of this bunch).

More challenging but do-able glades for mere mortals:
Beaver Pond; North Glade (steep but open), Canyonland (long and gets tracked out fast), Timbuktu (don't go too far right or you will be walking back); Hell's Woods (short & steep); Andre's Paradise is probably the best glade at Jay but will be very hard to get to without independent leg action (ie. skis). Kitz Woods and Valhalla are very nice but also steep and tight.

Runs best avoided unless conditions are POWDER:
Upper Milk Run; Powerline; Northwest Passage; Poma Line.

Runs to humble yourself on:
Staircase; Upper Everglade: Vertigo; UN (actually great bump runs but endless); Deliverence; Green Beret, Kitzbuehel ("the kitz" is really a great run. it is totally old-school serious black diamond), is never groomed and there is no snowmaking. plus the fall line is totally off kilter. for some reason you never see snowboarders on it).

Apres ski: Go through Montgomery and in one stop you can: visit Don at FirstTrax (spend some $ in his shop), have a local beer and a really good burger at the Snowshoe, buy groceries/booze & Vermont cheese at Sylvester's Market. If you want a really nice meal in a casual setting on the way back, check out The Belfry, on the 242 between Jay and Montgomery.

Above all, have fun.

^That should be saved somewhere official.

I'd say try to connect with someone who knows during the time you are there. When the time gets closer, maybe revive this thread.

I can't remember too much specifically about what we skied. But I'll tell you one thing, if you get 6 or 8 inches go into the trees - even the ones on the map - and you will have a blast. I remember thinking WOW these trees are really spaced well.  Your average Gore tree skier is going to be in heaven.

Difficult to give recommendations without knowing more about you. Don't be afraid to go off the map: between almost every trail on the map is skiable. You just have to figure out where the entrance is. :D

Well, here are some of my favorites:

Groomers: Green Mountain Boys is a great trail. Sucks skiing the Goat to get there. Vermonter of the summit is nice as well. Otherwise, eh.

Bumps: U.N. is the quintessential quality bump line at Jay. But I rarely ski it as Kitz is a much more interesting trail. I may be in the minority, but I really love Northwest Passage, too. Narrow funky line, dig it.

Underutilized great natural runs: Derick Hot Shot and Lower Milk Run.

Trees: There are a great variety of runs. Most swear by Beaver but I can't stand BP and BBP. Perhaps because everyone else hypes them so much. Though mostly because they are short considering the length of the run and having to take the Freezer. I want more reward for having to cycle that lift. Everglade and Staircase are also often raved about and the over hype steers me away for some reason. Give em' a shot, I'm sure you'll contribute to the hype as well. They are good tree runs.

Buckaroo Bonzai is often overlooked as an excellent low angle glade. Valhalla is fairly unique in being an upper mountain soft wood glade that is rather open. I love the aesthetics of Vertigo though the entrance is usually quite harsh.

Terrain: River Quai, Green Beret, Face Chutes, all offer good exposure and pitch with a side of rocks.

riverc0il wrote

Terrain: River Quai, Green Beret, Face Chutes, all offer good exposure and pitch with a side of rocks.

+1 to that. River Quai and Green Beret are my favourite trails at Jay but I am always a bit hesitant to recommend them. Definitely not everybody's cup of tea...


Looking down the River Quai on a "hardscrabble" day. Yes, that is a rock/ice mix in the foreground.

Raymo, if you haven't already, read some of the TRs from the NSBS last year. That was Jay Peak at its finest. Start with this one:
http://forum.nyskiblog.com/Northeast-Ski-Blogger-Summit-2011-tp2622697p2622697.html

Thanks guys. Have already read all the posts from the NEBS. That sounded like a great time. SBR wow now thats a great primer for anyone heading to Jay. Thanks. As far as skiing ability we can handle everything at Gore both on the map and off. Some better than others but we make it down. No snowboarders in the group, thank god they seem to slow you down on the flats. I'm praying for snow but this year who knows. February 1 and 50 degrees here in Ballston Spa NOT GOOD.  Oh fun WILL be had by all.  

Sbr. How far do you have to hike to get to Andre's Paradise? And how do you know you are there, is there a sign or marker?

Raymo40 wrote

Sbr. How far do you have to hike to get to Andre's Paradise? And how do you know you are there, is there a sign or marker?

It's not very long, maybe 5 to 10 minutes depending on conditions. Skins not required, just solid side-stepping and herringboning skills. There are two ways in, both start at the flat area below the first steep pitch of Ullr's Dream (this will be obvious when you are there). The "usual" way starts at skiers left of the trail marker signs and follow a pretty obvious trail along the ski area boundary rope. You can drop in anywhere between the high point of this trail and the where the boundary rope goes downhill. DO NOT cross the boundary rope no matter how tempting it looks. You could end up in a different drainage and be faced with a very long slog out to the middle of nowhere. The top part of AP, accessed by this route, is a series of very steep, tight chutes which eventually open up into one of the most beautiful glades you'll ever ski. You can avoid the top section by following the somewhat harder to find lower traverse. Go in a little lower, as if you were going to ski Beaver Pond. Look for traverse tracks heading off to the left. It's a bit of an adventure route but gets you to the top of the open glade below the chutes.

Both routes feed into a cat track that takes you back to Ullr's.

Have fun!

i'm not sure anyone is going to find paradise this year.