Fair to say that I spent more time hiking than riding a lift today. Northway was the highway to untracked paradise. My touring rig was available if I decided to venture Tramside or to the summit. But with Can Am and River Quai skiing so well, why bother? A backpack and skins would just slow me down. The hikes were short, and the turns were deep.
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.
At some point, ski seasons started becoming routine. Early season was commonplace and skiing before Thanksgiving was the expectation. Hike for natural snow turns and then upload on the Locke Triple when Sunday River opened. My posts at the time reflected a melancholy of going through the motions.
October 2018 was the last year I skied during October. Skiing before Thanksgiving has become more rare as climate change delays the first major snow event of the season. The early season players have not been as eager to blow early and have eliminated deals in favor of season pass sales.
It was not just the seasons that were changing, but also how I approached and thought about them. Perhaps I was changing more than the seasons themselves. And more change is coming this season. Even though the early season weather outlook has not improved, my relationship to the season has.
I am back at Jay with a season pass (with reciprocal at Ragged, for a close-to-home option). The mountain is covered in a firm and crusty snow (which will make an exceptional base layer if we can avoid melting).
Jay opened this weekend with the Jet groomed loose-granular and natural on UN, Haynes, and Derick. Haynes was rough, the bumps on UN were firm but appreciated.
Given the forecast, I expect rapid expansion next weekend. Count me in either way. Both for the season and for next weekend.
Last year, Jay went deep into the spring, extending closing weekend to mid-May. That is not going to happen this year.
Amazingly, Jay was running almost all of its lifts except the carpets, Village Double, and the Freezer (the Tram was scheduled but on wind hold). That was certainly above and beyond, as I would not expect more than the Jet and the Bonnie at this point (and I would have been fine with only the Jet). Some other Vermont resorts *cough* Sugarbush *cough* close lifts as fast as possible, long before the snow has completely melted (or, just shut down completely despite ample coverage *cough* Stowe *cough*). But Jay does things differently.
From the Bonnie, the Goat was just hanging on and Northway to the usual runouts had ample coverage (but was not skiing very well). Over on the Jet, Haynes was edge to edge but not skiing very well and the Jet was edge to edge with alternating piles of soft between frozen groomer tracks. Thankfully, there was an irregular bump line under half of the lift line. Montrealer provided access to Northway and the run out trails. Turns could still be linked in Kitz Woods, but connections were sometimes challenging.
The snow was melting fast. I assume it will be Jet only next weekend. I am not sure if the machines will be able to push around enough snow for Jay to make it to May (unless they extend the weekend and stay open for Monday May 1, and then call it a season). It has been a strange season, but Jay still hangs tough to the bitter end while others call it quits. They have certainly earned my business for next season.
Hard to believe it has been ten years since my last time skiing Hillman’s.
I haven’t skied half of Tuckerman Ravine’s routes, but I’ve skied enough to know that I enjoy skiing and climbing Hillman’s the most. Hillman’s is far from the ravine circus and offers drama free climbing. There is a chill vibe. The gully has the easiest pitch in the ravine area, but also the longest run. And there is no need to down hike if the Little Headwall isn’t in, either.
With 80 degree temperatures forecasted Friday and Saturday, I rearranged my work schedule to get to Mount Washington on Thursday. The Tuckerman Ravine Trail was skinable bottom to top, and the Sherburne ski trail was skiable top to bottom. Neither of those conditions would be present by the weekend, with as much as one-third of the Sherburne trail closed after the big melt down.
I had a “summit to car” adventure in mind. The better climbing route would have been Right Gully to the East Snowfields. But with the Little Headwall out, Hillman’s would be the only summit to car option from Pinkham. That assumed there was a skiable connection from the bottom of the summit cone to Hillman’s, via the lawn above the ravine’s lip. I suspected such a connection may not exist, so I opted to ascend the better ski route rather the better summit route.
Which was ultimately the best decision. After climbing out of the gully, I started skinning up to the Davis Path looking for a connection to the summit cone. But despite Hillman’s being quite full, the plateau around the summit was quite melted already despite the early time of the season. I wasn’t going to hike in ski boots across the rocky summit trails, so I turned around and headed back to Hillman’s.
It is just as well that I bailed on the summit option as Hillman’s was already quite cooked by the time I started descending. It would only get softer and mushier as the afternoon progressed. Turns were quite nice but a major workout given the soft snow.
By the time I reached the Sherburne, the snow was extremely wet and sticky. I pointed my skis straight down the Sherburne and often needed to poll to keep momentum. The final few turns were quite barren, but still retained enough snow that I did not need to down hike or side slip.
