Hello all. I have been to Jay Peak several times. One of the main draws for myself and my friends is the glade and out of bounds skiing there. I have never been to burke and heard good things. Also like to try new places especially places with smaller lines (JPeak can be brutal waiting for the Gondola). Wondering for those that have been to both what their likes and dislikes were one vs the other. Jay obvi gets great snow. Just wondering if it is comparible..
-
Welcome to AlpineZone, the largest online community of skiers and snowboarders in the Northeast!
You may have to REGISTER before you can post. Registering is FREE, gets rid of the majority of advertisements, and lets you participate in giveaways and other AlpineZone events!
Glades - Burke Vs Jay
- Thread starter John W
- Start date
Talisman
New member
So if Burke has a good base and recieved a shot of fresh; I think the marked & unmarked tree skiing is better that Jay because there is far less competition for the goods on a given weekend. The summit quad is a FG, but no slower than the Jet or Bonnie at Jay. I find lapping the Poma is actual faster on the uphill time but tougher on the legs. The the run out on the eastside of Burke is flatter than Kokomo because it actually goes up hill but keeps the snow fresher.
A mid week powder day Jay is better.
A mid week powder day Jay is better.
Huck_It_Baby
Active member
I think Jay gets significantly more snow than Burke....maybe 100+ inches more. That's a significant difference.
If it's glades and backcountry you are after Jay might be more consistent but it's always worth checking out new terrain...especially after a storm.
If it's glades and backcountry you are after Jay might be more consistent but it's always worth checking out new terrain...especially after a storm.
Geoff
Well-known member
I thought Burke didn't get the Vermont spine 250" since they're way far east in the rain shadow of the greens?
kingdom-tele
New member
forget snow totals - its a marketing tool.
once any place is fully open you are looking for the freshest which means less people, jay lift served is good midweek, jay BC is good for weeks on end
Burke is always great lift served woods skiing, always fresh to be found - they are tighter, evregreen vs. hardwood (compared to jay)
jay gets pounded early with skier traffic in the woods, good in that it seals up snakes and junk early, bad in that most marked woods lines end up mogul fields. burke you could be skiing first lines in 5ft off snow bouncing off of debris because there is no skier compaction
8 inches at burke = to 16 inches and the crowd at Jay IMO
once any place is fully open you are looking for the freshest which means less people, jay lift served is good midweek, jay BC is good for weeks on end
Burke is always great lift served woods skiing, always fresh to be found - they are tighter, evregreen vs. hardwood (compared to jay)
jay gets pounded early with skier traffic in the woods, good in that it seals up snakes and junk early, bad in that most marked woods lines end up mogul fields. burke you could be skiing first lines in 5ft off snow bouncing off of debris because there is no skier compaction
8 inches at burke = to 16 inches and the crowd at Jay IMO
from_the_NEK
Active member
Burke may not get the huge snow totals of Jay but the woods ski very well. The Westside glades can be sketchy if the base is low due to a lot more pointy granite.
Advice: look up one of us locals before you come up. Lots of unmarked glades to be found.
Advice: look up one of us locals before you come up. Lots of unmarked glades to be found.
mister moose
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2007
- Messages
- 1,119
- Points
- 63
I skied Burke one powder weekday when Jay reported over 4 feet in 2 days. Burke was good, but there was nothing close to 4 feet, it was about 30 inches, and half skied out. Fun, and I went on to Jay the next day. Jay one day later was (IMHO) better than Burke. They had every bit of 4 feet plus, and I was still finding freshies. In places where I was skiing leftovers the base was clearly better at Jay.
For me, Burke is less expensive, less crowded, more narrow old New England trails. Absolutley go there and experience it. But Jay gets the snow. On a powder day, I'd bypass Burke midweek for sure. Weekends, tougher call.
riverc0il
New member
Burke overall has better in bounds glades than Jay (strictly from the perspective of terrain and tree analysis, not counting snow). More tighter trees and more interesting looks and lines than Jay in bounds. Jay's woods are really really open. Jay has significant more quantity of tree skiing both on and especially off map. And Burke has nothing of the steepness and narrowness of lines like Vertigo, Everglade, and Staircase (nor stuff like the PHC).
It is hard to compare the two areas. They both shine for very different things. Jay has sprawling amount of woods, basically something between every trail and way way way beyond the boundaries. Burke has more traditional glades, amazing birch woods, tighter lines overall, snow that stays fresher longer and that does not bump up in the woods as quick.
Burke gets at least 100" less snow than Jay (last year was particularly brutal at Burke whereas Jay had a "bad year" for Jay but still had more snow than almost every ski area in the east). Burke doesn't get the micro bursts and massive dumps that Jay does. But there is less competition and snow stays fresher longer.
Mid-week powder? Jay hands down. Weekend? Well, there would be a lot of factors that might influence that decision.
Burke is far better than all but a handful of ski areas in the northeast for glades.
It is hard to compare the two areas. They both shine for very different things. Jay has sprawling amount of woods, basically something between every trail and way way way beyond the boundaries. Burke has more traditional glades, amazing birch woods, tighter lines overall, snow that stays fresher longer and that does not bump up in the woods as quick.
Burke gets at least 100" less snow than Jay (last year was particularly brutal at Burke whereas Jay had a "bad year" for Jay but still had more snow than almost every ski area in the east). Burke doesn't get the micro bursts and massive dumps that Jay does. But there is less competition and snow stays fresher longer.
Mid-week powder? Jay hands down. Weekend? Well, there would be a lot of factors that might influence that decision.
Burke is far better than all but a handful of ski areas in the northeast for glades.
Burke actually lies in the snow shadow of the Whites. That does play a role. There is usually a substantial snow difference between Jay and Burke but Burke does not get the wind that Jay gets. Everyone forgets about the windholds at Jay.
I agree that Burke's trees are excellent. Are they as wild and varied as Jay's? No. As crowded? Not at all.
Usually the west side glades are last to open and the East Bowl offers much more varied terrain. The glades on the map that dump into the East Bowl are very long and offer a fair amount of vert. This contrasts with other areas that have glades in between trails here and there. The glades in the East Bowl, by and large, offer consistent pitch and long verts because they were meant to become ski trails and cleared. Some times running out of money is a good thing.....
Last edited:
UVSHTSTRM
New member
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2009
- Messages
- 879
- Points
- 0
I would say it is generally about 140 inches less than Jay, comparable to Wildcat.
UVSHTSTRM
New member
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2009
- Messages
- 879
- Points
- 0
Been to Burke just a hanful of times. Other than when we went late in the year there seemed to always be some really nice spots on the mountain that head some fresh powder in the trees. About two years ago I hit Burke up and it had been about two weeks since the last significant snow and we were finding two feet of powder in the trees. I really enjoyed Burke and would definately go back. As a side note, I would never have gone to Burke if they didn't have a surprisingly nice 25 dollar lift ticket on Sundays for those across the border in NH. Grafton county along with the other couple of northern counties in NH had access to the 25 dollar lift ticket. Good times!
Zand
Well-known member
Last year I saw first hand how good Burke's glades are during a terrible snow year. They barely broke 100" last year (most of it in Dec and early Jan) yet the glades were excellent all but 2 weeks straight through mid March. The 2 weeks they weren't good was when it rained in late January and refused to snow afterwards, leaving an unbreakable crust for a couple weeks. Once the snow came back (only took like 6") everything was mint again.
Jay's trees have bottomless coverage at least 3 months of the year, but most of the time Burke will have better conditions barring a midweek powder day.
Jay's trees have bottomless coverage at least 3 months of the year, but most of the time Burke will have better conditions barring a midweek powder day.
riverc0il
New member
I would have to disagree with that overall assessment of snow quality. Jay has much better tree snow consistency than Burke due to more snow (lots of mini hits that Burke does not get). Jay does get hit harder though in terms of traffic, though. So Burke will have better conditions in the woods if it has been a long time since the last snow at both areas. Get off the map a little bit and that advantage is gone.
riverc0il
New member
John... we are all splitting hairs here regarding various individual perceptions of differences. The bottom line that everyone here will likely agree upon is that Burke is an AWESOME mountain with GREAT glades and you guys are going to have an awesome time there. GO GO GO! Get to Burke and rip the mountain up, great trees for sure.
Unrelated, since you are into trees, not sure if you have been to Smuggs yet but I think Smuggs has better trees than Jay. Just an amazing mountain.
Edd
Well-known member
Yes.
Hey Everyone. Thanks a TON for the feedback. I am dying to get out of the Killington, Jay, Sugarbush rut that my friends are partial too. Not that I don't enjoy those places. I do. But want to get to some new places. Smuggs, Burke and several others are on the target list. I knew that Jay is the snow center of the NE. And figured very few others would be able to compete in that regard but I am happy to hear about Burke's retention of snow... That's great news. I am definitely going to hit that up this winter. I also want to get back to whiteface and see what their new glades have to offer.
Another question and maybe I should create another thread on this. What are everyones thoughts on Big Jay. My friends just happened upon is last year and came back RAVING about it and when they told us were to access it we couldn't find it... THoughts??
kingdom-tele
New member
If you can't find big j its probably better not to go.
+ 1. Hate to say it, but it is pretty obvious and you want to be ready before venturing out of bounds. You also are better discussing glades and private stashes in person with locals rather than on an internet board.
Similar threads
