Following the Thanksgiving Day rain event, Jay Peak posted a typical read-between-the-lines styled snow report that suggested skiing conditions would be variable and icy despite the change over that provided four inches of snow. The following day Jay reported in with another four inches of fresh and pictures of white stuff flying through the air. My interest was piqued and my optimism was initialized but I retained realistic sensibilities that skiing this weekend would be in a word, interesting.
My optimism was instantly dashed, much to my chagrin, as I approach the ski racks of Jay Peak’s stateside lodge. The snow was crunchy, without much depth, and of questionable base layers. Dust on crust it was going to be!
With my back still sore from last week’s two day powder romp, I was in no condition for a full out assault on the powder stashes I knew Jay had to offer for those willing to exert themselves. Things off the Jet Triple looked pretty bleak for first chair. Interestingly enough, the groomer tracks on The Jet looked most appetizing of all since I have yet to have a great top to bottom railroad tracks groomer run this season. Or, the natural snow under the chairlift just looked that bad. Perhaps a little of both. Most other skiers and riders on The Jet had the same idea so I pounced on The Jet like it was chock full o’ powder before the hordes turned The Jet into steep frozen cat tracks which happened by around ten that morning.
Following my fast top to bottom romp down The Jet, I decided to see how bad things were on U.N. since Haynes and Derick were closed. Major dust on crust action throughout both Upper and Lower U.N. with the upper selection offering occasional boot deep untracked around the frozen bumps. Brilliant. Kitzbuehel had a sign courtosy of Jay Peak Ski Patrol suggesting that it was not for the faint of heart. I opted for a dash down Montrealer to Catwalk to Upper Milk Run where I discovered six to eight inches of delightful dust on crust action. Amazingly, that run met my definition of a powder day despite horrid conditions on the main runs. With only one other track preceding my own, I decided I should take two before the word got out but it was well tracked by my second run.
Other delightful dust on slightly less difficult crust was found on some lower mountain trails including Lower Can Am, Lower Liftline, and Lower Milk Run. These delights more than made up for the horrid conditions on The Jet and U.N. However, after only five runs, my lower back was begging for mercy preventing me from heading to even whiter pastures. Today was not for the faint of heart and I almost felt bad for everyone lining up to purchase a ticket when I was leaving shortly after ten o’clock. People lured into Jay’s mystique by epic trip reports last week and a reported eight inches of fluff that fell on very nasty conditions left over from the rain/freeze event earlier this week.
