Category: March

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.

2020-2021 Season, Cannon Mountain, March

Beginning of the End: Cannon

Cross Road Bridge

I created this post on March 21, but I never wrote anything except the title. It is symptomatic of the ski season, there just wasn’t much to say. Nothing worth recording, no thoughts worth sharing, skiing not worth commenting on. But I will record the trip for posterities sake. The snow could have been firm, the snow could have been soft. Either way, I was going through the motions and I wasn’t excited enough to document it.

Probably because I was more excited about cycling than skiing. I just finished an indoor training program on a brand new indoor training. I was going into cycling season in the best cycling shape of my life. The temperatures were above average, the snow was below average, and the roads were clear of snow and sand.

Immediately after getting home from Cannon, I jumped on my road bike for my first outdoor ride of the season. The ski season might have sucked, but the road cycling season was off to a phenomenal start. I’ve never been less motivated for spring skiing, I’ve never been more motivated to push myself on my bike.