AlpineZone Ski Area Challenge: Jay Peak Resort

[Greg]

Steve Wright from Jay Peak Resort also agreed to take the AlpineZone Ski Area Challenge! This is your chance to get official answers to your ski-related questions direct from a Northeast ski resort representative! Please post some suggested questions in this thread and I'll select ten to present for official responses.

As always, please be respectful of Steve and keep it civil. Also, please refrain from asking specifics about skier visit numbers, financials, demographic information, etc. Jay needs to be discrete about certain information.

Ask away!

 

[Tin Woodsman]

Steve -

Thanks for agreeing to participate in the challenge. I have three questions.

1) The cutting of the Can-Am Supertrail, like many of its brethren cut in the mid-80s, can be said to have been a mistake. On a mountain as windy as Jay, it can easily get scraped clean of its natural snow cover, while the snowmaking resources required to cover such a wide trail must be staggering. Even on days with good cover, you are simply left with a broad boulevard nearly devoid of the character that makes trails like Kitzbuhl so special. Are there any plans (or even discussion) to try and rectify this situation by allowing one of both sides of the trail to grow in? For the record, it seems like this strategy was pursued successfully on the upper half of the Sunrise trail at Sugarbush.

2) What was the motivation behind placing the terminus of the Green Mountain Flyer in such an exposed location? As I'm sure you know, the top third of this lift ride above Exhibition can be painfully cold. Moreover, the liftline cuts through (some would say destroys) the upper portions of Everglade and Staircase. Clearly there must have been some motivation for this placement - the mountain ops crew would have known of these consequences. I'm just wondering what was gained with its current alignment over one that would, for example, have ended the lift close by Tower Two of the tram? Wouldn't this alignment have enabled intermediate skiers to access everything the current GMF can, save for Ullr's Dream? Was the access to Ullr's worth the consequences?

3) I must say that I am concerned by the initial planning that has been revealed for the forthcoming expansion into the West Bowl. Jay has proposed to add 3 detatchable 6 packs and 1 fixed grip quad to this area. That is a truly stunning amount of uphill capacity for the size of the area in question. Aren't there concerns among the mountain ops staff that this will lead to overcrowding on the trails in that area? Specifically, what good is it cutting so many glades if they are turned into treed mogul runs by the end of the day? Moreover, the crowding/scraped off snow problems on trails like Goat Run arealready well known. Aren't you concerned that adding a 6 pack to the same area as the GMF will only exacerbate these problems? There is a worrying emphasis on quantity over quality in the thought process behind the plans revealed thus far.

 

[thetrailboss]

Thanks for taking the challenge.

I'm a NEK native and enjoy Jay. Burke is my home, I'll admit. The biggest problem I've had with Jay is that for almost every good day I've had, there has been at least one bad day (specifically, skiing conditions that were not as good as reported or not skiing at all because half of the lifts are closed due to wind). I know that there is not much you can do, but with your amazing website and updates, could it be possible to get some Real Time snowconditions reporting so I don't drive an hour to find half the mountain closed due to wind? There has been some improvement, but anything more would really be appreciated!

Also, be sure to keep the Burke/Jay interchangeable pass program. Has this helped your mountain?

 

[pragmaticskier]

1. With greater glade and woods trail use some of the areas are turning into regular runs (like double dipper did at Killington). Are there any plans to close certain areas to allow the trees to regrow (like MRG regeneration zones)
2. Are there plans to have more mogul runs and/or less grooming?
3. For CanAm any plans to add trees to the center of the trail to lessen wind blown snow and make two decent trails?
4. I know this isn't easy but the Boniventure quad would work better if the whole lift was moved further up the mountain (starting near the second or third tower and dropping off on the other side of northway. This would allow better access to the east side of the mountain (similar to the old quad).
5. Every year the main trails seem to get wider and wider (JFK for example) any plans to narrow any of the trails.

Thanks

 

[thetrailboss]

I agree with the widening of the trails statement. There is too much traffic on the trails and they are so wide that they become ice within a matter of a few hours.

 

[Greg]

Wow. Some really great questions. They've been sent to Steve.

 

[Greg]

Steve's responses are in:

http://skiing.alpinezone.com/articles/challenge/response.htm?resort=jay

 

[thetrailboss]

Hmmm....someone is having a bad day!

He must be new to Jay. Doesn't sound like the usual good PR or responses I'm used to from them. I'm kind of disappointed. He was kind of snappy too on some of the latter answers. :blink:

The whole point of the Burke/Jay pass was to help Burke out and it has. As Jay's own Bill Stenger said, "it is crucial to have two mountains in the NEK and not one so that we can compete." Guess this guy was not there for that meeting.

 

[MrMagic]

hmm goes right up there with the responces from tenny - yuck, double yuck, and tripple yuck

 

[pepperdawg]

SW was the long time K-Mart Marketing Director. His answers may be a little abrupt, but he's a straight shooter. No sugar coating...

Look at some of the questions - moving a lift?? come on...

my .02 cents....

 

[Greg]

Yes, Steve spent many years at Killington and started at Jay this Spring.

 

[Tin Woodsman]

I didn't think his answers were all that bad. They were refreshingly honest, albeit he didn't have much to say that I wanted to hear. One notable exception is the reduced lift capacity planned for the West Bowl expansion. Multiple 6-packs would have ruined that area.

 

[Charlie Schuessler]

There were no long drawn-out excuses stated as reasons for policy decisions. Be careful what you ask for when you desire honesty from the ski area(s)-marketing department.

 

[SIAWOL]

Answers sure were honest, albeit a bit unprofessional. You read the responses from other resorts and even if they're not giving an answer that people want to hear, at least they provide an explanation.

Kind of unfortunate that this is the image Jay Peak is presenting to readers of this board...

 

[Tin Woodsman]

To follow up on my previous post, I like that Steve essentially stipulated to the lousy consequences of the alignment of the GM Flyer chair. It was done to create access to Ullr's Dream for intermediate skiers. This seems like a big price to pay given the truly unpleasant conditions that all riders of that chair must deal with for the last 3-4 minutes of the ride. Access could have been accomplished with a trail cut across JFK etc... but I digress. It's also too bad they won't consider trying to correct mistakes like Can-Am. Seems a little hard-headed to me. OTOH, their willingness to scale back the lift capacity for the West Bowl expansion is encouraging, though you have to wonder what idiots proposed the 6-packs in the first place. Do people really get paid for ideas like that?

He may not have had the milquetoast blandishments you all were hoping for, but I'll take short, honest and to the point over marketing babble any day of the week.

 

[Mikec13]

In fairness several questions/issues came up multiple times - moving lifts and letting the trees grow back in or planting new ones...the guy was a bit terse but he was honest...you should get all of the marketing types to read the Mad River post as an example of what is expected. If they feel like getting involved to that level great...if not they should save their time because if handled poorly they do more harm than good

 

[Greg]

you should get all of the marketing types to read the Mad River post as an example of what is expected. If they feel like getting involved to that level great...if not they should save their time because if handled poorly they do more harm than good

These are excellent points. Thanks!

 

[GodwinAustin]

geez

Dont think the big mountain mentality fits in well at a unique resort such as Jay

 

[thetrailboss]

Since he did not take me seriously, the Jay rep should know that I purchased my 2002-2003 Jay pass because it had Burke reciprocity.

 

[goldsbar]

I thought his replies were very honest and his thinking is probably spot on with most ski resorts. Wider trails = more capacity. Most of these resorts don't care about character. It will eventually come back against them.