Author: Steve

2007-2008 Season, December, Jay Peak, Powder Day

Less Than Hoped for Conditions at Jay

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Our epic December in New England is drawing to a close. Powder hounds were out in force this past week trouncing the goods following several feet of new snow on an already bomber base. My hope was that intimate knowledge of Jay Peak would allow me to find some untracked left over from Thursday when seven inches of snow fell at Jay Peak. Unfortunately, despite getting to Jay Peak nearly in time for first chair and immediately skiing through three of my favorite go to tree shots, I was not able to find any significant untracked snow.

Exacerbating the lack of untracked was the fact that I was skiing on my touring gear. Having lodged four impressive and deep gouges in my alpine skis last week at Burke, I dropped them off at the shop last Sunday expecting to pick them up by Friday. Unfortunately, I completely forgot to pick up the skis Friday night leaving to choose whether to leave first thing in the morning with touring gear or have a delayed start to pick up my alpine skis. I choose to ski in touring gear and felt very uncomfortable sliding around on my G-Rides which are super for touring and uphill travel but terrible in tight trees on bumps and hard pack. My skiing was absolutely abysmal and I felt like I was skiing my first day of the season all over again.

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Ski Movies

Review of Wanderland by The Meatheads

Wanderland DVD by The Meatheads
The Meatheads continue to provide exclusively East Coast skiing footage in the form of a yearly video release. Wanderland debuted in October 2007 and continues the proven one hour video format with lots of bonus features available and sidebars. Previous releases from the Meatheads include Snow Gods, Born From Ice, Epoch, and Schooled.

Several notable absences are immediately noted from Wanderland including powder fiend Joe Morabito and Simon Thompson who were amongst the Meatheads best skiing talent that always delivered memorable scenes. Not only did the overall skiing talent reduce in quality but new Meatheads lack the personal dynamics involved with shooting great lifestyle aspects. Wanderland is an improvement upon last year’s extremely sub-par Snow Gods but fails to live up to past Meatheads releases.

The independent film company’s releases are overly broad in their appeal and would probably be better served by two distinct releases instead of piecing together park, pipe, jib, and rail scenes along side big mountain, powder, and earned turns features. The urban rail and jib scenes are sensational featuring some of the best young talent to be found any where in the United States. This skier can appreciate the dedication to ski when ever and where ever snow can be found. But the park and pipe scenes drag on with uninspiring big air routines that seem out of place on an “East Coast Ski Thriller. The park and pipe skiers lack depth and ability when removed from their unnatural playground.

The Meatheads are loosing touch with the balance between appealing both to skiers that love natural snow and unnatural features. The Meatheads do glade, powder, and big mountain scenes so well, it is sad to see such scenes over shadowed by excessively repetitive park footage. The narrator truly shoots the feature in the foot when noting that an unexpected and rare April storm that was measured in feet rather than inches was making it hard for park skiing. While I was ripping boot to knee deep untracked at Mad River Glen last April, the Meatheads were filming a park scene at Sunday River. That about sums up the problematic ratio of park scenes compared to powder footage.

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Big Jay Coverage

County Courier Reports on Big Jay Access Meeting

The County Courier has posted an article by Jedd Kettler detailing discussion during the Big Jay Access meeting this past Saturday at the Stateside Lodge of Jay Peak Resort. The article includes pictures of the cut taken by the Green Mountain Club and a photo of the roped off Saddle trail that leads from Jay Peak to Big Jay.

The article features many quotes from both Jonathan Wood and Ben Rose as well as responses from the audience. Many of the direct quotes speak to the issues raised in TheSnowWay.com’s report from the meeting. There has been no follow up from Jonathan Wood or Ben Rose concerning the excellent points and valid alternatives discussed during the meeting.

Big Jay Coverage

Caledonian-Record Reports on Big Jay Access Restriction

The Caledonian-Record has reported on the Big Jay access issue. Nothing note worthy that has not already been covered. Names of the two over zealous wood chucks charged with felony unlawful mischief are provided. The article makes note of the meeting held this past Saturday to explain the decision to the community and answer questions.

Big Jay Coverage, News

Public Meeting Held at Jay Peak Resort Regarding Access

A public forum was held at the Stateside Lodge of Jay Peak Resort on Saturday December 15, 2007 regarding restricted skier access to Big Jay. The decision to restrict skier access to Big Jay during the current ski season was made by a panel of organizations and managers including the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, the Green Mountain Club, and Jay Peak Resort who were all represented at the meeting. Commissioner Jonathan Wood of the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation conducting the meeting with assistance from Ben Rose, executive director of the Green Mountain Club. Jay Peak Resort President Bill Steiger represented the ski area showing strong support for the action. Approximately seventy-five to one hundred people attended the meeting including backcountry skiers, Green Mountain Club members, locals, Jay Peak Ski Patrollers, and Jay Peak Resort employees.

The meeting began with opening comments from Jonathan Wood who stressed the importance of sharing view points without criticizing the opinions of other people. Wood presented background information on Big Jay including a historical perspective about how how the state acquired Big Jay and integrated the mountain in the Jay State Forest. Details about the Green Mountain Club easement were also covered with assistance from Ben Rose. Another Green Mountain Club representative provided a multimedia presentation showing a variety of photos detailing not just the destruction involving “The Scar” (as the illegal cut was called) but also extensive thinning and cutting else where on Big Jay. The presentation concluded with a description and photographs of the trail work conducted in October shortly before the ski season began.

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