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/Taxi 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.