Am I the problem?

thetrailboss · Apr 18, 2014

Wind holds at Jay are nothing new. They have very exposed lifts. And I would not be surprised by "cash" holds either. I suspect that SB had a few when I was there. I would not be surprised if Jay was the same especially this time of year when there are few skiers and riders and they want to cut their losses. I have had a number of days there where the lifts were on wind hold (legitimately I could guess as I could hear wind).

I agree that their snow reporting is what it is. I skied there a few times before iPhones and real time reporting, so you'd call the snowphone, get the scoop that everything would be open, drive up there, and find that there were "wind holds" or other issues.

dlague · Apr 18, 2014

Working for a utility, I know that some of the ski areas have control centers that monitor power consumption and will shut down a lift if their monetary loss will be too high based on visits for the day. Spring is not a profitable time of year for any of them - this is more of a marketing expense, which gives them even more pause to roll a lift! I can accept lift closures as a business call any time of the season - they are a business! They are not a non profit business!

I used to complain about it as well, but once I understood this then I was OK with it. If you are not happy that day because of a lift closure then go to customer service and they will provide you with a comp for another day. I have done that at Burke, Jay and Okemo (one time each). Effectively - take a couple of runs and if it is bothering you then let the resort know and return for another day that is better!

VTKilarney · Apr 18, 2014

If closing a lift keeps the mountain open that time of year, then I have no complaints.

Personally, however, I would much rather have had the Flyer open since it was a calm, sunny day in the upper 30's to low 40's. I guess they don't want to lose the little bit of terrain by running the Flyer instead of the tram.

thetrailboss · Apr 18, 2014

dlague said:
Working for a utility, I know that some of the ski areas have control centers that monitor power consumption and will shut down a lift if their monetary loss will be too high based on visits for the day. Spring is not a profitable time of year for any of them - this is more of a marketing expense, which gives them even more pause to roll a lift! I can accept lift closures as a business call any time of the season - they are a business! They are not a non profit business!

I used to complain about it as well, but once I understood this then I was OK with it. If you are not happy that day because of a lift closure then go to customer service and they will provide you with a comp for another day. I have done that at Burke, Jay and Okemo (one time each). Effectively - take a couple of runs and if it is bothering you then let the resort know and return for another day that is better!

When did Burke close a lift and why?

VTKilarney · Apr 18, 2014

thetrailboss said:
When did Burke close a lift and why?

The Willoughby chair in 2011. (rim shot...)

Highway Star · Apr 18, 2014

When I did a season at Stowe they would shut down the upper Spruce lift for "wind" midweek pretty often.

thetrailboss · Apr 18, 2014

VTKilarney said:
The Willoughby chair in 2011. (rim shot...)

Yeah, right. :lol:

And I never thought I'd see the day when that lift was replaced with a HSQ.

Tin · Apr 18, 2014

thetrailboss said:
Wind holds at Jay are nothing new. They have very exposed lifts. And I would not be surprised by "cash" holds either. I suspect that SB had a few when I was there. I would not be surprised if Jay was the same especially this time of year when there are few skiers and riders and they want to cut their losses. I have had a number of days there where the lifts were on wind hold (legitimately I could guess as I could hear wind).

I agree that their snow reporting is what it is. I skied there a few times before iPhones and real time reporting, so you'd call the snowphone, get the scoop that everything would be open, drive up there, and find that there were "wind holds" or other issues.

If you go up mid-week, you're gambling.

Highway Star · Apr 18, 2014

VTKilarney said:
We got one final day of skiing in at Jay Peak on April 17th. The weather was incredible, and the conditions were not bad at all. There was packed powder in the morning that started turning to wet granular in the afternoon. Every now and then you would see signs of the freeze after the rain storm, but it was not a real problem.

There was a group of about 15 or 20 people who seemed to be in their mid to upper 20's. They were having lots of fun, skiing in shorts (even though it was in the 30s for most of the day) and sticking mostly to the terrain park. One of them was skiing while carrying a boom-box blasting music - which I thought was pretty funny.

But things changed when we decided to ride the tram Unfortunately for us, they decided to ride the tram at the same time. Starting while we were all in line, they had no respect whatsoever for the people around them. They were drinking beer openly, and were swearing at the top of their lungs like they just got out of the navy - including one of them loudly proclaiming: "I've been shitfaced for four days straight!". There were many families in the line, including myself with an 8 and 10 year old. It became vey clear that they were all drunk.

As they entered the waiting area they walked right by the lift attendant with their beers in their hands. While inside the tram they continued to drink, swear, and yell "Party tram!" and other such things at the top of their lungs.

When we got to the top nobody on staff said a word and they went on their way. Later in the day I saw them skiing down a trail in plain sight with beers in their hand.

I don't begrudge anyone having a good time. But this really left a bad taste in my mouth. There is plenty of hill to have fun on, but when you are crammed into the tram, I am of the opinion that you really need to have some respect for the other people crammed in with you. Am I being overly sensitive about this?

And to cap off the day, I was standing in front of the RFID gate for the lift to get one last run in. A child about 5 years of age was in front of me. His father came FLYING in and attempted a hockey stop about 6 inches from the gate. Of course he lost control and slammed right into me. I was really pissed. Stuff happens on the trails, but while you are entering a lift????

First of all, you're the customer, it's not your place or duty to handle a large unruly group like that. You should take photos or video and bring it up with management. If they don't respond properly, take it to a public forum such as this one. Maybe you should foward this thread to Jay Peak management and let them give a response?

We've had even worse incidents at Killington a few years back. A group of younger locals (college age, mostly snowboarders?) would dress up as zombies with fake blood and go around openly harrassing people, throwing snowballs, etc. That ended real quick when they encountered a few very large new yorkers that were not amused by their antics and had no problem bringing the fight to them. Since then I think they mellowed out a bit.

Overall it's really just typical youth sub-culture where they are being young punks. Like any other gang mentality, they all want to look tough in front of their peers, rebel against the man, and so on. You have to hope that they know where to draw the line, because if taken too far people will get really hurt, or in real trouble with the law.

legalskier · Apr 18, 2014

VTKilarney said:
Later in the day I saw them skiing down a trail in plain sight with beers in their hand.

No ski patrol on duty that day?

VTKilarney · Apr 18, 2014

legalskier said:
No ski patrol on duty that day?

I saw a couple out during the day. We saw at least one injury that required their intervention so they may have been pretty busy.

retroracer · Apr 18, 2014

I can't believe I was subjected to people like this on my ski vacation. Where does it end?

retroracer · Apr 18, 2014

It seems clear these people are having fun except for me. When did skiing even become about fun? These people should be banned from the mountain. It's the last time I will ever visit Jay's Peak again, thats for sure. -Patrick (the sober winner)

VTKilarney · Apr 18, 2014

That's them! Well... at least some of them. The two worst offenders are not pictured. Perhaps one of them is holding the camera. You can see a beer can on the ground to the left of the guy wearing #93. Those are the same cans that I saw people walk onto the tram holding (one person had a taller can). It was anything but discreet.

As I said earlier, I don't begrudge anyone having fun. And I'm not certainly not a prude or teetotaler. I couldn't care less what anybody looks like. But I do care if you are reckless in regard to safety, and if you are crude and debased in front of other people's children. It's not just your mountain. The mountain belonged to everyone who paid to be there.

from_the_NEK · Apr 18, 2014

The entire series is on Jay Peak's Facebook page (don't need to login to see it). It looks like a "Retro Racers" group. https://www.facebook.com/JayPeakFan

VTKilarney · Apr 18, 2014

If I am reading the Facebook page correctly, it looks like Jay Peak itself posted the photos?

BenedictGomez · Apr 18, 2014

retroracer said:
It seems clear these people are having fun except for me. When did skiing even become about fun? These people should be banned from the mountain. It's the last time I will ever visit Jay's Peak again, thats for sure. -Patrick (the sober winner)

View attachment 12398

Quoted for no other reason than the prognostication of future events.

BenedictGomez · Apr 18, 2014

JDMRoma said:
I noticed the same thing on their Trail Report yesterday, they listed it at 90% open.
A good reliable report would be welcome

Woods were ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC today, certainly exceeding my expectations for April 18. And certainly after skiing Smuggs earlier in the week where lower level glades like Poacher's Woods were done.

Beaver Pond
Show Off
Timbucktoo
Canyonlands
Expo Glade
Kitz Woods
Hells Woods

The above are what I can recall doing today, and ALL of them held solid snow with little to no bare spots. The worst was Show Off glade where I think I narrowly escaped a core shot, but honestly even that wasnt that bad.

As for groomers, the snow if nice and soft. Some very large ice patches, but so what.....it's mid-April.

If you're even debating where to ski this weekend, Jay > 1000% Smuggs' limited Sterling terrain right now.

yeggous · Apr 18, 2014

You are making my weekend plans difficult. I was debating between Stowe and Killington. Now you are making me rethink things. 2 hours to Cannon, 2:30 to K, 2:45 to Wildat, 3:00 to Stowe, 3:30 to Jay. I'd be driving up Saturday evening to ski Sunday.

Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone mobile app

Edd · Apr 18, 2014

retroracer said:
It seems clear these people are having fun except for me. When did skiing even become about fun? These people should be banned from the mountain. It's the last time I will ever visit Jay's Peak again, thats for sure. -Patrick (the sober winner)

View attachment 12398

The most offensive thing about this pic is the quality of the beer. I can't unsee that.

Am I the problem?

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