A mid-winter Jay Peak update from Jonny Jay

Mid-winter you say? Yes, I believe the best is yet to come. Things are shaping up well for epic March conditions, if that big storm would just materialize....

Jonny Jay reports after an expended sojourn at the mountain:

The last ten days have probably been the best of the season for consistent variable powder, packed powder and some afternoon scrape just to keep one honest! Glade runs were in great condition although, as always, another dump of snow would help the whole mountain.

Can-Am went from superb (as long as you avoided the shiny ice patches) to very slick at the top a scant hour later - as a few members of the group discovered after I told them how good it was – oops! Always good to challenge yourself . . . Power Line was a treat as usual, full of surprises and lots of good turns.

Oh – and the sun came out.

See you all at the mountain.

Jonny Jay

Skiing the Big Chill (AKA Polar Vortex) and loving it

"There is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing."

According to the Internet, it may have been a Norwegian who coined this phrase. No matter. Norwegians, in my experience, are somewhat loony and would certainly embrace the experience of skiing at Jay Peak in the throes of the Vortex and the dismal northern dregs of winter storm "Hercules." Embracing our inner Norwegians, we dressed for the weather and embraced some classic Jay conditions during the first days of 2014.

Clear and frosty at the top of the Montrealer.

As usual, many members of the Jonny Jay Ski Club gathered at Jay Peak over the Christmas and New Year's holiday. The weather was all over the place, ultimately laying waste to the fine start to the season enjoyed by those lucky enough to ski before Christmas. Reports were contradictory: BBP was awesome, or BBP was awful; Valhalla was "not awful" - that sort of thing. I arrived at the end of the holidays, just in time for the deep freeze and some surprisingly fun skiing.

The marked path through the snowmaker's ice fog

Day one found Jonny Jay, yours truly and the two nephews enjoying some quality bonding time. JJ and I are actually great uncles to these lads but since it tweaks our vanity to admit it, we simply call them "the nephews." No pictures were taken due to technical difficulties but a good time was had by all. The surprise of the day was Timbuktu, which skied very nicely given the snow levels. But we won't talk of Kitzbuhel, which was definitely having an off day. The Kitz has its moments but that was not one of them. Oh well, if you want to know what conditions are really like, there is only one way to find out.

Snowmakers manage to fashion a mound of snow that resembles the classic profile of Jay Peak.

On day two, only my sister-in-law and I would ski, a very rare event. The fact that Friday, Jan. 3, was the coldest day so far made it even more special. My car registered -22 C in the parking lot, so it could only be colder on the hill. We had a great day, complaining about the temperatures but enjoying the snow, which was really nice. The day started off well with a first run down Goat to Buckaroo and a little fresh snow in that glade. We adopted a "two runs and take a break" schedule due to the extreme cold. After four runs, it was time for a long lunch at Howie's, the new eatery at the new Stateside Lodge. For a crew used to sitting in the old Stateside  "locker room," eating white bread sandwiches and "crisps," this was quite a shift. The service was cheerful, the chowder outstanding and my sandwich very tasty. All of which made heading out again into the deep freeze a little less daunting. Surprising the nay-sayers, we lasted until 3 pm, when both the sun and the mercury started to dip below the horizon.

Nice view from the lunch table!

 Jonny Jay joined us for somewhat warmer (or at least less cold) day three, a Saturday. Ushering in the balmier (only -15 C) was our old friend the wind, which, along with the extra people a weekend brings, scoured many exposed areas. With the Freezer being open, we ventured over to that side and even found some nice snow in Beaver Pond. You just had to ski where the snow was, a lesson learned the hard way at the top of the Northway. While I was enjoying a few inches of windblown ice crystals on the left edge, those sticking to the middle were rewarded with a surface worthy of the Ice Haus.

JJ inspects Can Am

 Besides the cold, the topic of the week (of course) was the new Stateside Lodge. Even with experienced guides, my first day using it was a bit confusing. By the second day, I had the lay of land sorted out, and a few mysteries solved (like, who was Howie, and what vintage is the bus?). There are pros and cons. I have to say, the 54 stairs up from the parking lot are a bit daunting. The inside stairs - very ski boot friendly. And the cubbies are nice. Though there could be a few more hooks. And the bar? What a concept! The jury is still out on the bowling alley effect between the ski racks and the two lifts, and, just like at Tramside,  people are already leaving their skis at the top of the pitch. Is it different? Absolutely. Is it better? In some ways. Did the architect make some mistakes? Let's have a beer at The Bullwheel and talk about it. I could go on but what's done is done, and when it all boils down, buildings are just places to park your stuff. We really just come for the skiing and the people, don't we?

No visit to Montgomery would be complete without paying respects to Don and Frosty.

And then there is the long drive home...

A field trip to Stateside

Why most people go to Vermont in the fall.

The Jonny Jay Ski Club had a little off-season get-together last week, with the goal of celebrating a significant birthday for one of our members. That part of the trip is altogether another story. What is relevant to this blog is that we all knew that a pilgrimage "up to the mountain" had to take place, to see what was going on in Construction Junction.

We go to Jay for other reasons but, of course, try to maintain a low profile.

I rode with Pudd and his brother J, who hadn't been to Jay in a while. After getting over our shock at the smooth ride up the freshly paved 242 from Montgomery, we came around the corner and saw the The Hill. Needless to say for this crew, there were a few f-bombs of amazement at our first view of the construction going on at the new Stateside Lodge. Since the Stateside lot is still closed to the public, we parked at the new Mountain Kids Learning Center. The windows we could peer into revealed evidence of an active day-care operation. That was one end of the building. The other - who knows?

We found this in the parking lot of the Mtn Kids Learning Center. Very odd.

The star of the show, of course, was the new Stateside Lodge and Hotel. It is huge. And kind of barn-like, to be honest. And it has fake sugar-shack vents on the roof. Which is of course, appropriate in Vermont, as there are lots of barns and sugar shacks. But for whatever reason, it made me think of a monastery. Sorry, architects, but you have designed a very practical, not ugly, but decidedly monastical structure for the base of this hill. I am sure we will get used to it, though I am am not looking forward to figuring out the new plan of attack. What door do I go in? What table do I stash my stuff under? Are there hooks for my jacket? Will there be cubbies? And wait, what, there are three flights of stairs between the parking lot and where I put on my skis? Sheesh, where is the effing elevator? We are not getting any younger.

The new lodge pretty much dominates the the Stateside landscape.

The biggest discussion started when we hiked uphill of the new lodge, to the base of the previously new Taxi Chair. We imagined ourselves cruising down Queen's Highway, heading to the Bonaventure Chair (now painted green, no longer The Red Chair), or perhaps, with a little more speed, the Jet. The available terrain between the lodge and the lifts is vastly reduced from the old layout, and the downhill skier will be faced with uphill hikers to the Taxi Chair, sidehill sliders to the Bonnie, and downhill traffic from the runs above. On a slow day, probably no big deal. On a busy day, well, we all concluded that there is a cluster-f-bomb waiting to happen.  We shall see.

Surely, some snow will even this out. But it does look a little tight.

If you have read this blog with any regularity, you may have noticed that our little group is a bit reluctant to accept change. When it suits our tastes, we embrace it. When we have it forced upon us, we scope it out, we adapt and we seek out the best in the new situation. There are a lot of Jay skiers like us, and most of them hang out at Stateside. The old Stateside Lodge was the last holdout of The Past at Jay Peak. Now that it is gone, and a new space has been introduced, we have to adapt. Lockers have been booked and passes purchased. Fueled by stoke and history, the spirit of Stateside skiers will prevail and, after some growing pains, find its place in the new layout. Because really, a lodge is just a place to put your boots on, and the real reason we go to Jay is up on the hill.

There is hope, let's just trust that it is not discounted like a t-shirt.

Looking forward into the grey area.

"Leaving the City" - by John Rowe

When Newport-based artist John Rowe sat at a traffic light in his adopted Vermont town and imagined the image above, I wonder if he considered what effect it would have on skiers like me. Maybe, maybe not. Artists, of course, make art for a wide range of reasons, and are probably pleased when their work creates unexpected reactions from viewers. Perhaps it is my love of post-apocalyptic themes, exemplified by movies such as Blade Runner, Mad Max and Waterworld, but when I saw John's painting, two things popped into my brain: 1) I had to get a copy (which I did), and, 2) is this the Jay Peak of the future?

Yes, what will Jay Peak become in the grey area of the future? A maze of traffic lights on the 242, elevated parking, synthetic snow in a warmed world, waterparks everywhere and golfer-filled condos aplenty? Probably. With any luck, they'll throw in some mountain biking, because you could do that year-round when the snow stops falling.

Hopefully, that particular future is beyond my lifetime. The immediate future is easier to grasp and still snow-filled. Despite a lingering love for the old Stateside Lodge, our crew has pretty much accepted the fact that the new edition will be an improvement. We like the Taxi Chair and the Sky Haus Deli. Jonny Jay and I had lunch at The Foundry last spring and agreed that it wasn't so bad after all (and quite affordable, compared to regular cafeteria prices). A few of us have even dipped their toes into into the Lazy River and come out alive.

How do we deal with this? How do we go from bitching about development to quietly acquiescing and actually enjoying the results?  We go skiing. We find the chutes, the shots and the not-so-secret stashes, and sometimes, we just cruise the groomers. We take the long view. We appreciate that local businesses like Firsttrax, Sylvester's Market and all the others will thrive with a more year-round attraction. We look back to the Jay Peak of old, the slow double chairs, the Jet T-Bar, the 20 minute lift lines and wonder: was that better? Not really. Though I have to admit, I do cherish the memory of skiing certain untracked runs in "the woods" before they became "glades" and were given names. We will never get that back but it will always be with us. As Utah Phillips said, "Now the past didn't go anywhere, did it? It's right here, right now." As summer wanes and fall creeps in, I have to admit, that right here, right now, I am really looking forward to another winter of skiing at Jay. That is my past and that is my future.

And as for development? All we can hope for is that the powers that be at JPR don't lose sight of the "long memory," a concept that is another gem from Utah Phillips: "...the long memory is the most radical idea in this country. It is the loss of that long memory which deprives our people of that connective flow of thoughts and events that clarifies our vision, not of where we're going, but where we want to go." - U. Utah Phillips

Where do you want to go, Jay Peak?

Final Day??

By Jonny Jay

The classic spring view of the Jet

Although Jay is doing its best to keep things running it looks like Mother Nature may give winter the last blow this week with announced high temps. One Jay source did say they wanted to keep going until mid-May if they could but . . . check on Thursday. 

Good conditions in Beaver Pond!

Skiing was great on the weekend if you timed it right. Triple chair side in the morning and then the big mountain late morning on. Upper Ullrs and Beaver Pond were perfect on Saturday at noon
but they closed it on Sunday because there was a bit of a walk over a few spots on the runout and I guess you could catch an edge in the various small fissures along Kokomo but hey -- it's spring! Jet, Haynes, CanAm, Expo Glade and even the Goat were all in good shape but the bottom runouts could melt away pretty soon.

A great season overall.

Nice snow on Tramside

Excellent coverage on the Vermonter!

RIP, Bonventure Chair

RIP, Stateside Lodge

Jonny Jay says adieu, for now

Stateside Farewell

By Jonny Jay
 

Were we skiing on these when it was built?

It was a glorious day for the Stateside Lodge sendoff on April 6, also known as the Chalet Shakedown. Albeit a bit chilly, the combination of tailgate barbecues and plenty of anti-freeze kept everything (and everybody) fluid. With demolition only days away, the old lodge put up a valiant effort to defend her weaknesses, and promote her strengths, while diehards searched for souvenirs and newbies wondered what the attraction was to this ski lodge with the inverted "V" roofline and the infamous bathrooms.

The party in the parking lot was in full gear by noon and the Jay Peak management is to be credited with letting it all go full tilt, in Stateside style, while also sponsoring a late afternoon band to wrap things up.

The highlight of the souvenir seekers was revealed when I walked into the seasonal locker room on Sunday morning only to find that the men’s room door – yes that big steel blue one – had gone missing! “Hey honey, look what I got from the lodge!”

I first entered the doors at Stateside in the late 60s, and there are many fine memories of a skier’s mountain with all the basics at hand. Now we are a multi-generational family of stateside groupies, shunning the more sophisticated Tramside cousin. After Monday a new era begins . . . let’s try and stay positive people, even though it looks like the new eating area will be facing the parking lot! Maybe the orientation will allow for a view of the tram, or the mountain, and all will be good again.

And by the way, the skiing is still great with almost anything skiable/rideable, and that’s what we really go for -- see you there.

JJ.

Tailgating in full swing

There is no shortage of snow at Jay Peak

The essence of Stateside

It was an all ages event...

The spirit of Jay is orange!

Do you think he was skiing the next day?

Who let the dogs out?

Bruce got things going and kept the grill grilling

 

Some EB5 construction workers on a day off?

Spring skiing has sprung at Jay Peak

The DC, Sklinda and Jonny Jay ready for some warm temperatures and soft snow.

I am pleased to report that the spring skiing season is "on" at Jay Peak. Over this weekend we went from fully bundled up to tentative lighter layers. Jonny Jay shed his trademark down vest and by Saturday, some other brave souls even left their balaclavas in the locker.

To be honest, I didn't take many pictures. The snow coverage was excellent, the sun was shining and the March break crowds seemed to be dispersed all over the place. Thank God for the Waterpark and the Aerial Tramway!

Many guests spent their day in the Tram line. This is at least a five-tram wait.

I do wish that I had a record of some of the mayhem that took place on the Can-Am. This trail was like a siren of the deeps, luring unsuspecting skiers with promises of sun-baked goodness. Underneath a thin veil of angel dust lurked the glacial results of Jay's hardworking snowmakers. JJ and I skied it both Friday and Saturday. On Friday's run, I used the high-speed sideslip to navigate between snow islands. Saturday, a more conservative approach was employed: I found the sugar piled up on skier's right, and, channeling my inner Sylvain Saudan, hop-turned down the steep part. Honestly, it was quite fun but I did feel sorry for the poor folks we witnessed belly-sliding the pitch, and was relieved that they were unhurt. Another part of March break break madness - lots of folks going where they shouldn't be.

Like the mullet hairstyle of times gone by, Stateside is all business in the front...

In other news, the lucky folks with lockers at Stateside Lodge received a memo from on high: clear your locker out by April 2, demolition day is April 8. Like the demolition of Hotel Jay, this will mark the end of an era. Despite the smelly washrooms, many long-time Jay skiers have a soft spot for the shingle clad relic of the 60s and I, for one, will be a little sad to see it go. But not that sad. Can someone save me a shingle?

And all party in the back. RIP, Stateside Lodge!