A decent coating of light fluff made the snow look slower than it actually skied. The snow lacked the expected friction, which is provided by anything denser than blower. I constantly accelerated faster than expected and had to check my speed in the trees.

But I was in the trees, skiing natural snow and challenging terrain, which was all that mattered. Jay Peak has received every rain-freeze-wind-cold event that has plagued New England this season. But the rain has been less damaging along the Canadian boarder, allowing Jay to keep much of its natural terrain and trees open following rebound snowfall. It wasn’t amazing, but it was better skiing than almost every other ski area in New England.