Sell me on Jay Peak

[Philpug]

We are getting ready to plan a family trip and haven't been to Jay since 89. When is Canada vacation week, ideally first week of March works best for us, coincides with Ty's college break? What condos are ski in/ski out? We go for the skiing so night life is not important.

What has changed in 20 years?

 

[SkiDork]

Personally I've never been there, but from what I've been told by friends who have, Jay is really only the place to go for pow days/weeks. If it's regular skiing it's sorta boring (don't shoot the messenger). Of course on a pow day it's superb!

Just my $0.02

 

[Philpug]

The pow (and killer trees) part is the most intriguing, the chance of bitter cold and down tram are negatives.

 

[kingdom-tele]

a downed tram is a blessing - it preserves so much more pow

 

[tjf67]

They built now townhomes that are ski in ski out. Great Places. They get the most snow in the east. They have the best tree skiing in the east. If you go in late March there is a good chance the robins will be comming back. With all the glading it makes a perfect breeding ground for them. It great sliding through the lower terrain with robbins cherping in spring.

JAY PEAK BAM

 

[shpride]

I stayed there the first weekend of March last year. I stayed in one of the "trailside delux 2 bedroom" condo's right on the slope. The condo was ski-in ski out. It was a master bedroom and a bedroom with 2 doubles. The rooms were nice (I have only stayed at Killington condos and they were the same basic thing) with a fireplace and deck (which was filled with snow). They had 2 feet of snow the night before, so when we got there we were skiing right off the deck down a hill. I think people sled on the hill. The next morning we skied off the deck right to the tram, and got the door shut on us right as we were about to get the first tram.

It was Canadian break there that weekend. It was busy, but not crazy busy. I think the 2 feet of snow added some traffic. The longest I probably waited for a chair lift was 10 min at the busiest part of the day. The tram may have been a little longer. You said nightlife doesn't matter which is good. There was a little bar (which I think may have been torn down), but we just went there for a little while. All of us were asleep by 8pm after 8 hours of tree skiing.

I hope this helps. If you have any questions let me know.

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

They built now townhomes that are ski in ski out. Great Places. They get the most snow in the east. They have the best tree skiing in the east. If you go in late March there is a good chance the robins will be comming back. With all the glading it makes a perfect breeding ground for them. It great sliding through the lower terrain with robbins cherping in spring.

JAY PEAK BAM

Never knew you where such a bird watcher.:wink::lol:

 

[BigJay]

What's new at Jay in 20 years:

_Well, snowboard school started around 86 at Jay...
_More telemark+boards then regular skiers
_New D-Quad dubbed "The Freezer"
_New Quad to replace the Metro T-bar
_New Village double
_New Magic Carpet
_More snowmaking: Helps for early-late season. Normally doesn't matter after December snow starts!
_Trail count doubled since then. Around 34 trails back in 88. Now something like 75 trails and glades. Glades cover most of the diffence in trail count but when they re-numbered the map 5-6 years ago, they splitted lots of trails in two... Helps patroller knowing where the accident happened... but most importantly helps your "mountain stats"

Now the place is crowded on weekends and powder hounds from all over new england ride the shit out of the woods! Powder is still great and more frequent then most places in the east... but there are so many people who come "just for that" that it gets harder and harder to find stashes.

New Hotel coming up... base area will be re-modeled soon... but not for this season...

A week at Jay can be the best thing ever... but also the worst vacation ever... You can get blower snow all week... If you're lucky... March is good for that... February rarely has good snow... December can be epic... Last season we were having powder weekends one after another... During xmas vacation, we were in bed by 10PM every night because snow kept coming down and wanted to ride as much as possible. Then snow returned for real in late february... so January was boring as ever after all the snow we had weeks before...

What else do you need?

Restaurants: Not that many
Night life: No need! You're in bed by 10!
Others: Snowshoeing all over the long trail
XC-skiing: Nearby and on property...
Backcountry: Nope... Nothing here... Please move along!

 

[nelsapbm]

The good thing about Jay is that you are close to other areas to check out too if you want a change of scenery. Mont Sutton is AWESOME. Owls Head is nearby, but small. You could always check out Burke for a day too.

 

[Philpug]

Thanks, great so far...keep em coming. Any 3 BR ski in/ski out?

 

[BeanoNYC]

Thanks, great so far...keep em coming. Any 3 BR ski in/ski out?

http://www.vrbo.com/103344

 

[andyzee]

Trail side condos are sweet there.

 

[BeanoNYC]

Trail side condos are sweet there.

Never stayed at one but they do look neat. When I get up that far north, I end up staying in Stowe or Warren. I do want to stay at Hotel Jay one of these days. Had breakfast there a few times...good stuff.

 

[Philpug]

We do prefer a condo "feel" vs. an apartment "feel" of some of the newer design's out there. We are debating going west still, but if we stay east, Jay might be a choice.

 

[WoodCore]

Although these pictures where taken in latter part of April 2008, here's four good reasons to vacation at Jay!

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Face chutes are nice when cover permits..long flat runout..not so nice..good poutine..gravy frys with cheese curds in the cafeteria..

I don't like the fact that most of the glades are on the map...

 

[riverc0il]

If you need to be "sold" on Jay Peak, you probably wouldn't enjoy skiing there. Jay Peak sells itself to those looking for what it offers. Still not sure? Click the link to my web page in my signature file and check out my gallery. Click on the "powder" link to see why my average powder day ratio for the past three years has been around 50%.

 

[ski220]

Although these pictures where taken in latter part of April 2008,

So where is the 50' wide clear cut?

 

[ski220]

We are debating going west still,.

GO WEST! Any area out west is ten times better than anything in the east.

The trails at Jay are often skating rinks, although the snow in the glades stays soft.

But if you are going to stay East and want some nice new ski in ski out Jay's not bad at all.

 

[JPTracker]

Thanks, great so far...keep em coming. Any 3 BR ski in/ski out?

If you want ski in/ ski out condo by the Tram there are the slopeside condos are 2 bedroom 1 bath condos behind the Hotel right along Queens Highway. Over in the Village, which requires you to take the Village chair to get to the rest of the mountain, there are a lot of 2 bedroom, 3 bedroom, four bedroom & five bedroom condos & townhouses. While the Village condos are newer and the 2 bedrooms have 2 baths instead of 1, they cost a little more and I find them not as convenient as the slopeside condos.