Category: Jay Peak

2014-2015 Season, December, Jay Peak

Jay: Running on Empty

Today should have been a banner day. Somewhere between two to three feet of super dense snow opened up almost all of Jay including a lot of off map trees. The extremely dense snow skied better after it was tracked up and packed down rather than untracked.

While skiing my four runs today, I frequently thought to myself that the snow and skiing today at Jay was better than the “Powder Day” a few days earlier at Killington. I thought to myself how much I utterly despised the fact that I couldn’t enjoy it.

Today was not meant to be despite my deep desire to enjoy the storm’s bounty before the inevitable rain/thaw/freeze event began. Work had ran me ragged. I was exhausted, stressed out, and deeply fatigued. I managed to get up early and make it to the mountain for first chair, but I would have been better off staying in bed.

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2014-2015 Season, Earned Turns, Jay Peak, November

Jay: Sometimes Adventure Is More Important Than Good Snow

Derick Hot Shot or Hot Shot Derick?

With lift ticket prices on the rise at Wildcat and Sunday River ($49 and $39 respectively) but neither area offering more than a single unique top to bottom route, the value was not sufficient to justify the expense. As with past seasons, I have made a commitment to tour more and ride the lifts less this season. So with low lift serviced value and high turn earning motivation in mind, I decided to skin and ski at Jay again despite no guarantee of natural snow turns.

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2014-2015 Season, Earned Turns, Jay Peak, November

Jay: Endings & Beginnings

Jay

Flash back to my last ski day on July 5th. Before my last run, I said to myself “this isn’t an ending, this is a beginning”. Rather than seeing an end to the season, I was seeing (or, trying to, at least) a beginning of possibilities.

But I had it all wrong. There is no ending, no beginning. There is just one infinite continuum. Our illusional consciousness perceives endings and beginnings. But that is just our personal narrative. We are all just carrying on. Sometimes pushing, sometimes not.

If we always pushed, if we were always mindful, if we always valued our surroundings and existence as we think we should, perhaps that would deaden the amazement and bafflement and wonder that we might otherwise experience.

Today wasn’t a special day. First day of the season? Last day of the season? Any day of the season? Any day at all? I just woke up and did something I find value in doing, something I prefer to do rather than not doing anything. I went to Jay without expectation, only knowing that I would hike up and ski down.

The natural accumulation was far less than expected. It was difficult to measure because the snow was held aloft by the grass. There was so little snow that the weight of it couldn’t fully press down blades of grass. I fought uphill against my out of shape body, against my out of shape mind. Deer crossed my path multiple times. Just another day.

Upon reaching the col between Montrealer and Vermonter, I deemed that the later didn’t have enough natural snow to justify the ascent. I continued onto the top of the Jet. I was content to ski down under the guns on man made. In a word, it sucked. In a word, it was wonderful.

The man made gave way to two inches on natural on lower Haynes where I “skied” out while managing not to end my “season” with an injury. Never before have I had as much fun with such shitty skiing.

The quality of the skiing didn’t matter. I’m sure, at some point this season, my assessment will change. Perceptions are constantly altered based on what we regularly experience. But for at least one run, it just mattered that I was out there, having an adventure. Just doing. Just being.

2013-2014 Season, Jay Peak, May

Jay Peak: For the Record

Yet another spring weekend has conspired against me. The weather for Saturday was adequate for spring skiing but hardly the banner blue bird on Sunday. I had plans for Sunday so I endured Saturday instead. It wasn’t horrible. But the cloudy skies never allowed for sunshine to soften the frozen groomer tracks on the lower mountain where groomers scraped the trail down to push snow towards the lift.

I awoke to torrential downpour at my house in central New Hampshire. But I trusted in the weather forecast and started driving north despite the rain. To hell with the rain, I was going to ski Jay once more before it closed even if it meant skiing in the rain.

But I arrived to cloudy skis without a rain drop in sight. The temperature was barely warm enough for short sleeve t-shirt skiing so I skipped the jacket despite the light breeze higher up the mountain. The sun never really came out but it was warm enough.

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2013-2014 Season, Jay Peak, March, Powder Day

A Jay “Powder” Day

Jay Trees

Early and late season powder days are usually my favorite of the season. Especially when almost all of New England is receiving a drenching rain. Shoulder season means fewer people. Rain in metro areas means even fewer still. After two shit springs, March finally delivered. But few stick around to enjoy the harvest.

After driving almost two hours through rain and upper 30 degree temperatures, I must admit to having my doubts. I passed through Jay village and began the ascent up 242 but the temperature was not dropping. The rain was not changing to snow. But when I opened my car door at the base area, sure enough, the precipitation was frozen.

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