Mark Renson
New member
<I>(Note from the Administrator: This report was originally posted on 4/9/00. Due to our move to new servers, the date and time attributed to this post is incorrect.)</I> <BR> <BR> At 3:45AM, I woke up and then dozed back, realizing that a trip to Jay Peak would be absurd given the distance and the fact that it would be too <BR>little-too late for adequate snow. I then caught insomnia and then got curious. I woke up, turned on The Weather Channel and plopped behind the Internet in my underwear. Flurries were forecasted in the afternoon in neighboring Wstah County ..... http://www.jaypeakresort.com reported light snow at <BR>roughly 11:00PM ..... the Burlington weather report forecasted 4-8" of snow for the day with light snow beginning to fall. A voice crackled in my head: "So what the hell do you think is gonna' happen at Jay, today? DUH. .... TIME TO GO, DAMMIT. <BR>I just happened to have my ski clothes and toys laid out the night before. I assembled in record time - didn't even need a phone booth. I burst <BR>outside into the suprisingly warm darkness, locked the hubs and darn near had my truck in 3rd gear by the time I reached the end of the driveway. I-93 was abominable with biblical downpours. I became worried when rain was still falling when I reached St Johnsbury. Climbing the hydrological divide between St J and Newport, I thought I saw "splats" on my windshield - wishful thinking, I thought. Then I saw white glaze on the grass .... pull over, put it into 4WD, 'cuz It's Happenin. With sleet and freezing <BR>rain falling, driving became frightening, especially when I went into a long death slide on I-91 and then repeated this "driving sideways" experience on Rt 14. As frozen sludge continued to fall, I grew worried <BR>...... until real flakes appeared as I rolled into Troy. It was now officially Happenin' .... it was all worth it - as Patroller Mike from Montreal was to later tell me "If it's Hell to get there, then it'll be <BR>Heaven on the hill" (I LIKE that saying !!! ... I'm gonna' use that !!!!) <BR>Got in line for the Tram at 9:15 while it was PUKING. My odyssey to the top continued into the teeth of the storm as the Box lumbered upward. A <BR>carpet of heavy snow (3-4" new) lay before me as I descended Ullr's. Coverage was just bearly enough to cover the frozen hardpack underneath with me occaisionally hitting some crunchy spots. My turns were in untracked and were deliberate and elegant through the solitary forest. I let my boards run through the runout. Next run was another Tram run, this time I picked up Weidelmeister. I found this to be a little on the crunchy side, but it was fine as long as I picked my spots. <BR>Next was Vermonter. After I negotiated some icy spots, I found that great cover of heavy snow. When I launched into Angel's Wiggle, I was shocked to <BR>find untracked everywhere. I cruised into lower Kitz and found the best cruising of the season on a carpet of untracked. Up the Jet Triple and I figgered I'd repeat my prior run. Uh oh - only one set of tracks on <BR>Kitzbuhel, time to change plans. Some crust was found underneath, but it was forgiving and the skiing was great. Next run, I figgered I'd resume the plan, but was seduced by Kitz Woods. Some visible stumps freaked me out, but the untracked soothed me. Some crunchiness was to be had and even less was found as I continued into untracked on Hell's Woods. <BR>With only the Tram and Jet Triple running, I had to do a little thoughtful planning. As I traversed via Taxi, I reached the end at Can Am - a traditional icy abomination. Instead, I found incredible untracked that you'd never find during midseason !!! My whoops became involuntary and frequent. <BR>I hopped on the Tram and headed to Northway where I found what very few tracks that had existed were now buried under wind driven snow. I stopped <BR>to check out the Notaski-Upper Milk Run and saw no sign of tracks. Skiing there was incredible - untracked at a lift served ski area at 11:45AM? Hardy HAR HAR, I musta' been a saint in my prior life!!!!!!!!!! <BR>Somewhere during the day, I stopped for a quick break and the snow stopped. Party over? Nope. Winds picked up and the Powder Puking resumed. More Kitz Woods, Hell's Woods, Northway-Upper Milk Run, Lower Can Am, etc. Any tracks that were made were covered over by windblown snow. <BR>At 2:45, I grabbed a Tram and an announcement was made that because of the intensifying winds, this would be the last Tram ride of the day. At the <BR>top, I volunteered my service to the Patrol to perform any needed sweep duties. They took me up on it. We had to wait a while for the public to descend. This was to our advantage as the furious snow and strong winds covered the few tracks laid. I made my way down Northway/Goat Run and found conditions that I had never seen on these heavily traveled trails. <BR>On this day, all the trails that were normally icy were in fantastic shape with barely tracked powder! I swept Lower Quai and then scooted over on Perry Merrill to the Jet Triple. Time was running out, so I went for what I knew was best - Lower Can Am. I had just enough time to make the Triple and was just about to load when the attendant shut the lift down due to <BR>high winds. Oh well!! <BR>As I left Jay, I marveled at the new snow and howling winds and laughed out loud knowing that Spring had been cheated !!!! It was the best midwinter conditions and skiing that I had seen in well over 6 weeks !!!! <BR> <BR>YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!