Going To Burke In February! A Few Questions

[Zand]

1. I'm going February 24th-26th. The 24th is the Friday during vacation, and I might head up to Jay on that Sunday, the 26th. How will the crowds be at either place?

2. How is the speed of the Willoughby Quad compared to, say, Cannonball at Cannon? Any other lift anyone could compare it to? How long of a ride is it?

3. What are some must-hit trails?

4. How many people will laugh at me if I fall off the Poma? :lol:

Thanks in advance. *Awaits a 9 paragraph response from Trailboss and riverc0il* :wink:

 

[thetrailboss]

1. I'm going February 24th-26th. The 24th is the Friday during vacation, and I might head up to Jay on that Sunday, the 26th. How will the crowds be at either place?

Zand--AWESOME to hear! PM me about Burke or Jay since I am a Burke native! :beer:

Read my trip reports and check out the photos from our trip in March 2005.

Regrettably, I'm not available to go to Burke on that weekend...seeing Les Mis in Boston and may even be skiing at Wa-Wa...how ironic.

Crowds: yesterday at Burke NOBODY was there. Jay is an animal house on Saturdays in general. May I suggest flipping them? Burke on Saturday and Jay on Sunday. Be sure that the wind/ice is not a factor at Jay. CALL ahead and speak to someone before driving up there...it is really disappointing to drive all that way and ride the Metro Quad or the T-Bar. :roll: And I've driven up there before and turned around empty handed

2. How is the speed of the Willoughby Quad compared to, say, Cannonball at Cannon? Any other lift anyone could compare it to? How long of a ride is it?

Still a weakness of Burke. To be remedied this summer we think. The quad is about the speed of the Cannonball Quad...but maybe a bit slower. It's a double-edged sword though--ten min ride that gives you 1600 vert of glades, bumps, carving, etc, etc. And this is no Wachusett either! The stuff is steeper and more entertaining IMHO. The slow lift helps preserve the snow cover and keep the trails less crowded.

3. What are some must-hit trails?

PM me with more details of what you like. Burke: East Bowl and glades (unless you're a boarder), Powderhorn, Carriage Road, Wilderness, Willoughby, the Dippers, Glades off of Willoughby, and the liftline are good. If you're a newbie to Burke, check out the lower lodge and HSQ if you want to be pampered. If you just want expert stuff and a no-frills experience, drive to MidBurke. Jay: start on Stateside before moving over to Tram Side. Must skis include Hayne's, Vermonter from the tram, and the BP glades.

4. How many people will laugh at me if I fall off the Poma? :lol:

Oh yeah! The POMA! :beer: Forgot about that. If no race, Upper Warrens is frickin' steep! It is a fast way to get a lot of runs including glades, bumps, and fast groomers. She's fifty years old and still chugging. I rode it yesterday for an hour or so and got fresh pow and the trail all to myself.

Thanks in advance. *Awaits a 9 paragraph response from Trailboss and riverc0il* :wink:

:lol: Just got down here. PM me. :wink:

 

[awf170]

Zand are in you into glades? Because IMO if you dont like glades Jay Peak is horrible, Ive been there about 10 times now and every time the trails were pretty bad. But if you do like glades you probably picked the two best mountain in the east.

 

[kcyanks1]

Zand are in you into glades? Because IMO if you dont like glades Jay Peak is horrible, Ive been there about 10 times now and every time the trails were pretty bad. But if you do like glades you probably picked the two best mountain in the east.

I wouldn't go that far. I was just there for two days as well, and have been there only 4 days total, but I like the trails too. Most of my time is spent on the glades, but they have some nice natural snow trails too - Powerline, Liftline, Green Beret, Northwest Passage (though I think I accidently ended up in North Glade sonn after the beginning of that trail), and River Quai are nice. UN too though I didn't ski that this trip. If you are into cruising, Jet is good. I'm pretty happy with the trails there.

 

[riverc0il]

Still a weakness of Burke. To be remedied this summer we think. The quad is about the speed of the Cannonball Quad...but maybe a bit slower

a LOT slower. the cannonball quad is the fastest fixed grip quad i have ever been on, burke is one of the slower quads i have been on. the quad is definitely slow, but who cares? ride the poma which is much faster and accesses nearly the entire verticle. you can check out a trail map to see which trails you can't access from the poma, not too many. if you ski hard, you will appreciate the slow ride up. plenty of nice folks to share the chair with and chat with on the way up.

 

[riverc0il]

Zand are in you into glades? Because IMO if you dont like glades Jay Peak is horrible, Ive been there about 10 times now and every time the trails were pretty bad. But if you do like glades you probably picked the two best mountain in the east.

great point, i completely agree. jay is GREAT for glades and powder. if no glades and no powder is available, jay isn't much to write home about. the flat run out on the tram side is simply terrible. the jet is okay, but gets old quick. similar to riding the zoomer chair at cannon but not as steep or interesting slopes. the fixed grip quad has some steeps and a lot of HUGE bumps, but nothing worth the drive that you can't find else where.

 

[riverc0il]

1. I'm going February 24th-26th. The 24th is the Friday during vacation, and I might head up to Jay on that Sunday, the 26th. How will the crowds be at either place?

burke NEVER has ANY crowds. SERIOUSLY. people who have never been to an uncrowded ski area simply do not understand how uncrowded a ski area can be that really does not have crowds. is that a holiday weekend? i can't remmeber. if it is not a holiday weekend, expect no more than two minute wait at the worst for burke. jay could get quite busy, especially if powder has fallen recently. coming from your home base of WaWa, you will likely be blown away by the lack of crowds at burke and i have never seen any one laugh at someone falling off the poma. nice folks ski burke. just get out of the way quick cause someone will be coming up behind you QUICK!

must ski trail would have to be east bowl which is pretty much burke's signature run. there is a traverse at the top and a flat run out at the bottom. i recommend warming up a bit and not doing this run first because of this. you will likely lap willougby, warrens way, bear den, foxes, and the dippers a few times. look for the old lift line trails for something different and interesting. marshland and lower dougs offer phenomenal blue square natural snow trails and should not be over looked.

 

[John84]

the flat run out on the tram side is simply terrible.

How bad is the runout at the bottom of the tram side, and how long is it? I'm going with a snowboarder in January and I'm wondering if that's going to be a big problem for him.

 

[awf170]

the flat run out on the tram side is simply terrible.

How bad is the runout at the bottom of the tram side, and how long is it? I'm going with a snowboarder in January and I'm wondering if that's going to be a big problem for him.

Its like 2 degrees so youll move just not fast, and if you coming from the BP/BBP area it feels like it about 20 miles, it seriously is about 2 miles from that area though, youll move really slow but you dont need to pole at all, or in a snowboarders case take off his board. Its a pain but atleast it isnt up hill at all.

 

[Boardguy]

Willoughby quad is about a 12 minute ride if memory serves, not a big deal - crowds, not really MAYBE a 3-5 min line at the Willoughby (if its busy). Come on up! 8)

 

[kcyanks1]

the flat run out on the tram side is simply terrible.

How bad is the runout at the bottom of the tram side, and how long is it? I'm going with a snowboarder in January and I'm wondering if that's going to be a big problem for him.

I'll basically echo what Austin said. I was just there with a snowboarding friend for a couple days, and he didn't have any trouble on the flats coming out of BP/BBP. It's annoying that the flats are there, but I wouldn't worry so much. Taking Kokomo (intermediate semi-gladed trail) helps cut off some of the flats, but he was fine going either way.

 

[Charlie Schuessler]

I've been to both areas (stay & ski), Jay many more times than Burke. I believe you will find both areas offer unique skiing compared to Southern VT, MA, NH or ME. And never mind the speed of the lifts, waiting lines, length of the trails or even the glade vs. groomed run debate, just go and experience the natural mountain life ambience no longer readily available at most ski resorts. I guess its part of the Northeast Kingdom charm and difficult to place a value on…