Category: Reports by Month

2023-2024 Season, Earned Turns, February, Jay Peak

Jay: When Skinning is Better Than Skiing

Big Jay

The forecast suggested that Jay would get a foot of snow throughout a forty-eight hour period. However, Jay reported only a dusting by Friday morning. And the report for Saturday showed not even a dusting overnight. On the drive up, I knew things were not well when I did not see any new snow in the Notch nor Sheffield Heights.

Worse yet, the snow pack was moisture laden frozen hard pack. Word on the lifts was that the groomers had a difficult night and did their best with a challenging snow pack. It was the worst snow of the year, many better white ribbons of death have skied better.

Skinning the Wiggle

My original plan was to ski the lifts a bit and then enjoy the natural over on Gilpin. So, I had my touring rig with me. I decided it would be more fun to skin than to ski, and I was right. I always enjoy a good hike on a pleasant sunny day (if a bit cold, but skinning keeps you warm).

The only concern was lower level holiday skiers losing control and hitting me. Conditions were slick and fully engaging an edge was challenging. Thankfully, the skin route is mellow enough that no one lost control. The ski down was abysmal, as conditions were rapidly deteriorating due to skier traffic.

2023-2024 Season, February, Jay Peak, Powder Day

Jay: Cleaning Up the Leftovers

The “Powder Day” tag may be stretching it a bit. The day before was the true powder day. Today was about cleaning up the leftovers. I found many untracked powder turns, but no untracked lines. It was an off map hunting expedition (and even then, pushing the edges of the skiable zones).

In some ways, the final few inches that fell last night were more a curse than a blessing. A few inches of super light blower covers up obstacles and provides no cushion. I tried Vertigo for my first run and sloughed three inches of dust off three sizeable rocks. Thankfully no base damage, but it could have been worse.

The base under the new snow isn’t pretty, it isn’t for charging hard. Cautious turns in the low angle off map woods for me today, and nothing too steep. Where I found untracked turns, I got the cumulative boot deep bounty. But it never lasted more than a few turns on the periphery of the skiable zones.

The new snow came just in time for the holiday and bailed out a poor February. But the base is still thin and the new snow didn’t bond well nor pack down well. A solid gain, but not enough to salvage a failing season.

2023-2024 Season, Cannon Mountain, Earned Turns, February, White Mountain BC

Tuckerbrook: Blue Bird

Lincoln & Lafayette

The forecast promised an amazing blue bird day in the mountains. With new snow sticking to the trees, it was guaranteed to be a brilliant day in the outdoors. The air was cold and crisp, and the views of views of the Franconia Ridge and Kinsmans were fabulous.

Kinsmans

The morning temperature was extremely cold. Skinning is always a great choice for these days as it is easy to stay warm. The lower mountain snow pack was much improved since my last skin earlier this year. But access to the ski trail was still quite thin and would require careful skiing during the exit.

Cannon

The skin was uneventful, the views amazing, and the skiing acceptable. The snow pack is still quite thin for the first week of February. However, at least the trail is now well covered (at least, above the nordic trail junction).

Tuckerbrook

2023-2024 Season, February, Jay Peak

Jay: Undercast, Not Underwhelming

Tram from River Quai

After what feels like weeks of cloudy darkness, it was wonderful to see the sun today. Despite the general lack of snow, I kinda felt that the sunny day was needed more than a powder day.

Conditions were not bad all around. A bit firm, but not hard pack or scraped. The undercast was beautiful and the weather was pleasant. Given the stillness in the air, I even rode the freezer today! A rare day, indeed.