Work obligations prohibited me from making it to Jay before the warmup. Which is a pity, considering Jay had received over two feet of snow this past week. But in an ominous sign of things to come (three weeks in a row, now), mid-week powder is immediately followed by weekend warmups.

Around 8:00am, while driving north on I-91, I noted that the temperature at Sheffield Heights (similar vertical to Jay Peak’s base) was over 40 degrees. This was not going to be a powder day, warmer temps had arrived much sooner than I expected. True to its nature, an El Niño year means you have to be at the mountain immediately following a storm. Even more so than a normal year.

Those possessed by powder made the foolish decision to attack the natural snow trails, like U.N. Two feet of untracked mank was a poor option. The natural snow would ski better once it was worked over and tracked out. I wisely eyed a well groomed Jet and made laps on the groomer. Later, I would enjoy packed dense natural snow on U.N. and Kitz. Better than normal for this time of year, but a far cry from expected.