My destination decision on Saturday was based on open terrain versus powder potential. With only two to four inches in the forecast for most of Vermont, I opted for open terrain. I assumed Jay would add something onto their reported 3-6″ from the day before. And perhaps I could locate a few lesser known stashes with two days worth of accumulation. As reports from Sugarbush can attest, I had chosen poorly.

Jay over reported the higher end of their range from Thursday. I was able to find many pockets of untracked snow but none of those pockets yielded anything close to half a foot. Adding insult to injury was that Jay got nothing from the storm. So whereas I expected 3-6″ + 2-4″ for potential pockets of 5-10″, I actually got a few pockets of 3-4″.

Which isn’t to say that the skiing wasn’t really good. Conditions were packed powder with lots of loose snow and the rare hit of powder. All trails were open except for the ridge. And base depths were significantly improved since my last visit before the massive Leap Day storm. But I still wasn’t feeling it.

Worse, I was completely out of it. Lack of sleep and tough times at work had me blurry eyed with lackadaisical legs. I wasn’t making my turns and my eyes were drooping in the trees. After a little more than an hour’s worth of skiing, I decided it was dangerous to continue forcing it, I was done.

But not before failing to rotate a jump turn, releasing from my ski, and post holing down to my sternum in a spruce trap. Extraction was a bitch to say the least. But at least I know first hand that Jay has a deep base and should weather the warmth better than most.