Sharon
New member
Wow, what a weekend. Pure powder pig-out. Jay Peak delivers once again.
I think I’ve had some of the best eastern powder skiing at Jay Peak my last two visits to Jay. Hard to say which was better, April 7-9, 2007 or Dec 15-17. Both featured deep bases with feet of fluff on top, refreshed each day, three powder days in a row.
Yesterday, Monday December 17, 2007 was the icing on the cake of an already rich and delicious weekend of powder skiing.
Another foot fell overnight, on top of the foot that fell Friday through Sunday. We awoke to howling winds, which was quite a contrast to the quiet stillness we felt the days prior to the storm. Even Sunday was quiet while the flakes fell. Monday morning was another story. All upper mountain lifts were on hold.
At 9am I was fidgety and decided to head out with skins in my pack. I got blown around on both the Village and Metro lifts. At the top of the Metro, others were skinning up, a skin track had been set. Struggled to get my skins unstuck and on my skis. It was a good exercise since I haven’t skinned since last year, and that was just a couple of times. Skins applied surprisingly well in the blowing snow and up I went. It was nice to finally warm up and get the oxygen flowing through the lungs and blood. As I got up to the top of the first pitch other skiers began to ski down. I asked which lift had opened. Bonaventure had opened around 9:30. I decided to de-skin, ski down and ride the lift.
The snow was deep and it was important to stay in ski tracks when traversing. I accidentally got off the track in the blinding wind and my ski got eaten by the deep snow and left me with just one ski. I quickly found the submerged ski and onward I went. It seems that with Fritschi bindings it is difficult to keep them on your feet if there is any snow or ice build-up on your boots. Since my boots start off warm they tend to build up snow/ice when I get outside. This was not the first time of the weekend where I lost a ski and had a lot of trouble getting it back on. Lots of chipping away at my boot-bottoms.
The ride on the Bonnie was not as unpleasant as I had expected, though it was a bit blustery at the top, it was essential to drop right into the woods. Canyonlands seemed to be the best bet and since it was still quite early, it was only lightly tracked and there was plenty of fresh deep snow to get into. In fact it was so deep in some of the drifts that it would just stop me in my tracks. It was a lot of work getting through some of the untracked, but I kept hitting it anyway since it was so inviting.
Next lift ride I met Jerry and Dwayne, two rippers from Saratoga. After pleasant lift conversation I got the feeling these guys were good skiers so I asked if they would mind if I tagged along. I promised to be high-speed/low-maintenance. They kindly agreed. They were headed to Vertigo. I was psyched to have a couple of new buddies to shred the fresh snow with. These guys skied like bunny-rabbits. They hopped effortlessly through the woods and I followed. At first I was uncertain if I had it in me to keep up with these guys. But the fresh deep billowy powder and the emerging sunshine recharged me, and having such great skiers to follow motivated me to turn it all on and let it rip. And rip we did.
Vertigo, Bonsai Buckaroo, Deliverance, some off-piste foray into thigh-deep snow in very tight lines between some trails somewhere off Lower River Quai, another Canyonlands and Bonaventure Glade. The glades actually skied a lot better once the drifts and fresh snow was broken up. The three of us ripped through Bonaventure glade quickly and effortlessly without pause, dashing through the puffy fresh snow, bouncing over the oh-so-soft powdery bumps, whipping by the other skiers that were stopped or not moving with as much speed. What fun! Unlike the other glades we could see each other through the trees. I felt the power of the group at that moment. We emerged on the trail with grins.
Our last run was one more down Canyonlands. It skied even nicer, even though the snow was completely tracked out. It was still fluffy and fun.
The guys were also heading to the Village for lunch so we traversed over on Taxi. We tapped poles acknowledging the great morning of skiing together and we went our separate ways.
I was totally satisfied with my powder pig-out of a weekend and was ready to hit the road. Back at the condo, the girls were all packed up and ready to go. Long drive got me home at 10pm quite weary.
I was able to get a few photos with my weak battery.
I think I’ve had some of the best eastern powder skiing at Jay Peak my last two visits to Jay. Hard to say which was better, April 7-9, 2007 or Dec 15-17. Both featured deep bases with feet of fluff on top, refreshed each day, three powder days in a row.
Yesterday, Monday December 17, 2007 was the icing on the cake of an already rich and delicious weekend of powder skiing.
Another foot fell overnight, on top of the foot that fell Friday through Sunday. We awoke to howling winds, which was quite a contrast to the quiet stillness we felt the days prior to the storm. Even Sunday was quiet while the flakes fell. Monday morning was another story. All upper mountain lifts were on hold.
At 9am I was fidgety and decided to head out with skins in my pack. I got blown around on both the Village and Metro lifts. At the top of the Metro, others were skinning up, a skin track had been set. Struggled to get my skins unstuck and on my skis. It was a good exercise since I haven’t skinned since last year, and that was just a couple of times. Skins applied surprisingly well in the blowing snow and up I went. It was nice to finally warm up and get the oxygen flowing through the lungs and blood. As I got up to the top of the first pitch other skiers began to ski down. I asked which lift had opened. Bonaventure had opened around 9:30. I decided to de-skin, ski down and ride the lift.
The snow was deep and it was important to stay in ski tracks when traversing. I accidentally got off the track in the blinding wind and my ski got eaten by the deep snow and left me with just one ski. I quickly found the submerged ski and onward I went. It seems that with Fritschi bindings it is difficult to keep them on your feet if there is any snow or ice build-up on your boots. Since my boots start off warm they tend to build up snow/ice when I get outside. This was not the first time of the weekend where I lost a ski and had a lot of trouble getting it back on. Lots of chipping away at my boot-bottoms.
The ride on the Bonnie was not as unpleasant as I had expected, though it was a bit blustery at the top, it was essential to drop right into the woods. Canyonlands seemed to be the best bet and since it was still quite early, it was only lightly tracked and there was plenty of fresh deep snow to get into. In fact it was so deep in some of the drifts that it would just stop me in my tracks. It was a lot of work getting through some of the untracked, but I kept hitting it anyway since it was so inviting.
Next lift ride I met Jerry and Dwayne, two rippers from Saratoga. After pleasant lift conversation I got the feeling these guys were good skiers so I asked if they would mind if I tagged along. I promised to be high-speed/low-maintenance. They kindly agreed. They were headed to Vertigo. I was psyched to have a couple of new buddies to shred the fresh snow with. These guys skied like bunny-rabbits. They hopped effortlessly through the woods and I followed. At first I was uncertain if I had it in me to keep up with these guys. But the fresh deep billowy powder and the emerging sunshine recharged me, and having such great skiers to follow motivated me to turn it all on and let it rip. And rip we did.
Vertigo, Bonsai Buckaroo, Deliverance, some off-piste foray into thigh-deep snow in very tight lines between some trails somewhere off Lower River Quai, another Canyonlands and Bonaventure Glade. The glades actually skied a lot better once the drifts and fresh snow was broken up. The three of us ripped through Bonaventure glade quickly and effortlessly without pause, dashing through the puffy fresh snow, bouncing over the oh-so-soft powdery bumps, whipping by the other skiers that were stopped or not moving with as much speed. What fun! Unlike the other glades we could see each other through the trees. I felt the power of the group at that moment. We emerged on the trail with grins.
Our last run was one more down Canyonlands. It skied even nicer, even though the snow was completely tracked out. It was still fluffy and fun.
The guys were also heading to the Village for lunch so we traversed over on Taxi. We tapped poles acknowledging the great morning of skiing together and we went our separate ways.
I was totally satisfied with my powder pig-out of a weekend and was ready to hit the road. Back at the condo, the girls were all packed up and ready to go. Long drive got me home at 10pm quite weary.
I was able to get a few photos with my weak battery.
, if Chile is any indication.
