2025-2026 Season, December, Jay Peak, Powder Day

Jay: Bonus Powder

After going hard on Saturday, I decided to take Sunday off. It was supposed to snow Sunday. But it was not an overnight storm. The new snow would be skied in throughout the day on Sunday without accumulating, so it wasn’t worth going back-to-back.

However, when I checked the Sunday afternoon snow report, I discovered that the Bonnie never ran. Monday would be an unexpected bonus. The grand total was “only” seven inches. But with strong winds, seven inches can feel like double or nothing.

After an extended wait, patrol finally gave the thumbs up. I had the fourth chair. I couldn’t help but take a rare untracked run down Deliverance. The snow was soft, dense, and supportive. A delightful bonus on top of Saturday’s excess.

I rode the Bonnie all morning and, after several runs, I continued to find plenty of untracked. Patrol had Goat roped off (I assume it was a sheet of ice from the wind), so I accessed the goods via a short sidestep up from the Goat/Quai intersection.

The crowd was minimal, a complete non-factor. I rode the Bonnie solo more often than not. Even after a 20-minute delay, there were less than 100 people at line up. It was old-school low-key, (adjective style rather than adverbial).

The untracked would last all day. But my legs were shot from Saturday and I wasn’t going to kill myself for “only” seven inches. I could have put more in the bank (you never know how long the good times will last). But I got my fill and left before noon, more than satisfied.

Even one lap of untracked was more than I had expected today. It was all just bonus.

2025-2026 Season, Jay Peak, November, Powder Day

Jay: A Chaotic Foot

Jay recently passed one hundred inches during November. And the snow continues to fall. Over a foot of powder fell during the past two days, further juicing the already amped up demand. I knew today was going to be a bit wild, so I set an early alarm.

Due to issues with card printers, season pass holders were not able to get their cards until after Thanksgiving. I waited in a considerable line despite arriving at the customer service desk 45 minutes before the lifts opened.

Customer service is located Tramside but only Stateside lifts were running, which added to the chaos. Most people were taking the bus. But I drove back in hopes that the Stateside lot wasn’t full yet.

The race was on and I did okay for parking and lift line up position. But when the Bonnie opened, the lift coral immediately disintegrated without sufficient supervision. Have at it, let’s go.

—

I started on Can Am where I found boot deep untracked with occasional knee deep drifts. Finally, after four ski days and over 100″ for the month, I was getting my first powder day of the season.

I went to the Jet and into the woods like it was mid-season. Absolutely unreal. Most of the Stateside trees had a well-packed base below the powder. The lower mountain is still a bit thin. Unfortunately, due to snowmaking, a rope was up preventing access to Derick, Timbuk, etc.

I took a break and then skied Tramside via the Bonnie. Local knowledge definitely helps during the early season. As long as you don’t drop down onto Ullr’s or below The Snail, you can ski much of Tramside and still get back to the Bonnie without taking a bus back.

Off map woods in the Goat area had not been packed down yet, so caution was required. Despite said caution, a snow covered drainage still ate my skis. There was more than enough untracked on the trails, so I opted to keep it on the trails after eating it in the drainage.

It was a very satisfying day despite the chaotic start. Crowds were extremely busy for opening week. On the plus side, many people burned 4-pack tickets or Indy tickets early. So, maybe that means slightly less crowding later in the season.

2025-2026 Season, Earned Turns, Jay Peak, November

Jay: Mid-Winter in November

After 99″ of snow in less than a month, I’ve still yet to have a powder day at Jay this season. But today certainly got me closer to that designation.

A few inches fell overnight on top of the frozen crusty layer from Friday’s minor rain/freeze event. It was less than hoped for, but it still made for my best turns of the season. Uphill traffic was considerably less my last tour. I started Tramside and skinned up Ullr’s.

Turns were variable but mostly soft, with a bit of powder on top of a crusty base layer with weird undulations. The base depth was sufficient for glades. So, after JFK, I decided to try Everglade.

I rarely ski Everglade during the season. Much like Beaver Pond, Everglade is very well known and gets traffic that outshines its better qualities. It is grossly overrated.

But when conditions are good and not scrapped with massive bumps, it really is a nice line. Unfortunately, it dumps out into a flat out that parallels Kokomo. Some water bars were still open in the flats, but solid navigation had me out of the woods without any incidents.

Overall, it was a fine tour. The upper mountain is in mid-winter form despite the calendar date. That may change due to a Thanksgiving warm-up. But a foot or two of snow may follow for next weekend. Perhaps my first powder day of the season is just around the corner.

2025-2026 Season, Jay Peak, November

Jay: The Perfect Storm

News of 93″ at Jay Peak in November had spread far and wide via many different sources. Social Media, Traditional Media, Jay Peak’s self-promotion, etc. Jay received so much snow that they decided to open one weekend early, further juicing the hype train.

But the weather threw a wrench into the procession. On Friday, the day before opening, the temperature began warming. And during the night, a light rain fell before temperatures plunged.

Unfortunately, the worst case scenario happened, and the natural snow locked up. It was best to stick to groomers, despite what looked like mid-winter conditions.

I saw the train wreck coming, but still decided to join in (hoping beyond hope for a little natural snow and tree skiing). I treated the morning like a powder day, arriving an hour before the lifts opened and still barely getting a spot in the Stateside lot, which was already mostly full.

Thankfully, I got to the ticket window before the lines started to form. Passholders like myself were forced to request a complimentary day ticket because the season pass printers were still not operational.

The line for the Jet backed up like a powder day, but it was anything but a powder day. I was about 50 chairs back from first chair, and got to see the occasional regrettable attempt at skiing under the chair (off the groomed snow).

I ripped a run down the Jet and got back in line. A few chairs from the top, the lift stopped and didn’t restart. “Uh oh.”

Due to the condition of Jay Peak’s Jet and Bonnie chairs, I always dress with consideration for a possible lift evacuation in mind. Both lifts have experienced a lot of issues during the past few years. I have very little trust in either lift.

Sure enough, after a fairly long wait, the backup motor kicked in and I knew my day was over after just two runs. I skied down the Jet far enough to see a mass of humanity leaving the queue and heading for the Bonnie (which also had a considerable line).

I had no desire to wait 30+ minutes for a ride on the Taxi Quad. And who knows how long the Jet might take to be repaired (turns out, it was about two hours). I cut back to the Stateside lodge, changed, and headed for home (attempting to beat a possible exodus).

If anything good came out of today, at least many Four Pass and Indy Pass holders burned one of their tickets, which should decrease crowding a bit later in the season on better days.

The owners of JPR really need to begin investing in the lift infrastructure (especially the Jet and the Bonnie). Years of kicking the can down the road is really starting to show.

2025-2026 Season, Earned Turns, Jay Peak, November

Jay: After the Storm

The skiing today was a fair bit better than my previous trip to Jay. However, work and other obligations continue to get in the way of powder skiing. My ski days continue to come in-between the storm and the frozen consolation periods.

Snow conditions were variable with a few inches on top of a crusty, frozen base layer. Dealing with turns from previous skier traffic etched into the base layer was a challenge.

Each turn presented a different type of snow surface, sometimes powdery and sometimes crusty and sometimes both. Weighting and unweighting turns became quite challenging as snow surfaces were unpredictable.

The real story is the overwhelming quantity of people uphilling. While skinning Ullr’s, I counted over 30 other people within eye-shot. I usually do not see 30 people in total, let alone all at once while skinning.

I got to thinking “I hope no one does anything stupid.” I mentally admonished myself for self-talk that was critical of other skiers (lest I start throwing stones in a glass house). But I would later learn that my gut feeling proved to be justified.

Following a number of incidents (including an injured skier, property damage, and skiers intruding on snowmaking operations), JPR released a statement calling for better decision making and obeying the simple requests of staying away from operations.

We are very fortunate that JPR allows uphilling during all times of the year, including early season and late season. You could even say they encourage it, since they make social media posts showing skiers and riders earning turns when the lifts are closed.

That permission could easily be revoked. Personally, I appreciate having green and yellow lights to uphill at a closed ski area. Although I occasionally do it, I prefer not to outlaw uphill at areas that prohibit the practice.

In either case, I always avoid mountain ops, even if it means deviating from my established plan (which happened last week: I adjusted my skin route to a less desirable option while other uphillers skinned past mountain ops using heavy machinery to work on a water bar).

Let’s hope this early season wake up call leads to better decision making, avoiding mountain operations, and more conservative early season descent choices.