It was not supposed to happen like this. Jay was supposed to open next week. If we were lucky, Jay would have had The Jet and Haynes covered with man made snow and groomed to less than desirable so called perfection. Instead, Jay got two feet of snow during the week before Thanksgiving and decided to open a week early. Thanks Jay!

The surreal feeling experienced while skiing through the trees during mid-November in what looks like and feels like mid-January conditions is not something I could ever get used to. Though I would certainly love to have enough such experiences that mid-November days become just as routine as the bi-weekly six inch refreshes that Jay usually receives during the winter.

Last week I ascended Jay Peak to the summit via earned turns on approximately 2-8″ of consolidated base depth. What remained of that initial shot of natural snow after the rains preceding this most recent storm is any ones guess. At the time of this writing, Jay has either under reported snow totals or have yet to find the magical “Jay Inch” measuring location. Sinking my pole more than halfway into the snow, many places in the trees were easily two or more feet deep. But the trees always receive blow in so that is not an accurate measurement. A more accurate measurement would be the minimum boot deep untracked found on the trails as the area opened for the first time this season.

Despite the nine o’clock start time, the lift was spinning and loading well before. Nhski and I boarded the Jay Triple around 8:50 A.M. for passage to the top of The Jet. Patrol was in a rush to drop ropes and ‘boo obstacles. Soon after our second run, all non-glade trails off The Jet were “officially” opened (not that the reserved ropes had stopped any one). All trails skied spectacularly well starting off with powder and progressing towards loose snow and packed powder conditions.

Soon enough, people started jumping into the woods. Fool hardy or not, we were in search of fresh lines and there appeared to be ample coverage for cautious woods exploration. We found boot to knee deep in the more well maintained and open glades. We also found a lot of not-so-well-buried hazards and potential snow snakes. Slow and cautious turns were made on the more open lines only. Unofficial tree shots and less well maintained lines were not ready for prime time. Surprise of the day was delightful low angle boot to knee deep powder in Hells Woods where I scored my first face shot of the season.

Unreal.