Somewhere north of the Notch, my car’s temperature display dipped into the double digits. The negative double digits. I started questioning whether the drive to Jay would be worth while. The snow that fell earlier in the week would surely be tracked out, right? Jay’s recent snowfall combined with quite expansive terrain offerings would bring out the crowds, right?

Wrong. On both counts.

I raced the same tram car back to the base three times in a row. Still no line. Still no cut off for loading the tram. Still finding six inches of untracked powder on top of an ample base.

It was a sleepy day with all lifts ski on every run. It was almost eerie riding the lifts with the next closest passenger beyond shouting distance. The trails were completely empty but without reason, aside from the cold which gradually relented from bitter to not really all that uncomfortable. With no wind, the weather was not an issue.

Conditions were fabulous everywhere I went. Licit trails had amazing packed powder. Covert ops yielded boot buckle deep untracked. I almost wanted to lap the groomers, they were amazing and un-Jay like. But I merely enjoyed them as means to ends. Even Goat and Northway were smile inducing perfection in the morning.

Bumps on upper Derick and upper U.N. were excellent. I almost wanted to lap the bumps. But the call of powder was too great and additional covert ops ensued. It was relaxing and enjoyable to not have powder frenzy. A lazy half foot powder day. Was it the cold? Was it the time of year? Who knows the reason but fantastic skiing was the result.

I wanted to ski natural snow today and Jay delivered. Every run was quality and only tomorrow’s bounty could stop me from skiing until closing bell.

Jay’s base is damn impressive right now. Sunday’s storm should drop ropes on most non-tree trails (minus Ullr’s due to snow making operations). Trees are not quite there yet. Passable but not quite enjoyable enough for the slow, meticulous effort. That might change tomorrow for select runs.