Jiminy Peak - 1/9/2005

[Greg]

Date(s) Skied: Sunday, January 9, 2005, 9:30 AM - 3:30 PM

Resort or Ski Area: Jiminy Peak, Hancock, Massachusetts

Conditions: Powder, packed powder, hard pack. Sunny until the last few runs and not a bit of wind to speak of. Truly a great day and certainly the best so far this season at Jiminy.

Trip Report: After watching the radar throughout the day on Saturday, we made the determination that Jiminy Peak would be a better option Sunday than either Catamount or Butternut. The snow/sleet/rain line hung just north of the southern Berkshires and it looked like Jiminy stayed all snow. So we hopped in the car for my second trip to the mountain in three days. Conditions on Friday were fantastic and with a few inches of fresh, I expected great conditions. We weren't disappointed. It seemed the mountain received a solid 6".

Most of the major snowmaking runs were open and the crowds on the six were light early. Even during the heaviest period, the wait was only 5-7 minutes. We did our typical skier's left to right approach to the mountain. Trails early were firm packed powder/powder, with the surface softening and letting some hard pack through during the day.

Skier's right of Whilaway, Jericho and Wild Turkey had some great ungroomed powder which just got softer and more broken up as the day went on. Jericho, like Friday, was the run of the day, but Turkey was right there with some nice powder. Cutter was nice early, but some slick hardpack appeared later in the day.

The Q1 opened late morning and we rode that and the Widow's Quad much of the midday. There were a lot of skiers on the mountain, but the liftlines were short (non-existent at the quads). A great day and possibly this season's best for me so far. We got twenty runs in.

Click HERE for pics.

 

[bvibert]

Nice pics! The conditions look pretty good. I really need to get up there sometime this year, hopefully I'll be able to make the AZ gathering!

The new helmet looks good on you too

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

Greg, Great review and pixs. I hope Jiminy Peak management is compin' you for all the good PR. I'll be doing my usual Tues. nite thing there. I hope conditions hold up.

 

[Greg]

Greg, Great review and pixs. I hope Jiminy Peak management is compin' you for all the good PR.

Actually, the mountain is doing a fantastic job getting a lot of terrain open, despite the challenges this season. I've been there four times this season and aside from the first early season visit on two runs in the rain and fog, the conditions have been great. They have the most skiing available right now within two hours for me which is why I've been there a few times already.

 

[sledhaulingmedic]

The coverage looks great. I hate to admit it, but I don't recognize anything other thanthe distant views. (Then again, my last visit was in 1978).

Thanks for the pictures.

 

[Greg]

I hate to admit it, but I don't recognize anything other thanthe distant views. (Then again, my last visit was in 1978).

Not surprising. This Terraserver image taken in 1997 shows that Wild Turkey (where many of my pics were taken) wasn't even cut yet. I imagine it's a much different mountain than it was in 1978...

 

[sledhaulingmedic]

The skiers' right side is unrecognizable to me. The lift on the far side wasn't there and the trails that were on that side were narrow, natural snow trails and glades. Wow. What a difference.

 

[Irishpub3]

Nice pictures! Found out Jiminy Peak is close to the Albany area.... i'm definitely headed out there soon.... any tips on best days/times to go?

 

[bvibert]

I don't know when is best to go, but you should try to make it to the first AlpineZone South gathering.

 

[Greg]

any tips on best days/times to go?

I don't typically ski anywhere on Saturdays, but Sundays and obviously weekdays are great at Jiminy Peak. In the event the six passenger backs up (the line is never longer than 5-7 minutes + 5 minutes to the top), you can usually ski right on the quads, or worse case have to wait a chair or two.