Jay 1/10

[riverc0il]

Not bad, not bad at all. What a difference a week makes. Wow. Last week just sucked. Probably will be my worst ski day of the year. Glades were awful, the entire stateside sucked, etc. Just not good. Today... it was aaaaaalllllllllll good. Not good as in 2' powder day which was two days ago... but good as in "damn, three days after the storm and I am still finding some untracked" good. But not as much as I had hoped. Still, not bad at all.

Some tree shots still need more snow to cover up the sticks. But we are back to where we were before the Christmas melt down... perhaps even a little better. On map glades were packed and tracked and bumped per expectations. Off map trees ranged from breakable wind slab foot plus deep (meh) to buckle/boot deep occasional untracked (lots of bush thwacking required). The cut up / tracked up pow in the woods skied very well and had some fluff factor considering some woods had the breakable wind slab going on.

Nothing to rave about... just another typical day at Jay that I have come to expect when there is no pow left to be had at most other areas. I brought my skins but was tired and sore and wanted to save some juice for tomorrow's romp, so I opted to cut out at lunch time and save my legs for Sunday. No crowds to speak of. Last run I went out to the D and hoofed it back... surprisingly tracked out already but still some quality snow. Low angle BC is probably sensational right now...

 

[billski]

sweet sweet sweet. Would love to see some pics if you get a chance. It's been a while.
Thanks!

 

[riverc0il]

Yea, pics. It was cold out and I forgot my camera. Which I seem to be doing a lot lately. Too bad today as it was perfect blue sky against a magnificent white tree canopy. Several times I would have had really good shots. But I just am not as motivated to take pictures as I used to be. Especially at an area I am so familiar with and have already photo documented it so thoroughly. Doesn't help I mostly ski solo, either.

 

[awf170]

I was trying to find you today, but for some reason we never crossed paths. IMO, today was very good. Some of the best non-powder day skiing you can have. Personally I thought everything that was untracked kind of sucked and I just stuck to tracked out glades. The snow was just too dense for skiing untracked.

 

[riverc0il]

Too bad we didn't bump into each other. I was kind of all over the place from the Jet for my first few runs then hammered the dependable stuff. Snow density depended upon location. I hit some untracked that was plenty fluffy in places. But the wind buffed untracked was tough. Tracked up was nice. I hit enough untracked that I am notching today as a powder day. Snow quality was indeed extremely good for three days after a storm... as you mentioned about as good as you can get that long after the storm.

 

[billski]

so it be...

Yea, pics. It was cold out and I forgot my camera. Which I seem to be doing a lot lately. Too bad today as it was perfect blue sky against a magnificent white tree canopy. Several times I would have had really good shots. But I just am not as motivated to take pictures as I used to be. Especially at an area I am so familiar with and have already photo documented it so thoroughly. Doesn't help I mostly ski solo, either.

I ski solo a lot, but take pics for others. I've found that lots of people on these forums, (not the regulars) are unfamiliar with the resorts, so I take the shots of lodges, lifts, etc. in addition to the trails for them. Problem is, I tend to take more scenic pics these days, something dramatic or different. I always forget to take pics of the green and blue trails....

For me, all I'm interested in is how the trails & woods looked. A pic even without a TR is worth 1000 words.

I think back to the 70's and even the 90s when I had to scrape for every piece of info I could get about conditions. Things change so fast, even then. Usenet was the best we could offer. We're pretty spoiled these days with the immediacy of digital photo.

Regardless, thanks for the report. I'll be up that-away in a few weeks, with vouchers in pocket. Waiting for the best time to strike (people, weather, timing)

 

[riverc0il]

I am in the same boat with you RE: conditions reporting. I started my web site just about 8 years ago knowing that the internet was going to change everything and that if people shared reports and conditions it would take the guess work out. I am not sure if there is a much more detailed chronology of New England skiing any where on the web than my own site (would love to see some others if there are... not counting forums here). So I get that part of it. Will do better next time Billski

Best time to strike is any time between now and when college starts back up. Without the college kids on the triple major, the place is very uncrowded. Next weekend might be superb with two more storms this coming week...

 

[billski]

I am in the same boat with you RE: conditions reporting. I started my web site just about 8 years ago knowing that the internet was going to change everything and that if people shared reports and conditions it would take the guess work out. I am not sure if there is a much more detailed chronology of New England skiing any where on the web than my own site (would love to see some others if there are... not counting forums here). So I get that part of it. Will do better next time Billski

Best time to strike is any time between now and when college starts back up. Without the college kids on the triple major, the place is very uncrowded. Next weekend might be superb with two more storms this coming week...

Interesting, didn't think about the college factor. I take my daughter to the airport to return to college tomorrow. Every time we get to Jay (usually a Friday or Saturday), it seems to be mostly folks from the north, French-speaking province. Didn't consider they might be college.

I spread my time between Jay-Stowe-Bolton-Bush-MRG unevenly, driven very much opportunistically. I have no allegiance to anything but snow conditions and friends. But, having a better handle on when to expect crowding is something I need to get better at.
A bit OT, but I've found myself spending far more time over the past few years in VT, where I used to spend it more in NH. I think I've gotten over the travel time hurdle in my mind.

Yes, your web is a mighty fine place to while away a day or three. It's a great intro for the uninitiated and has a nice history. In terms of continuity, I've always thought it would be fun to track resorts over time. I do that in terms of ticket prices, but I'm thinking in terms of resorts themselves. Like new lodges, replacing surface lifts, going from doubles, to triples to 6's, etc. It would have been fun to track all that stuff too.

 

[riverc0il]

Interesting, didn't think about the college factor. I take my daughter to the airport to return to college tomorrow. Every time we get to Jay (usually a Friday or Saturday), it seems to be mostly folks from the north, French-speaking province. Didn't consider they might be college.

The college kids are mostly from Burlington as there are a few colleges over there including the big one, UVM. Some LSC'ers too. I am sure the Quebecois kids also get the cheap college pass but not as much inventive as the triple major which includes MRG and Bolton (including Bolton night skiing at a close drive from Burlington). Going when the college kids are on break is always a sound strategy.

I hold no allegiance either. I get my pass at Jay because it is the most dependable. But then I also get a Mad Card and two SkiVT Cards so I can follow the snow when it doesn't hit Jay (kinda like today at Magic).

 

[BigJay]

Good day saturday, great day on sunday!

Didn't get the skins out... Heard good things from out of bounds... but we needed our powder fix!

Sunday wasn't busy at all... No liftlines anywhere... And 4in of new snow on top... Warmer temps... Helped a lot!