Jay Wins!

Jonny Jay reports, posted by SBR:

Having not posted a blog since my early season epistle, I thought it time to provide an update. How was the skiing this past weekend at the end of February? In a word – awesome!

We went down Thursday evening since Pudd had informed me that there was some 24-30” of new snow being reported on the Jay website. Always torn between wanting to believe and the possibility of disappointing reality, we hoped for the best. Upon arrival in Montgomery Centre we were greeted by a muddy driveway and about 6” of compressed wet snow – could this be what’s left of the two feet plus of new snow? But the next morning at the mountain revealed the truth – there really was that much new snow. It had compressed and was quite thick in the glades on Friday but skiing was fabulous no matter what. Then a good 6-8” topcoat on Friday night made the Saturday snow amazingly good – it was western skiing at Jay – beautiful packed and tracked snow on the “groomers” and highly skiable fresh snow over the heavy underlayer in the glades and the less groomed trails. Awesome!

Even got Suse Q doing bumps on Liftline (a first time for her and it was so good she wanted to do it again – and we did). Timbuktu, Powerline, the upper Kwai was the best I’ve seen it in years, etc. Sunday was another epic day as we practised bumps on lower UN, Exhibition and ventured into lower Everglade for Suse Q’s first real glade experience (we even found the ditch where Gollum got stuck the last time they were down). And then, to prove how amazing the snow was, she jumped from Everglade to North Glade. Some trepidation of course at the start but with the beautiful snow conditions, mild temperatures and no wind, how could you not enjoy it? No falls and by the end she was hooked. I had to bring her down a bit because I know the conditions won’t always be so forgiving and I didn’t want her to think she could just saunter into any old glade and expect the snow to be like that – soft with some resistance so you could commit.

Some Kudos to the Mountain for keeping things in such good shape this winter and I was very impressed to see they had the flag of Georgia flying on the towers in recognition of the luger who died pursuing his dream at the Olympic Games. A nice touch. On a funny note, I was reading the conditions report as I was waiting and noticed a big bold statement about a record snowfall of over 500”. I assumed they were talking about this year, which seemed very unlikely since I remember many more snowy years, so I mentioned it to a regular at Stateside who was also surprised. Of course when you put your glasses on you see that this year’s snowfall is only about half that but the bold print of the record sure stands out without any year reference – an amusing senior moment!

So it looks like we’ll have some snow for a while – see you there soon.

JJ

A milestone in Jay Peak history

In case you hadn't heard, Jonny Jay turned 60 on Valentine's Day. What better way to celebrate than gather the members of the Jonny Jay Ski Club (or at least most of them) for a Jay weekend. The hill certainly cooperated: gale force winds, whiteouts at the top, holiday crowds, wind-scoured groomers and occcasional excellent snow conditions made for a fun-filled weekend with classic "Jay Conditions."

 SBR limbers up with the Vermonter in the background

Everybody was skiing well. After a year's hiatus from skiing, Blue Toes ripped it up on the Derrick and Haynes. DC cruised the ice of Hell's Crossing and Claire had her "run of the day" going face-first, tummy-down on the JFK. SBR's knee held up, despite hearing a wierd clunk while telemarking on Saturday. One highlight was hearing a poor tourist yelling, "get me off this f&#%$#g hill" halfway down a very icy Angel's Wiggle on Saturday afternoon.

 

Can we go skiing now?

I think the highlight of the ski session was on Sunday afternoon. After the more sensible members of the posse retired to the Clubhouse for drinks and baths, JJ, Pudd and SBR toughed it out on the lifts. We gave JJ the choice of runs, since it was his birthday after all. The resulting "tour of the mountain" was both surprising and inspiring. We started with UN, a run we rarely ski since the advent of short skis. This day the infamous moguls were firm, snowy and quite skiable. Surprise! After using Pudd's secret traverse and a turn-for-turn GS on Moonwalk, we headed up the Freezer. With my face buried in my hands to avoid frostbite, I wondered why we pay money to go up lifts like this. A pretty much blind descent of Alligator Alley led us to North Glade, always a run to be counted on for good snow at the end of the day. Pudd launched a cliff that he didn't know was there and stuck the landing. I thought he planned it. Another frozen trip up the Freezer took us to Expo Glade and Perry Merrill, back to the Bonnie. And what does the birthday boy pick for last run? Powerline, top to bottom. As JJ skipped over the off-camber bumps in fluid style, I turned to Pudd and said, "not bad for an old guy." Inspiring!

 

Hey, 60 isn't so bad...

 

A lovely Valentine birthday breakfast spread

 

Pudd got an early birthday present. Go Habs! 

Yes, he went skiing after the champagne and OJ

 OK, Eggs Benedict is better than oatmeal. Thanks, Mike!

JJ emerges from the gloom of Timbuktu

Same word, same season, different sport, opposite attitude

These two slednecks were wandering around the store the other day, not spending money. Trying to be friendly, I ask them, in my hippest sno-mo lingo,

"So, how is the riding?"

Fully decked out in ninja-snow-warrior Arctic Cat team colours, one replies,

"Oh the trails are a little rough, we need a little fresh so the groomer can get out and pack it down."

Alrighty then, I give up. Though the thought balloon would have read: just dial back the throttle on the motorized sofa there, buddy, and the trail won't feel so rough. Or maybe, if your butt is too sore to go sledding,  you might be interested in renting some snowshoes today? And getting some EXERCISE...

Oh wait, is my bias showing through?

Who would have thought that snowmobilers would talk about "fresh" - don't skiers OWN that word? And then wishing for said fresh to be instantly packed down for their enjoyment. Other end of the winter spectrum, dude.

A fine New Year's week at Jay

It's all about the.... bathrooms.

Or at least that seemed to be the theme this trip. The much-vaunted New Year's Day Mega-Storm did not happen, the skiing was pretty good anyway, the company was wonderful as usual, SBR tweaked his knee (again), Claire tweaked her knee (again), Throcky and Gollum had a coming-of-age experience I hope they will relate, we drank a lot of wine, the wind howled, the new Prophets rock, the glades were mogul runs with trees (until Sunday) and the Tram was on wind delay most of the time. But really, it was all about the bathrooms.

Ron found it first and even spotted cleaners at work. Incroyable! One at a time,we made our pilgrimage to the new washrooms at Tramside. No stairs, a rubber floor, bright lights and empty cork boards above the urinals were fantastic novelties for us to inspect (though later, Jonny Jay revisited the old washroom downstairs, found it non-smelly and empty, and decided to use it forthwith). Pudd took a peak into the hotel parking garage and we all marvelled at the cars parked serenely out of the snow. This is the new Jay Peak. And it isn't so bad. It's OK to have a convenient, clean washroom. It's great to be able to ski up to the tram stairs (all four of them). Or leave leave your skis at almost the same altitude as the Flyer. Even Pudd, the most resistant to change among us, declared that he would never again haul his skis up that effing hill.

This is truly the slogan for the "new" Jay Peak. They seem to be doing it right, so far:

Let's hope they keep it up. But please, get rid of the riduiculous "raise 'em Jay" animation that slows us up reading the snow report!

But what about the "big snow difference?" We thought it was going to happen on Sunday, my day to drive home. In a chance meeting Saturday on the Flyer, Brian the PR guy revealed to me that "twelve to fourteen" was expected the following morning. Hmmm. Maybe I could leave after lunch. When we woke the next morning, the stoke was high. At least 10 inches of light, blower powder covered the Snowbaru and the JonnyJayMobile.

This was a good sign. If there is snow in the village, then there is usually lots more snow at the hill.  As we made our way up the Mountain Road and over the pass, something gnawed at my powder sensors. Why are the plow banks not as high up here as they are in Monkey Center? As we pulled into Stateside parking area, exited the cars and just about fell over in the howling wind, we wondered: "where the h... is all the snow?" Through some freak weather event, it appeared that most of the snow had blown off the Stateside area. Luckily, and with the benefit of 75 years of combined "mountain knowledge" theorizing on the lift, we found it eventually on Tramside. A spectacular run down a not-quite-tracked-out JFK to Lower Everglade, followed by a Goat-GMB-North Glade combo and finished off with a "full Goat" to Buckaroo Banzai really made the week for me. Hopefully the rest of the crew enjoyed the the rest of snow the next day. After an epic drive home, I was ready for bed.

 After ten hours of this, SBR got home

Not to mention the holiday traffic!

Eagerly anticipating the New Year's Powder Event

SBR, BT, JJ, DC, Pudd, Claire, Throckmorton, Gollum & family are all joining Dogski and Sklinda for New Year's. If the weather forecasts are accurate, it will be an epic Jay Peak experience. If nothing else, it will be be better than last year. JJ and DC will be fresh off the plane after spending Christmas in Colde & Rainye Olde England, while the rest of us will be migrating from the wilds of Ontario.

SBR finally got ski brakes to fit the Prophet 100s. Actually, he spent the early evening grinding plastic off the only Salomon wide brake available in the land of skinny skis so it would fit his bindings.

Stay tuned for the full report.

Why is THIS the Real Jay Peak Snow Report?

Editor's note: This may be the Best Post Ever and I didn't write it. Still finding the Internet a bit of a boggle, Jonny Jay asked for my assistance in posting this trip report. Once I picked myself up off the floor after falling off the chair laughing, I decided that it must go up immediately, especially now that our new friends over at The Snowway have posted about skiing at MRG and not Jay. This post will explain why The Snowway made a good decision. It also makes me think I should review my series of emails to Bill Stenger from some years back and see what progress he has made. On a side note, there are some trail and lift names mentioned that do not appear on the trail map. The dedicated Jay Peak skiier should have no difficulty figuring out what they refer to. SBR

 Jonny Jay's new helmet is ready to go...

Here is the true state of Jay Peak this weekend, as seen through the eyes of Jonny Jay himself:

The adventures of SBR and Telemark Dave and their thigh-deep skiing is the perfect backdrop to Jonny Jay’s first trip to our mountain this year. After all the buzz about the big storm last week and checking the Jay web site I was pretty stoked about getting out the boards and trying a few turns on Saturday, since my dahlin' companion was off to the homeland. Even Pudd was thinking of taking the 8-hour trip after reading “Weather from the Hill,” who was projecting close to 2 feet of snow if all the stars were in alignment!

I decided to get an early start so was out of the JJ clubhouse by 8:20 (that’s early for this time of year), as I had to get my new pass on the other side. Reality started to sink in on my way up the Mountain Road as the snow banks looked a little washed out and the snow in the Dip was looking a little sparse to say the least.  So I wheel in to the Tramside Parking and see the new Ice Rink is really taking shape – and the multi-level parking garage beside it! Multi-level parking garage you say? In the middle of nowhere? Ah but maybe that’s where they are going to put the new bathrooms for all these new skiers, skaters and ice dancers who will use the new parking (note to self: Hang out in garage on windy snowy day just to see the chaos). Of course the new wave pool might be a bathroom alternative, but I digress. 

 The new washroom facility at Jay Peak?

All went well, picked up some new cool Jay posters and had my picture taken with my back to the sunny window so I look like Darth Vader (wait till Bill sees those pics – anyone could pass for me if they put on my infamous jacket cause that’s about all you can see in the photo – it’s Jay Peak after all and why we love it so). Off I go inside to boot up and all is well, with lots of familiar faces doing the right of passage that a new season always demands. Since I am alone (and field testing a new helmet) I wonder if the Tram is running as I didn’t recall a lineup in my excitement to get going. Anyway, feeling invincible with my new helmet, off I go. But the Tram is not running and neither is the Flyer, so the Snail Chair is the ticket. 20 runs open they say – I start counting as I am going up the Snail and I am at about 15 runs when you include Upper and Lower Snail, Chalet Meadows, Perry Merrill and Upper, Lower and Middle Fiddle Faddle. That still leaves the Jet, Haynes, Montrealer and maybe even Timbuktu or the Derrick or, if I really want to test out the helmet – the KITZ.

As I negotiate the Perry Merrill over to Stateside I have some time to think about the lack of cars in the parking lot and how fortunate I might be. The adrenaline kicks in and I decide to tuck it so I don’t have to hike over the ditch to the Jet. Of course the Red Chair is not “turning” as they now say at Jay Peak and up ahead is someone starting to hike up – guess he didn’t want to buy a ticket. Whoa! Sign ahead – Jet Chair Closed – Whaa!!!! 

 A sign of the times

 I see a patroller going in the hut so I ask about the chair’s status: “Well it was out of order yesterday but today it is closed because it is really windy up there”. "Windy?" says I, loving it when the wind dumps all the snow at the left edge of the Jet, “Yes,” she says, “about 55mph gusts.” She sees the look on my face even with the new helmet. “Well it’s Jay Peak,” she adds with a bit of a knowing glance. Maybe the new Jay Peak, says I inside my helmet, but the old Jay would have had the lift “turning” if even at such an unbearably slow speed that would make you wonder why it was open. So there I was watching my buddy hike up to get some turns – an activity that, at my age, I only reserve for those days when there really is 2 feet of snow. Realizing my shortcomings, over to the Moose T bar (no Moose there but maybe he hasn’t come out of hibernation yet) and back to the Snail. On the trip up my two chair companions were saying how all this construction was good for the local economy and would bring lots of new people to the mountain. Foreign money they say. From Dubai – my mind wandered to the parallels between what is happening in Dubai right now and whether Jay needs a waterpark to survive but I also realize that it must change with the times. Ever the pragmatist, I ask, “But where are all these new visitors going to crap?” Well I then learn that another $100 million or so will solve that and that next year the old Stateside Lodge will be replaced and will probably have new bathrooms. Again the cynic in me remembers staring at the “27 Hole Golf Course Coming Soon” sign that hung in the stairway for about 27 years it seems – but it did come eventually in all its magnificence. I also wonder what happened to the skiing/riding part of the investment as in the planned terrain expansion . . .  Anyway I agree that the investment is good news except I know we will all be nostalgic about that funny little place where you can bang your heads on the heater and sit at homey picnic tables – that’s my Jay Peak. And that’s the Jay Peak that Throckmorton and his sidekick Gollum will be telling their children about years from now.

Anyway, this time off the Snail I decide to live dangerously and do the right side of the lift over to Deer Run etc. Whoa again! Another sign – “Thin Cover” it says! I decide to take the bull by the horns – after all it probably will be better than when the Kitz or River Kwai says thin cover – and off I go all the way past Deer Run. Snow had a manmade feel to it and had a thin crust so I decide to “give myself a challenge” and go to the sides. It was a bit tricky as I must have been off-balance on the left side due to my surgery last summer (can’t think of any other reason) but I held it together. After one more uneventful run I decided the legs had a big enough workout so I better pack it in.

Then I played tourist. The new hotel is looking very good and blends in much better than expected. I checked out the new rental shop (in the lower stone section of the new hotel near the tram building) and it is very spiffy, with automatic sliding doors for those returning skis – no more Warren Miller moments of a beginner with an armful of skis and poles trying to open the door. On my way home I checked into Stateside to put the lock on my locker and check things out. Well this summer they had repainted the lockers but had forgotten to open the doors to let them dry – doors were painted shut and I it took me five minutes to get mine open, with a few tourists looking on like I was “completely mad.” Ah that’s what I love about Jay – it’s quirky, it’s still old school despite the new façade and it’s ours! Oh and you can’t beat the skiing on a good day, rainy day or any other day. And the Jay Snow Reports – they have always been there “as a guideline” only as we all know – the challenge is finding out for yourself. They did get a good dump – it just wasn’t there when I was. See ya out there soon.

Jonny Jay.

The "new snow" at Jay Peak on Saturday

How to deal with a "Snow Emergency"

 

Make your own hill, then go ski it!

First of all, this post has nothing to do with Jay Peak but it has everything to do with skiing deep powder.

Here is the news story from Hunters Bay Radio:

Mayor Declares Snow Emergency


The Town of Huntsville is under a Snow Emergency today. Huntsville Mayor Claude Doughty declared the emergency this morning at 5 am and asked everyone to stay home today.The Trillium Lakelands School Board shut down their schools today to all students...schools are open to any teachers that can make it. The District of Muskoka also urges all motorists to stay off the roads as requested by the OPP. The District says that although crews are out clearing snow, secondary and local roads may be impassable. The District has also closed all landfill sites today as security personnel are not able to get to work. Residents of Huntsville that did not get garbage and recycling pickup yesterday can expect service tomorrow. Some businesses are also affected by the weather...the Huntsville Place Mall is amongst those businesses that are closed.

Well, we can't go to the mall, whatever shall we do? Like good citizens, BT and I decide to stay home. First order of the day was snowblowing the drive way. Then I decided to be a good samaritan and snowblow the neighbours' driveway (in case you are not familiar with our rural lifestyle, our snowblower is attached to a good-sized Kubota tractor). Not familiar with the layout of Kyle and Kelly's winding long drive, I got a little too close the the edge of a ditch and slid in sideways. Several expletives were heard. Two hours later, after a variety of different approaches, we managed to pull the beast out the ditch with our trusty Toyota truck, with BT at the wheel.

The loyal Kubota, not stuck. Yes, there is a Jay sticker on the other side.

Finally getting home, who do find in our driveway but Telemark Dave, driving his wife's Subie Forester! Even his trusty Sneco is a little low-slung for our unplowed road. Well, there was no choice but to go skiing and celebarate Dave's birthday with the opening of our newest glade run, Secret Hill. Dave and I have been scoping this hill for a few years and finally used the long, snowless fall for some judicious pruning. Hey, it's only a hill but it is our hill and the snow was thigh deep. Check out the pics here.