SKIING FRESHLY MADE SNOW IN APRIL
It may be April 21, but today I skied snow that was made last night. That’s kind of wild, right?I found this freshly made snow at Jay Peak. They started making snow on Sunday night, and then continued making it into yesterday and last night. This wasn’t an attempt to build a base that will outlast everyone, but, rather, it was to make snow in key spots that needed it so some terrain didn’t have to close due to some problem areas in the near future.
Riding the Jet Triple.
Montrealer.
I skied in the afternoon after work. All lifts, but the carpet, were spinning, and they spun until 5 today. The mountain wasn’t busy at all. For reference, the tram, which always has a line, didn’t have a line. I almost rode it, but then decided not to. As many times as I’ve skied Jay this season, I haven’t been up to the true summit once. Jay is kind of unique in this regard. You don’t really need to go up to the summit, as there’s great terrain elsewhere, and enough of it to keep you busy. That said, Green Beret, Valhalla, etc. are all fantastic and worth the trip up when the tram line is short.
Angel’s Wiggle.
Ullr’s Dream.
Haynes.
Lower Ullr’s Dream.
They had around two dozen runs open total between Tramside and Stateside, which did include Timbuktu and Hell’s woods, both of which were partially open. Coverage varied from trail to trail, but most of the open runs that had snow made on them this winter were in decent to good shape, except for down around the base. For instance, Ullr’s Dream had a good bit of snow until you got to the lower part, which was basically a walk out.
Upper Goat Run.
There used to be a large bare spot here on Upper Goat Run.
Not only did Jay make snow in the last 48 hours, but they’ve also received six inches of the natural stuff too. All of that combined has helped repair several runs, such as Upper Goat Run, which was in pretty rough shape beforehand. It skied well today and the big bare spot on it is now gone.
Beaver Pond.
Timbuktu.
While Hell’s Woods was partially open, it was a little too thin for my liking so I skipped it. I did ski Timbuktu, and it was…okay. The fresh snow was sticky, the base is getting thin, and the secondary surface was icy. I also skied Beaver Pond. Again, it was okay. The pictures make it look better than it was. It was even thinner than Timbuktu. None of this is really a surprise, though. It’s April 21, after all. I was on rock skis today so I could ski the trees without worry, and that was a wise choice.
Middle Northway.
Green Mountain Boys.
Overall, outside of my tree runs, the skiing was great today. The snow up high felt like winter, while down low it was more like spring. My favorite runs were probably the groomers off the Jet Triple, and then Green mountain Boys over on Tramside, which was covered in soft bumps.
Never Quit Skiing,
Lincoln