SKIING WHAT I’VE AVOIDED ALL SEASON
For the first time this season, I finally had to do it: I had to ski the groomers at Jay Peak. The horror, I know. As I’ve said many times, when I go to Jay Peak I stick to the trees. I use groomers to get to the glades and then the base. Meaning, you’re not going to find me just casually taking a few runs down a trail like Haynes. However, there is an exception to this: If the trees aren’t in play then I’ll ski the groomers. As you may have guessed, the trees weren’t in play today.
Haynes.
Angel’s Wiggle.
Unless it’s early or late in the season, when groomers are all that’s open, usually I’m not at Jay Peak when the trees aren’t in play. This winter was incredible at Jay Peak, and the season started off strong, so the trees have been in play from the get-go. As a result, despite having skied at Jay a dozen times this winter, I hadn’t skied a bunch of groomers this season in full until today, including The Jet, Haynes, Green Mountain Boys, JFK and more. It’s not that the groomers at Jay are bad, it’s just that they’re not why I’m there most of the time. I’m there for the trees.
Paradise Meadows.
Green Mountain Boys.
Riding the Flyer Quad.
So, yes, today I ripped around the groomers at Jay Peak for the first time this season. Why? Because of conditions. It was warm yesterday, and then last night everything froze, which left the snow in the woods in pretty rough shape. Though the temperature was in the 40s today, there was little in the way of sunshine, and the trees never really softened up enough for anything substantial to open. I’d hoped the trees would open at some point when I decided to head to Jay this morning, but it is what it is. I still had a fun time!
JFK.
The view after getting off the Bonaventure Quad.
Middle Northway.
The Jet.
It wasn’t just glades that were closed, either. There were some groomers and natural snow trails that were off limits for the same reason. In total, there were 52 runs open. The trails up high tended to have a soft primary surface and a firm secondary surface, and you as went down the mountain it got more and more springy. Some trails up high were a bit more icy than others like Haynes, The Jet, and JFK. In the afternoon, the trail Middle Northway was surprisingly very soft, even though it’s relatively high up on the mountain.
Bare spot on Upper Goat Run.
Upper Can Am seen from the Bonaventure Quad.
Bare patches at the bottom of several trails near the Jet Triple.
The warm temperatures as of late are really starting to take their toll and that’s evident around the mountain. There are patches of grass starting to appear on some trails, and, from what I could see, the snowpack has noticeably shrank in the trees, though many of the glades are still skiable. That said, there’s still a lot of snow out there on the mountain, but the melt is on.
Never Quit Skiing,
Lincoln