SICK SICK SICK! If anyone thinks that this season has sucked, they have not been paying attention! Reports of this season’s premature ending have been greatly exaggerated. Thanks to orographic lift and a great location, The Jay Cloud continues to churn out massive amounts of snow on an almost daily basis refreshing lines with six inches of snow throughout the weekend. Though snow fall totals from the night before were only six inches, up to twelve inches of untracked could easily be found in addition to the occasional shot of knee deep. Despite only having a moderate amount of new snow in that magical 6-12″ range, Monday was my best lift serviced day of skiing this year. With exception of skiing a few groomed trails in between the trees, I essentially skied nearly untracked powder all day long.

Forgetting that powder hounds would still be out en mass even though it was a Monday, I took my time getting ready at home. As a result, despite getting into line for the Tram at 8:45 A.M., I still waited for the third Tram Car to ascend to the Summit of Jay Peak. My delay could not have been more fortunate! Despite not being able to make first tracks down Valhalla, my delay resulted in an even better occurrence. As I departed the Sky Haus, I heard my name being called out. When I turned around, I saw none other than Austin who posts on AlpineZone and FirstTracks!! Online. Austin said he would be running late and hopefully we could meet up later in the day. Turns out I was the one running late and Austin arrived earlier than planned. The unexpected run in provided great company and a skiing partner for the afternoon romp through Jay Peak’s extensive glade network.

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With the Jay Cloud in full effect thanks to Orographic Lift, Jay Peak along with most of the Northern Green Mountains picked up over two feet of snow in three days. Most of that snow fell mid-week from Wednesday through Friday, so knee deep untracked was impossible to find by the weekend. However, the new powder falling overnight was more than enough to refreshen the glades and make skiing primo for Saturday. Jay Peak may exaggerate their snow totals occasionally, but no one can exaggerate the fact that Jay Peak gets a ton of snow when most other New England Ski Areas come up empty.

Arriving at the Stateside Lodge at 8 A.M., I noticed that the parking lot attendants were already packing the cars in like sardines. Despite the parking situation, due to Jay Peak’s far northern location, the majority of skiers did not arrive until late morning leaving fresh lines for the early birds. However, by 10 A.M. all the lots were full and the Jet Chair was averaging more than a ten minute wait.

Jay Peak had reported in on Thursday morning with two feet of fresh snow. By Saturday the best I could find on the mountain was the occasional one foot of untracked which was a rare find indeed. The rest of the snow was either tracked up, packed down, or blown away by the high winds. Due to those high winds, the Groomer Trails were a pathetic mix of wind blown hard pack, frozen granular, and the occasional legit icy patch. Not that any one skiing Jay Peak would want to ski the Groomers… they only reason to ski at Jay Peak is heading into the trees.

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