Our epic December in New England is drawing to a close. Powder hounds were out in force this past week trouncing the goods following several feet of new snow on an already bomber base. My hope was that intimate knowledge of Jay Peak would allow me to find some untracked left over from Thursday when seven inches of snow fell at Jay Peak. Unfortunately, despite getting to Jay Peak nearly in time for first chair and immediately skiing through three of my favorite go to tree shots, I was not able to find any significant untracked snow.
Exacerbating the lack of untracked was the fact that I was skiing on my touring gear. Having lodged four impressive and deep gouges in my alpine skis last week at Burke, I dropped them off at the shop last Sunday expecting to pick them up by Friday. Unfortunately, I completely forgot to pick up the skis Friday night leaving to choose whether to leave first thing in the morning with touring gear or have a delayed start to pick up my alpine skis. I choose to ski in touring gear and felt very uncomfortable sliding around on my G-Rides which are super for touring and uphill travel but terrible in tight trees on bumps and hard pack. My skiing was absolutely abysmal and I felt like I was skiing my first day of the season all over again.
Rather than fight against poor conditions and equipment that did not feel right, I opted to leave Jay Peak proper after three runs and earn turns in the local Jay backcountry. I opted for a short low angle glade and found completely untracked dense powder. Approximately seven inches of dense powder had settled on a deep and consolidated base of snow. Stepping out of my binding sunk me down to my knees without coming close to hitting bottom. As I skinned up, I noticed several animal tracks meandering through the forest including a huge line of moose tracks. Being all alone in the trees with only animal tracks as a sign that I was not completely alone was a wonderful experience.
Turns were hard to make due to the density of the snow. Figure elevens were the best option with an occasional wiggle through the trees. Steeper aspects would have been a better idea but I appreciated the lack of pitch and quick skin, especially considering I was breaking trail and having trouble with skins staying glued to my skis. After one run, I decided to head back to the car and head home. Despite the excellent snow in the backcountry, I was tired from a long week of work and just did not have my heart in today’s skiing.