Overflow

Yet another foot of snow. Yet another powder day.

One can appreciate how good the season has been at Jay by noticing how few skiers show up for a one-foot powder day. The lifts were ski on all day.

Untracked turns were abundant and easily found open-to-close without having to hunt. I hit some lines that rarely fill in completely. Lines that I haven’t skied in years.

Given the short lines and lack of urgency, I even rode the tram for the first time since 2017. The Face Chutes skied very well. But they were just an appetizer. I followed exceptional untracked drifts through the trees and into St. George’s.

It was so good, I decided to ride the tram again. However, the wind started picking up around 1:30pm, which closed down both the Tram and then the Freezer.

By then, even though there was infinite untracked remaining, I had had my fill. How much untracked powder can one skier possibly enjoy?

My cup is overflowing. I am so grateful for the bounty.

Tuckerbrook

Due to being on call for work, I needed to stay close to home. I opted for an early skin and ski of Tuckerbrook.

It was disappointing not going to Jay (given their exceptional snowfall numbers during the past week). But Jay didn’t receive any more overnight snowfall than Cannon, so I was not missing much.

Below the nordic junction, the trail is still quite thin. Occasional rock is still exposed. But above the junction, the trail is well covered (especially the upper half).

Tuckerbrook is filled in but not that deep. Occasional tree tops are still poking through the snow. The troll bridge has many rocky topographical hurdles. The L&L pitch is still lacking base and is absolutely not recommended.

Overall, it was a pleasant skin and ski.

Astounding

Knee deep untracked. Explosions of powder billowing up and over my shoulders. Run after run after run after run. No competition, no rush. Yet I could barely stop for a single photo to accompany this article (which I finally took well after noontime).

The two day total was easily two feet, and more in spots favored by the wind. The Jet was on wind hold yesterday, so the entire two-day total had accumulated without tracks.

The snow was just slightly denser than pure blower. Many skiers go a lifetime without a day like today, I can go years when winters are lean. Days like today make up for those lean seasons. And today gives me something to look back upon during the lean seasons to come.

Absolutely sensational.

Subside

The wind finally relents. I cannot recall a longer stretch of windy weather. Cold, blustery winds kept the Flyer and the Tram offline for more than a week. Feet of snow were blown off to who knows where.

Now that the high-speed lifts have finally reopened, pent up demand reached fever pitch. Hoping for fresh snow, I decided to start at and ski Tramside (an extremely rare occurrence).

After a bizarre 15-minute late start, the Flyer finally opened with a substantial line. After my second run, the line had backed up to the end of Ullr’s. The tram’s line backed up to the Flyer’s line (likely a two-hour wait to get to the summit, why bother?).

With the Metro Quad down, the Flyer was the only Tramside option (for those that refuse to wait for the Tram). Beginners that might normally take the Metro caused many lift stops on the Flyer.

There was some fresh snow in the off-map Tramside woods. But not much. After a few false starts, I finally found extensive untracked in off-map trees that could, thankfully, be cycled from the Bonnie (ski on).

Snatching victory from defeat, I began lapping boot deep untracked hours after opening. I was flabbergasted, everything seemed so packed down. How could I find powder, let alone untracked? Yet another unexpected powder day (my eighth of the season out of nine days).

Chaotic Rebound

If weather was sentient, it would always manifest its malevolence during the Christmas holiday week. New England could not escape the holiday week without rain. It is simply not permitted.

Jay Peak rebounded nicely with a well-forecasted, multi-day weather event. By the day after New Year’s, Jay was engulfed in a full-on-blizzard. Vehicles that couldn’t make it up the access road clogged 242. And all for not, as the upper mountain lifts never spun.

By Friday morning, more than two feet of snow had fallen, and the snow and wind continued. Fortunately, the Jet and Bonnie were spinning. Unfortunately, everyone seemed to know that JPR was the place to be.

Between vacationers and powder hounds, the lots quickly filled to capacity and the resort started turning would-be-guests away. Given two major lifts were on wind hold, the resulting liftline situation was dreadful.

Many holiday skiers seemed to be taking their first turns of the season. Or perhaps, the first turns of their lives. All lifts experienced incessant slow-downs and stoppages due to loading and unloading issues.

This made two-lift-laps for Tramside runs unbearable, despite exquisite knee deep untracked in the woods. Despite the exquisite snow, I could only stomach the Bonnie/Metro cycle twice.

The boot to knee deep untracked was exceptional. But caution was warranted. The recent meltdown eliminated much of the base, so hidden snowsnakes and rocks were both a factor. By the end of this storm cycle, and with more skier traffic, the snowpack will almost reset to pre-holiday depths.