Jay Peak 2022-2023 Season
Friday 12/30/22
https://newenglandskiconditions.com/viewreport.php?reportid=2895
Today definitely felt like a day of April skiing. The temperature climbed into the 50s while the skies were cloudy for the most part with occasional sunshine. Winds were calm on the lower mountain but blowing hard higher up, and a light rain began at about 3:30 but didn’t last too long.
The morning snow report showed over 50 trails open, but most of the natural terrain appeared to be closed by mid-morning. The mountain seemed to have lost a lot of snow over the last couple days as photos taken on Thursday that I saw online looked nothing like today’s conditions. However, trails with previous snowmaking had good base depths and width. By the end of the day, open terrain had been reduced to 24 trails.
The Tram was the only lift actually closed, however Flyer started the day on wind hold. Lines at the Bonaventure and Metro Quads reached up to 15 minutes due to holiday crowds. From the Bonaventure, Northway to Angel’s Wiggle to Paradise Meadows was open and was a bit scratchy in places but not awful. Goat Run was also open and had the best conditions I’ve ever seen on that trail – usually it’s a scraped-off skating rink but today it had nice soft spring snow (likely a result of recent snowmaking) that became moguls later in the day.
Looking up the Bonaventure Quad
Angel's Wiggle
Upper Goat Run
Lower Goat Run
Chalet Meadows
In the Jet complex, options consisted of the eponymous trail as well as Haynes to Mont L’Entrepide, Hotshot Derick, and UN, with the latter two open on natural snow. I didn’t ski these trails but heard from someone on the lift that their snow was alright despite the thin cover and rocks. Haynes and Mont L’Entrepide were a bit icy but better than Jet. Race training was in progress on Mont L’Entrepide but took up less than half of the trail’s width. The Jet Triple had a shorter wait than Bonaventure – only a few chairs long around noon. Montrealer and Heaven’s Road were both closed so the only way to/from the lift was the bridge next to the Stateside Lodge.
Haynes
Riding up the Jet Triple
I mostly spent the afternoon taking quiet laps on the Village Double. Out of Jay Peak’s three beginner complexes/lifts, Village is my favorite as the trails it serves are relatively long and the lift is seldom crowded. It sort of has the feeling of being at a local ski hill, and kids staying at the condos can often be seen building jumps or sledding. I believe the lift is free to ride as well.
Riding up the Village Double
Grammy Jay
At around 1:30, the Flyer came off of wind hold. It was basically an alternative to Bonaventure as Northway (to Angel’s Wiggle/Paradise Meadows or Goat Run) was the only trail open from the top. The wait to get on was a couple of minutes in the singles line. Not all of the chairs were on the line but it seemed to be running at or close to full speed. The wind at the top section was pretty strong as usual. After one run off of the Flyer, I took a last lap on the Village lift and then called it a day.
Riding up the Flyer Quad
Upper Northway
These next few days are going to be tough, but the trails with artificial snow should survive. Here’s to hoping the season turns around and we get more snow.
https://newenglandskiconditions.com/viewreport.php?reportid=2895
Today definitely felt like a day of April skiing. The temperature climbed into the 50s while the skies were cloudy for the most part with occasional sunshine. Winds were calm on the lower mountain but blowing hard higher up, and a light rain began at about 3:30 but didn’t last too long.
The morning snow report showed over 50 trails open, but most of the natural terrain appeared to be closed by mid-morning. The mountain seemed to have lost a lot of snow over the last couple days as photos taken on Thursday that I saw online looked nothing like today’s conditions. However, trails with previous snowmaking had good base depths and width. By the end of the day, open terrain had been reduced to 24 trails.
The Tram was the only lift actually closed, however Flyer started the day on wind hold. Lines at the Bonaventure and Metro Quads reached up to 15 minutes due to holiday crowds. From the Bonaventure, Northway to Angel’s Wiggle to Paradise Meadows was open and was a bit scratchy in places but not awful. Goat Run was also open and had the best conditions I’ve ever seen on that trail – usually it’s a scraped-off skating rink but today it had nice soft spring snow (likely a result of recent snowmaking) that became moguls later in the day.
Looking up the Bonaventure Quad
Angel's Wiggle
Upper Goat Run
Lower Goat Run
Chalet Meadows
In the Jet complex, options consisted of the eponymous trail as well as Haynes to Mont L’Entrepide, Hotshot Derick, and UN, with the latter two open on natural snow. I didn’t ski these trails but heard from someone on the lift that their snow was alright despite the thin cover and rocks. Haynes and Mont L’Entrepide were a bit icy but better than Jet. Race training was in progress on Mont L’Entrepide but took up less than half of the trail’s width. The Jet Triple had a shorter wait than Bonaventure – only a few chairs long around noon. Montrealer and Heaven’s Road were both closed so the only way to/from the lift was the bridge next to the Stateside Lodge.
Haynes
Riding up the Jet Triple
I mostly spent the afternoon taking quiet laps on the Village Double. Out of Jay Peak’s three beginner complexes/lifts, Village is my favorite as the trails it serves are relatively long and the lift is seldom crowded. It sort of has the feeling of being at a local ski hill, and kids staying at the condos can often be seen building jumps or sledding. I believe the lift is free to ride as well.
Riding up the Village Double
Grammy Jay
At around 1:30, the Flyer came off of wind hold. It was basically an alternative to Bonaventure as Northway (to Angel’s Wiggle/Paradise Meadows or Goat Run) was the only trail open from the top. The wait to get on was a couple of minutes in the singles line. Not all of the chairs were on the line but it seemed to be running at or close to full speed. The wind at the top section was pretty strong as usual. After one run off of the Flyer, I took a last lap on the Village lift and then called it a day.
Riding up the Flyer Quad
Upper Northway
These next few days are going to be tough, but the trails with artificial snow should survive. Here’s to hoping the season turns around and we get more snow.
Comments
Weather conditions: Cold, bright, bluebird day
Snow - mix of groomed granular/natural, but hard boilerplate shone through at times.
We hit up Jay using the Indy Pass on the 15th. We got there early enough to park relatively close to Stateside Lodge. Redemption was easy and quick at the ticket window at Stateside. No reservations required. Would have been $109 otherwise. The Indy Pass is really about the best deal in skiing out there.
Jay had received some snow/mixed precip with the previous storm, and thankfully they did, otherwise, it would have been a lot of ice. It was Scott's first day of the season, and some of the firmer conditions on top, he wanted to stay on the lower lifts. Since I was going to return on the 18th, that was ok with me.
There were no major lift lines on the Metro, Taxi, or Village, maybe up to 5 min for most. Looking at the Bonaventure Quad/Flyer, there were no major lines there either for a holiday weekend Sunday. The tram had a line, but I think it always does on a weekend.
For the lower trails, Granny Jay was the most interesting, and was in great shape.
Enjoy some photos:
Stateside Parking Lot, looking towards the mountain.
The Jet
Taxi Quad
Queen's Highway
Village Chair
The Tram and the moon
The view from their field above their home, Jay in the distance.
Zooming in on Jay
Weather: Wintry mix to start near 32F, freezing drizzle, fog, breezy, then colder in afternoon
Ski stats: 25000' vertical, 24.5 miles, 90 min ski time, 22 runs
I hit up Jay again on the 18th on the Indy. My expectations were low due to weather - when I left Newport, it was 32F and raining. Temps dropped to 30F and raining on the way over. Closer to Jay, it warmed to 33F and snow mixed in. Temps were all over the place.
Got my ticket, and gave it about 15-20 min to let some of the rain end, since it was going to be getting colder through the day. The light mix continued, and I just decided to make some runs. Headed over to the Jet first. It was breezy and wet, yet the snow wasn't really all that wet. The seats were soaking wet on the chair, the mix didn't help. At the top, it was freezing on contact, and was nearly impossible to see out of my goggles.
Despite this....the snow surface was really incredible. The milder temps, combined with excellent grooming resulted in a most edgeable surface. Jet and Haynes were sublime steep cruisers. No ice, no people. Just super foggy and freezing drizzle.
Jet
UN
Haynes
Made run after run on Jet and Haynes. Then headed to Montrealer, and checked out Purgatory, which was a natural bump run.
Northway off the Bonaventure Quad was socked in with fog:
The tram was running, despite the icing. On the ride up, chunks of ice kept hitting the roof of the tram car. You could barely see out of the cabin. The top was very foggy. Here's Vermonter:
Made only a few trip on the tram which was then shut down.
Lots of fun trails on the mountain the check out. Lower Lift Line had thin cover but was enjoyable to ski.
They opened Bushwacker Glade off the Metro Quad. Firm snow but just enough looser snow on top to turn.
So despite the non-ideal weather, this was probably the best day at Jay I've had (I've only been a half dozen times), as the snow surface was just a joy to ski, nobody was there, and it was included on the Indy.
No worries and thanks for the two fantastic reports and photos. Glad to hear UN was open, I remember it being an awesome narrow bump run when I skied it two seasons ago. I hope to be back at Jay in February; hopefully more of the glades are in play by then.
https://newenglandskiconditions.com/viewreport.php?reportid=3037
Superb day at Jay Peak today! Despite the temperatures in the single digits, I never felt too cold as there was virtually no wind. It was cloudy but there were no visibility issues, and there was some light Jay Cloud snowfall in the afternoon. The mountain was 100% open and all lifts were running although the tram closed early due to an electrical issue. I imagine the cold kept some people off the mountain as I never had to wait more than five minutes in line. That said, I didn’t ride the tram today, which had a long line even just after opening.
Riding up the Village Double
I spent most of the morning skiing off the Flyer, beginning with Ullr’s Dream which was a fun cruiser despite having some ice on the steepest pitch. JFK was pretty good but also had a bit of ice. I skied pretty much all glades on that side of the mountain, including a couple of unofficial ones. Though it wasn't my most elegant skiing, I'm pleased to say I made it down Staircase Glade in one piece and with no major ski damage. Coverage was generally good in the glades, and there was a good amount of powder above the ice below.
Ullr's Dream
JFK
Beaver Pond Glade
Everglade
Everglade
Entrance to Staircase Glade
Staircase Glade
Unmarked glade off of the Flyer lift
Andre's Paradise
Just before and after lunch, I took a few runs on Stateside. The lower angle glades (Stateside Glade, Buck Woods, Quarter Moon) were all pretty good. Upper Milk Run and Upper Can Am had a good amount of ice between the bumps and the latter also had some rocks to look out for.
Hell's Woods
Stateside Glade
Montrealer with the summit in the background
Buck Woods
Quarter Moon
Upper Can Am
Upper Milk Run
I spent the last hour or two of the day on the Jet lift. Timbuktu was icy at the top but the middle section was fantastic. Kitz Woods was also in great shape. The Jet trail, to my surprise, wasn’t as skied-off as I had expected and was pretty fun to bomb down.
Timbuktu
Timbuktu
Kitz Woods
Kitz Woods
Sweetheart
Jet
Overall, today was probably my best day of the last two years and I'm glad that the season finally seems to be improving. Hoping for more of the same tomorrow.
Nice
https://newenglandskiconditions.com/viewreport.php?reportid=3043
Had a fun couple of hours at Jay yesterday morning before the drive home. It was a bit warmer than Saturday with temps in the teens, but the wind made it feel colder. I skied about half of my runs off the Jet lift as it was the least windy on that part of the mountain, even though it had a few minutes’ wait while Bonaventure’s line was less than a minute. The ongoing snowfall made for a nice surface, although there was still some ice to be found on the steeper trails and glades as the dry newer snow didn’t adhere to the base very well.
The best run of the day was North Glade, which I went into after going down Northwest Passage only to find the middle part roped off. Conditions in the “official” part of the glade didn’t stand out compared to the other steeper glades, but I continued through the woods just above lower Ullr’s Dream and Deer Run. These woods had seen less traffic and had swaths of 3-4’’ deep powder that were super fun to float though.
I wish I could spend more time at Jay but unfortunately I probably won’t be back until next season. It was definitely a memorable weekend though!
Stateside base area
Haynes
Hotshot Derick
Willard
Kitzbuehel
Stateside Glade
Kitz Woods
Riding up the Bonaventure Quad
Canyonland
Micky
North Glade
Powder in the unofficial lower part of North Glade