Category: Jay Peak

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

I can’t stop. I won’t stop. Jay.

Deep November Powder at Jay

My feet can feel the silky powder through my boots and skis. My toes can feel it. I’ve got happy feet. The powder is so soft and smooth. I surf through it, I dance through it.

I snake a hard turn to the left and bank back to the right where the trail’s pitch tips downward. The dance transitions into a trampoline descent down deep, bottomless pillows. Clouds of white confetti burst up and over my head. Was it a face shot? Is this a white room? Where am I?

I want to stop and remove the mental fog of disbelief and bewilderment. I want to be mindfully aware, to fully absorb the sensations. But I can’t stop. I won’t stop. An irresistible force keeps pulling me down into the white deep. I think I felt snow at my knee caps but I can’t be sure, nothing seems real any more.

How is this even possible? Jay only reported 6-8″. Blasting through another knee deep pillowy drift, I wonder where the bottom is? But I realize that is just another useless thought, clutter in my brain that doesn’t matter. I banish that thought and all the others, losing myself, descending into an abyss of white. I’m ten again, on a playground and swinging, swinging, releasing at the apex and then I’m flying. What a feeling.

November Powder at Jay

2013-2014 Season, Earned Turns, Jay Peak, November

White Ribbon of Awesome: Jay

Stateside

Early season skiing on man made snow: the White Ribbon of Death. But today at Jay, man made saved the day. I was pulling for an overnight freeze followed by slow warming resulting in late morning corn snow. Instead, I found temperatures well above freezing and rotting natural snow by the time I arrived at Jay. During my skin up Derick, I suspected that the man made was going to ski better than the natural and my suspicion proved accurate.

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2013-2014 Season, Dawn Patrol, Earned Turns, Jay Peak, November, Powder Day

Just Another Day at the Office: Jay Peak

Upper Milk Untracked

While it wasn’t a true dawn patrol by definition, it was one in spirit. I set an alarm for 4:45 A.M. and didn’t arrive at Jay until 7:15 A.M. due to road conditions and local school traffic. It was well past dawn by the time my skins hit the snow but I was still on a time limit. I needed to be at work for a 2:00-10:00 P.M. shift. It was painful not being able to take a vacation day but not as painful as sitting the storm out.

The drive up 242 was mesmerizing. Early season dumps at Jay usually don’t deposit much snow below the base area. But the snow banks were considerable as I ascended the access road. It was full on winter and puking snow when I arrived at the Jet lot. Earlier that morning, I considered stopping at Cannon which looked to have received about half a foot. I had definitely chosen wisely!

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2012-2013 Season, Jay Peak, March, Truth in Snow Reporting

Jay: Forgetting to Read Between the Lines

I’ve gone to bat numerous times for Jay Peak defending them against attacks of embellishing conditions and snow totals. I’ve actually cited Jay Peak for solid and reliable snow reporting accuracy and transparency. But I am no homer and when something is amiss, I am going to call it out. It is time to unveil the Truth in Snow Reporting category and Jay gets first crack at it (emphasis mine):

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2012-2013 Season, Earned Vertical Assistance, January, Jay Peak, Powder Day

Jay Peak: The Boom & The Bust

Beaver Powder

I was fairly well set on skiing Black Mountain in Maine today. With generally poor conditions throughout New England, I thought it was another good opportunity to continue to work on The List during a holiday weekend. Fifteen dollar lift tickets, no crowds, and 100% open were all strong factors. But before leaving, I checked the Jay Peak Snow Report (not that one) which was reporting 5-7″ in the past 24 hours and 9-13″ in the past 48 (with upper mountain lift holds). Boom?

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