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Powder Day? Two days after the storm? Pinch me!

After staying out late last night, I was feeling very tired at the 6 A.M. alarm. Ditched plans to ski either Jay or Mad River Glen (more likely MRG), I opted for a $15 half day at Burke Mountain which averaged about a buck fiddy per run. Sweet deal, especially considering the quality of the runs.

The competition at Jay Peak on a powder day is insane. You get so little chance at scoring top to bottom untracked despite the amazing quantity of terrain and tree shots at Jay. It is baffling how quickly the powder goes gets played out only one day after a storm. But two days after the storm? Even off the map shots are fully tracked out. Enter Burke Mountain two days after a storm at noon time…

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It was the best of times and the worst of times at Jay Peak today. If you knew where to go to find the powder, it was the best of times. For those that showed up expecting to find a foot of fresh on in bound trails and glades, it was probably frustratingly the worst of times.

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Worked late yesterday so I came in late to work this morning. Felt really good, kind of like I was sticking it back to the man for the man sticking it to me every so often. Jay Peak reciprocal mid-week pass was in effect for two runs before heading into work. Burke was empty, wow! Talk about a mountain that is under utilized mid-week, let alone on the weekends. Burke’s very friendly staff directed me to the correct desk for my ticket and I was advised (by a former Jay employee who I talked trees with) that Cave Man would be better than Throbulator (both recently opened). The employee informed me that he had been on the trail crew that maintained Cave Man over the Summer, pretty cool getting that type of information when both runs count!

Up the Sherburne Express and then up a rather cold Willoughby Quad to the summit. Two inches of dust on top of the groomed made the first couple turns on Big Dipper feel amazing. But I bared right onto Wilderness that had natural snow and really nice small and soft moguls with 2-4″ of light fluff on top of a packed base. I built up a lot of speed since the moguls were small and the snow was soft. Cruised some arcs down another groomer with 2″ of fluff en route to the Caveman entrance.

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Yesterday morning must have been nice. That much was evident after only a few tree runs on Sunday. Alas, I was not able to attend to the powder festivities Saturday morning. Sunday was still a good day at Jay, but I can not help but feel my relative experience of ‘good’ has changed over the years. Just a few yaers ago, today would have qualified as very good if not super. Now, I turn my nose up at being a day late for boot deep untracked. Packed and loose powder with only occasional boot deep? Only two knee deep drifts in the woods? What type of crap is this?

Sloppy seconds were the order of the day as (no surprise) the powder hounds were out in force on Saturday. The ‘Stupid Bowl’ kept the crowds relatively light (perhaps crowds had shifted to Cannon Mountain in New Hampshire for their yearly Two-Fer tradition). No line for the Freezer all day but the Tram had a two car wait. It was a terribly cold and windy day to be riding the Freezer. I took two absolutely miserable rides on the most reviled lift in New England. When getting stuck at the Tram lodge drainage, I opted for the slow Metro Quad back to Stateside more often than not. I am always boggled by the amount of people that wait for the Tram. Locals, Regulars, and Pass Holders rarely ride the Tram except for occasional access to Green Beret, Valhalla, Tuckerman Chutes, or the Face (of which only the former two trails were open and not worth the ride).

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More of the same from Jay Peak today with traffic levels taking a toll on snow conditions. Over night snowfall was only an inch or two which was of little benefit. Groomeed trails were getting scraped early and lots of scraping occurred between the bumps. A few nice mogul lines were still to be found on packed powder. The trees took a beating and need a refresher.

My luck ran out today as troubles with the chairlifts continued. Several emergency stops occurred on the Red Chair this morning (a chairlift lurching to a stop is an unnerving sensation, unlike a typical lift stoppage). After what seemed like twice the normal lift time, we finally made it to the unload station and the lift was shut down but was running again by noon.

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Today was an interesting but rather good day. The temperature started off in the pits which encouraged visiting the lodge every second or third run. By the end of the day, I was considering removing layers. Further suggesting abnormalities, the Red Chair, Blue Chair, and Tram all suffered off line issues throughout the day. The Blue Chair was down for half the day, the Red Chair was down for a quarter of the day, and the Tram went down around noon time for what about a half hour. Lift mechanics were spotted climbing up the Tram arm to the wires near the summit shack and inspecting one of the cable holders. Just another bizarre day at Jay Peak.

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As I predicted in my report yesterday, powder was long gone by Sunday and replaced with packed powder and frozen granular. What I had not predicted was the wind buff both in and out of the trees would be so substantial. The poor setup likely had many folks who did not ski Saturday wondering if there was any powder this weekend. Open slopes and groomers were a crappy hard packed loose granular which left much to be desired whereas wind protected trees sported decent packed powder.

On our first run, I actually made a few nice turns down The Goat before running into scraped and icy conditions at the S turn under the Freezer which is always a suspect spot on the mountain. We continued down Green Mountain Boys which also had nasty loose granular surfaces and skied into North Glade. With the Freezer and Tram off line for half the day yesterday, I was hoping that the Tram Side glades would have conditions than Stateside which took the full brunt of eight hours of traffic. Unfortunately, the wind buff even terrorized the woods and North Glade was no exception with variable wind buffed snow and general thin cover. A work out for the first run of the morning to say the least (especially considering I was already hurting from Saturday). The snow was better lower in North Glade but not worth a repeat.

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Wish I could say that we left some freshies for those not willing to brave the cold and wind on Saturday. Unfortunately for the fair weather skiers, you snooze you loose. Jay is officially tracked out. After a horrendous beginning of the season, it is officially on at Jay Peak with 70 out of 76 trails open following a one foot dump of blower powder. The best snow conditions of the season to date was quickly ravished by the hungry powder hounds leaving nothing but tracks in their wake.

Dan and Austin joined me for First Chair on The Jet Triple Chairlift. Dan made the brilliant suggestion to delay the glades a run and sample the powder on the open slopes. We enjoyed a crazy cool run down Haynes featuring about six inches of blower powder over a groomer surface. The skiing felt REALLY nice. I was carving turns slightly on the groomed hard pack in between floating mid-turn on the powder. White Gold was bellowing up from my tips and floating over my knee caps in a rush on white. It was a really sweet run and great start to the day.

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With the second busiest week of the year under way at work and a sizable snow storm barreling into Vermont, I had few options for mid-week powder pursuit. A day off from work was strictly off the table and post work festivities could not begin until well past dark. My desire for turn earning and adventure dictated drastic action in the form of my first ever Dawn Patrol. Unfortunately, there was no powder to be found due to mixed precip and a poor setup the day before. But turn earning is more about the adventure than finding perfect snow and my first ever skin into the darkness was a reward in and of itself.

My position requires strict timeliness to open my place of employment at exactly 7:45 A.M. This sad fact combined with a need for a shower and complete change of clothes made logistics rather difficult. Fortunately, I work at a College where access to a shower at the Gym is available at seven in the morning. I set my alarm for 3:30 A.M. to be safe but later learned the hard way that 4:00 A.M. not only would have been fine, but would have been better. After gathering my gear and getting the wheels rolling, I stopped by the local Cumbies for a quick breakfast snack. The employee ringing the register inquired “What are we up to this morning?” To which I replied that I was heading up to Burke to earn a ski run before work. I got a rather blank and dumb founded look in response.

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Thank goodness we are going to get some more snow soon. As far as snow conditions go, this was the second worst snow conditions I have skied this year (which includes those infamous December days in which only The Jet and Haynes were open). Absolutely horrid. I took four runs and went home, completely baffled by the small line of people queuing up to actually pay for lift tickets outside the Stateside Lodge. I have skied some questionable days this season, but ultimately I have generally decided it was worth the time and gas money to get at least a few runs and dial in the legs a bit more. Not today, it was a complete waste of my morning.

Something wet but not of the frozen variety caked Jay’s snow base and froze over slightly. The result was that the groomers were only skiing well for those with well tuned race skis (I would have been a lot more happy today had I a pair of Volkl 6 Stars). Trails on the Stateside of the Bonaventure Quad were essentially scraped up frozen groomer tracks with a deceptive dusting of loose snow. Natural snow trails faired slightly better in most spots, a lot worse in others.

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After yesterday’s romp (which was my first open to close day of the year), I was rather tired and a wee bit sore. I opted for a late start and desired to leave early when my legs inevitably gave out. I ended up skiing from approximately 9a-1p which was about what I had expected.

What I had not expected was how bad the conditions would setup over night on the mountain. Temps dropped and the snow froze up a bit and got some wind buff. I skied a few open trails before ducking back into the woods and did not like what I saw. Northway and trails in that drainage were total skating rinks and the upper section of The Jet and Haynes did not look so good (I didn’t ski either, but after seeing a few slides for life from the lift, you kinda get the feel for how things are skiing). Natural trails were obliterated. They opened up Kitzbeuhel today but it was just nasty.

Out of a dozen runs I think I ended up in the woods about 10 times picking out trusty powder shots where I suspected base levels would be adequate and dangerous hazards would be minimal (relatively). I found way more pow than I had expected. Each run featured about 25% untracked or barely tracked in places I suspected had been trounced yesterday. It was slim pickings though… pick a line, get six turns, stop, reassess, likely traverse, repeat. By noon time the fresh lines were gone but sloppy seconds were still available. After a few more desperation runs for safe shots, my legs had enough and I called it a day. Pictures will be posted later.

Photo Gallery

On the previous Tuesday, Jay had only ten trails open. A four short days later, the trail count suddenly tripled to thirty. Essentially, Jay dropped the ropes on trails folks had been poaching and let everyone have at the dust on dirt. It was all good! Amazing what six inches of snow feels like when you have been deprived for weeks. Equally amazing what said powder will make people think is skiable.

Derick Hot Shot started off really nice; nicer than Tuesday at least, but got beat up quickly. That was the theme of the day for the open natural snow trails. The moguls under the Jet Chairlift finally started to setup but still featured lots of icy spots. Haynes was a skating rink. Patrol took note and put up fencing along some trees.

Traverse trails like Taxi were open on natural snow sporting deep water bars and rocks. Beginners and intermediates were not having fun on such trails despite their Green Circle rating. Later in the day, patrol roped a particularly bad section of Taxi towards the end of the traverse which forced beginners and intermediates down a disastrously thin Lower Can Am. Not even I had much tolerance for the mess on Lower Can Am, I can only imagine what the other skiers were thinking.

Off the Summit, Vermonter was our first run and a total disaster. Not sure if it ever got better. Northway was in much better shape from the Summit. Upper Milk Run was also particularly terrible and not worth the effort.

Trees were navigational but only with high caution levels and careful line choices. I backed off several lines due to obstacles or being unsure what was hidden under the six inches of fresh. A base had been established, but nothing substantial. One rock, stump, or snow snake could easily trip someone up and send them flying. Where we found lines, the skiing was sensational (relative to the weather we have had this December). A lot of folks were selecting some questionable tree shots. Knowledge of how things setup and what is doable in low base periods is advisable before just jumping into any open hole on the side of the trail. Things were especially crunchy lower down on the mountain.

Video from Today at Jay Peak

Photo Gallery

*Le Sigh*

After a week of wild predictions ranging from boot deep to the jackpot, I woke up Tuesday morning to the tune of only two inches of snow in Saint Johnsbury. Fret not, surely Jay Peak received much more than two inches! Arriving at the Stateside lot shortly after the bull wheels began turning, it was unfortunately confirmed that Jay Peak faired no better than Saint Johnsbury. Two stinking inches of very wet snow. Adding insult to injury, non-crystalline precipitation was following from the sky and a mist of wet nastiness hung over Jay. Is it 2007 yet?

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Welcome back to winter! Just in time for the Christmas Holiday and two days after the Winter Solstice, Ullr was kind enough to bless Jay Peak with two inches of fresh snow. For some excited skiers and riders, it was all fun and games until trying to drive up an unplowed Route 242 without snow tires! Snow began promptly on Route 242 just past the village of Jay and several cars with out of state plates and no snow tires dotted the side of the road. Trails were surprisingly sparse during the morning hours due to the slick conditions on an unplowed Route 242. Even once road conditions allowed safe passage for all cars regardless of treed, crowds were manageable through the morning and afternoon.

This afternoon featured the best weekend skiing at Jay Peak in almost two months since the earned turn October storms. The base was still generally wet from the rain on Saturday. However, a nice layer of fresh wet snow blanketed the trails with occasional spots of lighter powder making for excellent sliding conditions.

Beginning the morning with a ride up the Bonnie Quad, I found delightful cruising on Northway with exceptionally good high speed carving on the lower half of Angel’s Wiggle. I opened up my skis and carved huge edge to edge arcs back to the base area. While tempted for a repeat, I decided to take a rain check and opted for the Jet Triple.

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Yet another day in paradise. The mid-December mark has passed and Jay Peak has struggled to open new terrain due to abnormally mild temperatures and a complete dirth of natural snow. The Green Mountain Flyer (a.k.a. The Freezer) debuts this weekend with one route down to the Tram Base Lodge. Jay offers up ten trails this weekend with five lifts turning for a two trail per lift average. Thankfully, the addition of the Freezer and Metro Quad servicing Intermediate and Beginner terrain has taken much stress off The Jet area by the Stateside Lodge. However, despite having five lifts turning and ten trails open, Jay was not able to offer a connecting route to allow skiers access to the Stateside area from the Tramside area. Despite more elbow room and slightly better overall conditions, I found the afternoon of skiing uninspiring and elected to stay home on Sunday despite having a Season Pass.

I rolled out of bed around 9:30 A.M. and spent the better part of the next hour deciding if skiing was worth it or not. I decided it beat spending an afternoon doing Kakuro puzzles and went for it. I opted for the Tramside lot not knowing there was no connect to the Stateside area and thinking I would stay for the Season Pass holder party. After a few hours of skiing, I decided I couldn’t be bothered with the celebrations. The amount of non-New license plates in the parking lot was amazing. Jay is not worth driving up from Boston right now, let alone New York or New Jersey or Virginia.

I took three or four runs off the freezer which all blended together. Goat (one of my least favorite trails in all of New England) was blah with frozen granular surfaces on the upper section and a thin cover messy disaster under The Freezer. Conditions improved on Lower River Quai with softening snow conditions and okay soft moguls forming on skiers’ left. Interstate felt like one with additional skiers funneling off the Metro Quad and race training set up on skiers’ left. I opened up the skis and let run some nice big arcs on the soft snow with occasional thin spots. Middle and lower sections of the mountain were in Spring Skiing form with soft mushy snow and thin spots to avoid.

After a car shuttle to the Stateside Auxiliary lot, I discovered that things were a little bit more exciting over on The Jet. Upper sections of Haynes were very scraped and generally sucked with race training on Lower Haynes on skiers’ left. The Jet was moderately better featuring relatively decent snow conditions due to less traffic and warmer temps that softened the snow. The Jet had occasional loose snow on the edges of the trail, frozen granular up top, and snow softening up to spring like conditions down low. Moguls under the lift line were uninspiring.