Oscillate

Any other mountain would gladly have the conditions that Jay experienced today. But, for this season, at this mountain, the conditions were merely adequate.

My fifth day of the season was my first non-powder day. Back to reality. But it is an exceedingly excellent reality for December. I’ve skied Jay many times in December when it was hardpack-groomers-only.

An inch or two dusted over packed powder with occasional scratch. Everything is still skiable, but traffic since Thursday has taken a toll. I still managed a few turns of boot deep untracked, but not much was left.

The tram opened today, including (surprisingly) the Ullr’s drainage. Though, The Goat was closed for snowmaking. Most people went hunting for powder via the Tram. But I couldn’t stomach a three car wait, so I stayed Stateside.

Once snowmaking is done on Goat, they will move to Ullr’s. And, assuming there is no thaw, Jay could be 100% open by the new year. Snowmaking is the only thing holding up the ropes…

Reframe

Vertigo

Possibilities are paralyzing. How best should I spend my time? What interests me the most? I shall never “be telling this with a sigh“. But the decision making process is still fraught with uncertainty.

Not so much for selecting between choices, but rather in identifying my wants and desires. What are my motivations? What are my goals? Will I see them through? Seems pretty heavy, huh? In truth, my writings so far this season have something in common:

I spent the past year following in love with a country and learning its language. But I fear that the honeymoon may be over. Was I flailing due to the challenge? Was I waffling for lack of will power? Or, did I simply want to learn about another culture and its language?

I think it is the latter. Better to learn a little about a lot of things than to devote years to one thing, at the exclusion of all others. But reframing a perceived failure into a decision to learn something new has been an emotional roller-coaster.

Last week’s rain/freeze cycle locked up a solid base. On top of that, six inches of dense and supportive snow fell overnight, and more snow fell throughout the day. The mountain was deserted, untracked was abundant, and conditions exceeded expectations.

All on map and off map glades were good to go, but off map woods and lower elevation glades warrant careful and alert skiing. So far, I am four for four on powder days this season. Not bad.

Deliverance

Jay Trees

This week was the release from a short period of self-doubt, ambivalence, and frustration. Sometimes the best cure for a bad mental state is letting go and getting enough sleep. And powder. Lots of untracked powder.

If desire thuds to the ground like a dropped stone, then it is time to move on. But if desire returns like a boomerang, then it was meant to be. The desire certainly has returned.

I normally avoid Deliverance. Its steep, narrow chutes get tracked up after only a few skiers. It is a “first-chair-only” glade. But when the Bonnie isn’t running and there are no tracks, it is one of my favorite runs at Jay.

Boot deep gave way to knee deep, and then even deeper still. After exiting Deliverance onto Taxi, I knew that might become my best run of the season. This run will be hard to beat.

Deviate

“I think it is important to do hard things,” I said.

Concurrently, my inner dialog voiced a different narrative; suggesting that I deviate from the established plan. Mental gymnastics reasoned that changing goals is different than abandoning them.

This is part of the iterative process; eliminating the mental loopholes. You simply cannot reason with negative self talk. It is best to just go outside, be active, and sleep on it.

Boot deep untracked always helps, but it has its limits.

Jay: Early April is the New Early February

Yet again, this seems so familiar. The main-event uncrowded powder day at Mad River Glen the day before followed by over exuberant crowds and a slightly disappointing overnight snow total at Jay Peak. My ascent up route 242 was halted for 20-minutes while emergency vehicles tended to a spin out.

That is an usual thing to happen on Route 242 half-an-hour before opening. Part of the reason I arrive early is first tracks, but the other part is avoiding vehicle issues on Route 242. But the fun wasn’t over yet. When I got to the Stateside entrance, a truck going in the opposite direction spun out twenty feet in front of me.

Unlike the last storm, Jay Peak did not receive super massive crowds. But crowds were still way more than what the overnight snow totals justified. This was the day after the storm, not THE day. But today was still good and there was still a half foot plus of of super dense untracked.

It would all be mank by the afternoon, so I skied hard for the first few hours. While in the Orchard, myself and a few Quebecois’ers found the most sublime untracked snow on the mountain. Creamy and surfy, but only for about 100 feet. It was just the right aspect at just the right elevation. One of the other skiers bellowed “OH LA LA!”.

Indeed.