From KZone: Guerilla Trailblazers Arrested

[RENO]

I still don't understand how they could cut something so huge and nobody at the resort saw it? :???:

 

[kingdom-tele]

your would not see it from the resort proper unless sitting at the tram house or up on the northway

it must have taken a while though and to not see the progression on the line is odd, that being said though - i hike up there weekly and its 50/50 if you can see big jay or the hand in front of your face, i never noticed it before

 

[from_the_NEK]

You've gotta wonder what they were thinking....I'm sure no one will notice a giant ski trail cut through the protected forest below a major mountain peak...

Seriously, that must have taken a LOT of time and effort, that's a lot of trees if it's really 60 feet wide, and moving them off the trail will either require heavy equipment, or a lot of cutting.

However, now that the damage has been done, it would be a shame to let their efforts go to waste....hopefully it wasn't south-facing.

It sounds like they had been working on it for several weeks (from what I gathered from the article I saw). The trees on the upper parts of Big Jay aren't real big due to the harsh enviroment making it hard for trees to grow large. However, it sounds like they had to be using power tools to clear cut a strip like that. Moving them off trail wouldn't necessarily require heavy equipment. Cutting the trees into smaller pieces and the aid of gravity allows a couple guys to move a tree fairly easily. Hopefully the tree waste they moved off of their "Swath" didn't adversely afect the good lines that were already in place on Big Jay.
I know that "pruning" that I have done on a 1/4 mile long glade took me about 2 full days of work with a lopper and a bow saw. I never cut anything greater than 2-3 inches in diameter. I can't imagine what could be done with a couple of chain saws and a couple of weeks :-o .
Cutting down trees larger than that is just wrong (not that don't feel that there is a certain amount of pushing the boundary between wrong and right in my pruning operations). This situation is lending fuel to the fire that gives all pruners a bad name. :evil:

 

[snoseek]

I still don't understand how they could cut something so huge and nobody at the resort saw it? :???:

can't really see it from the bottom of the resort. view from 242 is pretty good i think.

 

[RENO]

Any pictures?

 

[wa-loaf]

I found this on TGR that has a similar thread to this one:

Looking at this pic, why on earth would you need to cut a trail here?

 

[AdironRider]

My boys at UVM are already talking about it. While Ill be out west the majority of the season Ill be around the Burlington area for about a week in Feb. Ill post up a TR once I hit it.

Seriously though, while it sucks these nimrods thought they needed to clear cut an area, mother nature has a remarkable ability to retake the land suprisingly quickly. Within 5 years, those who didnt know about it to begin with wont be able to notice Im sure.

 

[David Metsky]

So how many of you will ski it this winter?

On TeleTips a group is organizing a volunteer work weekend with the National Forest people to replant up there this summer/fall and mark the affected area as regeneration zones.

 

[riverc0il]

was up on jay for the jay challenge cheering a friend on - having heard about investigation and the details from one of the state workers i too couldn't believe it when he said it was clear cut...

well, it is, there is now a huge open gash on big jay, it is awful, and sad, i can only wonder how it will effect the drainage of heavy rain and snow over the years, land slide does not seem out of the question, you can now drive my VW down the face of big jay

everyone be careful this fall heading into the woods with loppers - and be smart, if you have to chop it down then it isn't the right way

:evil::evil::angry::angry::angry:

This makes me beyond angry. Not only to have the clear cut verified but also on Big Jay of all places. That was the last place in the world that needed cutting. The best part about Big Jay is the natural aspects of that area. I encourage all fellow Big Jay skiers to join me in a complete boycott of that area pending many many years of regrowth. Not only on philosophical grounds but also practical as that area will almost surely be avalanche prone now that all those anchors have been removed. These guys really deserve to have the book thrown at them.

 

[wa-loaf]

So how many of you will ski it this winter?

I've never skied Jay (although, I want to). This story just really caught my attention. It sounds like no one will be skiing it anyway, which is probably a good thing. If you want to ski on a trail that's what the ski areas are for.

 

[snowman]

I found this on TGR that has a similar thread to this one:

Looking at this pic, why on earth would you need to cut a trail here?

To me, it looks like the trees are so sparse it would take no time at all to clear out a trail like that. Depending on the line you took, to cut a 60 foot wide swath it looks like you only need to cut a tree every 25 feet or so. That's about 150 trees in 3/4 of a mile. Two guys with chain saw skills could do that in a day. You can fall a pretty big tree, strip it and chunk it in 5 mins if you really know what you're doing and have a good sharp chainsaw. That's 6 hours, 15 mins for 2 guys, no breaks = a day with a break here and there, refuelling, and 5 chain changes each.

 

[riverc0il]

snowman, it's not as open as it looks.... it would certainly take a few weeks even with power tools.

 

[tjf67]

I dont think they moved the trees anywhere. The just cut them and let them drop. As long as they are flat on the ground they would be covered in no time.

I dont think it took as long as a lot of people think. Two guys two chain saws that terrain I bet they did it in a weekend.

They must have been smoking some pretty good stuff, It the only way I can imagine people doing something so dumb.

 

[drjeff]

Should we even venture a guess or head down the "were they skiers or boarders?" path. Or the locals vs. Jay road trippers path?

Not to stereotype, but my guess would be on U.S. male snowboarders in their mid 20's that road trip to Jay from more than 4 hours away.

 

[wa-loaf]

Should we even venture a guess or head down the "were they skiers or boarders?" path. Or the locals vs. Jay road trippers path?

Not to stereotype, but my guess would be on U.S. male snowboarders in their mid 20's that road trip to Jay from more than 4 hours away.

Dude, did you even read the article? It's a couple of local guys in their late 40's.

 

[skibum1321]

Should we even venture a guess or head down the "were they skiers or boarders?" path. Or the locals vs. Jay road trippers path?

Not to stereotype, but my guess would be on U.S. male snowboarders in their mid 20's that road trip to Jay from more than 4 hours away.

They're also from North Troy, which is right around the corner from Jay. Shows how accurate stereotyping is...

 

[wa-loaf]

Should we even venture a guess or head down the "were they skiers or boarders?" path. Or the locals vs. Jay road trippers path?

Not to stereotype, but my guess would be on U.S. male snowboarders in their mid 20's that road trip to Jay from more than 4 hours away.

I think someone needs to layoff the nitrous . . . :lol::razz::lol:

 

[threecy]

They're also from North Troy, which is right around the corner from Jay. Shows how accurate stereotyping is...

You're just that stereotypical person who says that stereotypes are generally wrong.

 

[drjeff]

Just delerious from the heat today and my teething 18 month old son being up every hour last night

I won't even venture into the stereotypes that two forty year old guys from Northern VT conjures up!

 

[JimG.]

My guess would be your guess is wrong ... I believe the news article stated they were in their forties plus I don't believe you would ever find a twenty year old with that much ambition let alone two.

Except for the stereotype about ambition in 20 year olds, you are correct. They were two relative locals in their 40's. Mid-life crisis?

Oh, and about the 20 year olds, I would agree if you said you wouldn't find a 20 year old with a chainsaw and the tools and spare parts needed for this job let alone two. 2 stroke yard tools are the domain of the old fart.