Category: 2021-2022 Season

2021-2022 Season, Jay Peak, May

Jay in May

Jay Peak from the Jet

Thanks to late season snowfall, Jay’s coverage going into May was phenomenal. Almost the entire Jet complex was open with exceptional coverage, including almost all natural snow trails and glades. Jay would go on to push back their closing date twice, closing on May 14 (it’s second latest closing date in at least 15 years). Pictures cannot quite do it justice, the skiing and coverage were exceptional… for any spring day at Jay, let alone what was originally scheduled to be a closing day.

U.N.

U.N.

Northway

2021-2022 Season, Jay Peak, March, Powder Day

Jay Peak: Knee Deep

Paydirt.

Two feet. Knee deep untracked. Every single run.

Can one day change the malaise of an entire season? Almost. It cannot change the past, nor the season’s future trajectory. But it still ranks right up there with all of the other knee deep untracked days that I have experienced. They are not a given during any season. Even a powder hound like me can go years between knee deep days. They are always special.

Especially when I found myself dropping the best untracked lines of the day for my last run. What!?!? Nuts.

It all melts down after this, perhaps the season’s best (and only significant) hurrah.

2021-2022 Season, Jay Peak, March

Jay: Rebound

Jay Peak from The Jet

A decent coating of light fluff made the snow look slower than it actually skied. The snow lacked the expected friction, which is provided by anything denser than blower. I constantly accelerated faster than expected and had to check my speed in the trees.

But I was in the trees, skiing natural snow and challenging terrain, which was all that mattered. Jay Peak has received every rain-freeze-wind-cold event that has plagued New England this season. But the rain has been less damaging along the Canadian boarder, allowing Jay to keep much of its natural terrain and trees open following rebound snowfall. It wasn’t amazing, but it was better skiing than almost every other ski area in New England.

2021-2022 Season, February, Mad River Glen

Mad River Glen: Finally

MRG Trees

Mad River Glen finally received enough snow to put quality lines on the table. Still thin coverage, still rocks and roots to hit and slide over. But at least the skiing was full on.

MRG Trees

At least, it was on many parts of the mountain. Paradise and Fall Line remained closed while neighboring off map woods skied quite well. Lower elevation was low tide and scary on or off map. But some of my favorite mid-mountain lines skied quite well and were even powdery in places. It was a satisfying day. But it shows how much the mountain has struggled with snowfall that today would probably rate a top five day of the year at MRG.

2021-2022 Season, Cannon Mountain, February

Cannon: A Bust

With a big storm predicted, I made plans for Cannon. But, as with many storms this season, the storm fizzled and impacted areas south of the notch more than the notch itself. I had a disheartening feeling as road conditions improved the further north that I drove.

I knew that would be the case. But I had hoped for at least a half a foot or more at Cannon. But, it was a total bust. Groomers with a light dusting skied better than natural snow, still recovering from the latest rain-freeze event.

As a positive, at least this storm didn’t turn to rain?