# Jay Peak - 4/21/2012 - 4/22/2012



## snowmonster (Apr 23, 2012)

*Date(s) Skied: *4/21/2012

*Resort or Ski Area: *Jay Peak

*Conditions: *41-68 F; cloudy, corn/sugar/slush; exposed mud and rocks near the bottom; drizzles in the PM

*Trip Report: *It's a strange day when you go skiing and, instead of that crisp tingling feeling of frigid arctic air you get in your nostrils, with each breath, you get hit with the scent of loam and horse manure. 

Because the rates at the Hotel Jay were pretty good, I decided to get a ski-splash-stay package last weekend. I got to Stateside at around 1030 and there was hardly anyone there. Only the Jet, the Metro and the Flyer were running. There were only three other people at the Stateside lodge and from there, I walked up the road for emergency vehicles where some other cars were parked. There were two trails open: Jet and Haynes. 

Both trails had good coverage. The snow surface was quite soft. Loose enough to be heavy when pushed around but not soupy or watery. Haynes seemed to have the better coverage and the looser snow. Jet was pretty good with grooming on skiers' left and bumps on the right. The bumps were pretty solid though but manageable. It was wall-to-wall snow on Jet until the bottom which narrowed to half a trail but still skiable. The snow went all the way up to the lift. It was practically ski on as there were probably less than 20 people the whole time I was there. Even the patrollers were relaxed. One of them even harvested some plants growing near a brook. She was going to bake it into a quiche in the patrol shack. She shared some patroller recipes with me that involved maple syrups, poached eggs and bacon.=) Patroller said that they were taking bets about the rain they were expecting that afternoon.

At around 2 pm, I decided to call it quits at Stateside and headed to Tramside. The shuttle apparently had stopped running so I stuck out my thumb and two employees in a pick-up gave me a ride. I had to stop in at the Hotel Jay so they could fix my RFID (had issues with it the whole weekend). When I got to the Metro, the rope was already up at around 245 but the liftie let me on. When I got to the top, the liftie there told me that I was the last one on the mountain for the season since they were closing that afternoon so I milked that run for as many turns as I can. I was disapponted that they were closing so soon but thankfully madpatski corrected that misimpression when I logged on here later. 

Spent the rest of the afternoon at the almost deserted Tower Bar then hit the waterpark. Glad I was able to ski and surf on the same day (so what if it's not really surfing). Anyway, the wave rider and La Chute were fun. I don't care what people say, I had a terrific time in the waterpark and will go back just for that. There were all sorts of freebies in my stay package and even spent time in the arcade playing skeeball and air hockey. Dinner at the Foundry was great, as usual. I recommend the Duck Pockets and the smoked chicken. That day was probably the most fun I had at a ski area after I had unbuckled my boots! 

Jet:






Haynes:





The omnipresent Jay Cloud as the drizzles come in:





Last day on the Metro:





Everybody's gone surfin!






*Date(s) Skied: *4/22/2012

*Resort or Ski Area: *Jay Peak

*Conditions: *39-48 F but it felt much much colder; rain the night before with some wet snow (perhaps an inch); hardpack, icy conditions

*Trip Report: *It rained steadily throughout the night. Sunday morning was cool but, with temps above freezing, I decided to just ski in a shell and minimal baselayers. That was a very bad call. There was some snow that fell overnight as evidenced by the inch or two I had to scrape off my windshield. I headed back to Stateside. There were more cars in the parking lot but I headed to the ambulance access road right by the lift for rockstar parking.

It was freakin' cold! As soon as I got on the chair, I knew I made a mistake. My butt was frozen to the chair and there was rime all over the bar. Even the trees had a fresh coat of white. Exposed rocks and closed trails the day before were covered in snow. It was midwinter up there!

It was like skiing a different ski area at a different time of year. The trails were very slick. Hard but edgeable. Jet and Haynes were groomed thankfully. I ventured into the ungroomed sections of the trail and those were rock solid and un-edgeable so I stayed on the groomed. Some skiers actually went under the rope into Timbuktu and beyond. I don't think that was a good idea considering the surface conditions. The snow down to the lift was good. No bare spots. Some brown but very minor. There were probably less people on the trails despite the huge number of cars in the lot. I quit at around lunchtime to head back to Boston. With the solid midwinter conditions I found yesterday, I'm pretty sure that Jay can make it to next week -- if the weather cooperates. If they spin those lifts, I'll definitely be back. You just have to support areas that go for it!

You got that right!





Midwinter conditions: rime on the trees (and lifts).





Haynes:





Top and middle of Jet:









Snow to the lift:


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## rocojerry (Apr 23, 2012)

thanks for the TR snowmonsta!


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2012)

Awesome report!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2


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## skijay (Apr 23, 2012)

Did they close the Flyer and Metro early because of the weather?


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## snowmonster (Apr 23, 2012)

^ I don't know. It wasn't raining that hard on Saturday afternoon. Just a drizzle really.


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## snowmonster (Apr 23, 2012)

rocojerry said:


> thanks for the TR snowmonsta!


You're welcome, rocojerry.


Nick said:


> Awesome report!


Thanks, Nick!


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## thetrailboss (Apr 23, 2012)

Way to get after it man!


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## deadheadskier (Apr 23, 2012)

Judging by the looks of that, I bet they reopen next weekend if the weather is nice.


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## Mpdsnowman (Apr 24, 2012)

thats awesome. I love how it goes from one extreme to the other. Im glad someone can enjoy it lol...

good job


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## Glenn (Apr 25, 2012)

Nice TR! Aren't the opening again this weekend? 

Sent from my iPhone 6....which Dan Egan brought back from the future.


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## MadPatSki (Apr 30, 2012)

Just saw this TR, nice with the surfing. Definitely more Spring-like one week earlier, on April 15 

Warmer, sunnier, sunscreen, tailgating and Pat Benatar on a cassette player (not me - just reporting)....how Spring skiing used to be.

http://madpatski.wordpress.com/2012/04/25/jay-vt-april-15-2012-choices-a-la-pat/


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