Jay???

[powderman]

I'm thinking about going to Jay (for the first time) this winter. What are the best glades there? Is it really windy at Jay? If I go, it would be midweek during December, Feburary, or March. During midweek, how long are the lines for the tram? Which month is the snowiest and which one sees the best conditions?

 

[hardline]

while i don't go to jay. the snowiest month is march but by feb there are solid base depths.

 

[Geoff]

Your best bet is to cherry pick a few good days in Februrary/March. Midweek is not busy so you don't need lodging reservations in advance. When it looks good for a storm with a lot of wrap-around where the Jay cloud is likely to dump a couple of feet, take your midweek trip.

Jay has thinned-out trees everywhere. You don't have to engage your brain or find a local to find plenty of good glade skiing.

Like everywhere, the place is cold in January and moderates in Feburary/March. Like everywhere, you can hit wind.

In my dozen or so midweek Jay days over the years, the tram was never particularly busy. I've never ridden it much.

 

[koreshot]

The face chutes, pump house and saddle are sweet, but for some reason every time I ski Valhalla I say to myself "this is the best glade at Jay". The others I mentioned are much steeper and more challenging, but Valhalla has that great combination of trees, space for some speed (I like fast) and views. It has more of a west coast glade skiing vibe.

I wouldn't worry about how busy the tram is - you can spend all day on the Jet and still get great vertical - some of the best tree skiing at Jay can be accessed from the Jet.

Yes, it gets windy. And IMO going to Jay to ski groomers is a bad idea - they are usually in pretty bad condition.

 

[thetrailboss]

The good news: midweek the place is dead in my experience. We're talking no lines.

The bad news: wind is a constant problem not for snow surfaces, but for the lifts. You can't really forecast for wind until the day of usually. So it can be hit or miss.

Worst case? You go and have to hike for the glades or are restricted to Stateside. Many would say that's not a bad thing...since the hiking means untracked lines and having trails/glades all to yourself.