Jay Peak Resort:
The East’s Powder Haven
Editor’s Note: Jay Peak is our home mountain, Scott is a ski patroller there, it’s where we met, and we really love it. But I think you’ll see that I have remained objective about what Jay Peak is all about, and I make it clear that it’s certainly not the right mountain for everyone.
Jay Peak, tucked away in Northern Vermont against the Canadian border, holds the steadfast honor of being home to some of the East’s best woods skiing and riding—and those woods are usually blanketed in the East’s most powder.
Jay Peak Resort
Vermont
Address: 4850 VT Rte. 242
Jay, VT 05859
Ski area phone: (802) 988-2611
Snow report: (802) 988-9601
Toll-free reservations:
(800) 451-4449 (outside Vermont)
E-mail: info@jaypeakresort.com
Internet: www.jaypeakresort.com
Long before it was popular for Eastern resorts to cut glades, Jay’s locals were sneaking into the woods to cut their own lines. After the resort president’s son was caught skiing out of bounds, the resort cut some glades and opened them to the public, making tree skiing legit.
Since 1987, the resort has cut 24 glades and two extreme chutes, plus there’s extensive backcountry terrain. Become familiar with Jay’s woods-skiing policy—ski/ride in a group of three or more, use caution when exiting the woods onto trails, and if you go out of bounds you are responsible for your own actions and cost of rescue. I cannot say it enough: This is serious skiing and riding, with all the dangers inherent in backcountry terrain, so if you go out of bounds, always carry a backpack containing emergency equipment in case you get injured or lost and have to stay on the mountain overnight.
As for snow, they call it the “Jay Peak cloud,” which hovers over the mountain and dumps a foot or more of snow on days when skies are clear just five miles away. Take note: Jay averages 355 inches of snow a year and that’s at least 100 inches more than others in the region. The 2000/01 season was a record year for Jay, blanketing the mountain with 571 inches, more than any other resort in the country. Even in a “poor” snow year, like 2002/03, Jay received 309 inches. In fact, contrary to popular perception, the 2005/06 season wasn’t so bad, at least if you happened to have been skiing at Jay, where 328 inches of snow fell.
As for snow, they call it the “Jay Peak cloud,” which hovers over the mountain and dumps a foot or more of snow on days when skies are clear just five miles away.
You’ve heard the old New Englander saying: “You can’t get they-ah from hee-ah.” While it’s a bit of a trek and a lot of back roads to get to Jay, it’s well worth the effort. Most of the time, you have the mountain practically to yourself. Even on powder days, you can catch freshies all day long. During holiday weekends, you’ll wonder why you ever went anywhere else. Of course, this is when the locals complain about the oh-so-long 20-minute wait to ride the lift.
People who come to Jay are here for the mountain’s challenging and exciting terrain, so this isn’t a good vacation for the timid. It’s also not ideal for a group that includes non-skiers and non-riders. There’s not a whole lot to do in the area. This is rural Vermont at its best, quiet and relaxing, with a focus on outdoor activities and recreation, or settling by the fireplace with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate. Come if you want to ski or ride your legs off, settle into a hot tub afterwards, then go to sleep early to get up early in the morning to do it all over again.
Exploring the Mountain
The biggest drawback to Jay’s layout is that you have only three ways to work your way across the mountain—Northway, Goat Run and Vermonter. These trails can get crowded and the snow gets skied off, so stay alert, especially later in the day. Locals refer to the Green Mountain Flyer as the Green Mountain Freezer: You’ll understand once you crest the ridge and get a full blast of the wind off the lake. On the coldest days, you might want to avoid this lift.
The Jay faithful have a favorite saying: “The trails are there just to get to the woods!”
This is the mountain for learning to ski glades—it has glades for every ability level. In fact, the Jay faithful have a favorite saying: “The trails are there just to get to the woods!” If you’re new to glades, consider taking a glade technique lesson. If you prefer to baptize yourself, get comfortable in the “kiddie glades” of Moonwalk and Bushwacker, then try Stateside Glade, Buck Woods and Show-off Glade, as well as the lower sections of Hell’s Woods and Expo Glade. Soon enough you’ll find yourself dropping into anything that looks good—and it’s all good!
Experts who have never been here may very well quake in their boots when they see what Jay considers single-diamond terrain. The Face, The Saddle and Tuckermans Chutes are rock-and-tree-stub strewn, forcing you to pick your way over some gnarly stuff to get to the goods. All this in full view of the folks riding up the Tram.
However, the real challenge is in the woods. Warm up in Hell’s Woods, Buckaroo Bonzai, Everglade and Beaver Pond Glade, then head to Timbuktu and Valhalla. Locals groaned loudly when Jay officially opened Andre’s Paradise (recently renamed from Beyond Beaver Pond Glade in memory of a longtime employee) because it was just about the only piece of “unofficial woods” left on the mountain, but it remains pretty much untouched since you have to work a bit to get there. Locals are more than willing to share their secret stashes, if they see that you know what you’re doing in the trees. Jay has plenty of inbounds woods to keep you grinning for a week—in fact, it has a boundary-to-boundary policy—so we don’t recommend going out of bounds, unless you’re with someone who knows the area.
Jay is a great place for intermediates who are comfortable with their ability and are seeking a challenge.
Kitzbuehl is a tight bumped run that’ll leave you huffing and puffing. River Quai and Green Beret (when it’s open) are both truly hairy trails. The monster moguls and double fall line on Powerline will give you a run for your money.
Jay is a great place for intermediates who are comfortable with their ability and are seeking a challenge. Most intermediate trails here would be rated for advanced skiers elsewhere. Our niece and nephew, who are used to skiing at Mount Snow, found the narrower trails and wide-open “kiddie” glades (Kokomo, Moon Walk and Bushwacker) to be great fun. If you only want to ski groomed runs, Jay is not the best choice: you’ll get bored with the limited choices, main trails often get bumped or skied off, and frequent surprise snowfall means you’re skiing in powder before you know it.
We recommend warming up on Ullr’s Dream (slip into Kokomo if you want to avoid the long flat at the end) or Northway to Angel’s Wiggle. Ride up the tram to take in the amazing 360-degree views from the top to Mt. Mansfield, Quebec’s Eastern Townships, Lake Champlain, Mt. Washington and Montreal, then head down Vermonter. Goat Run is another fun trail, but gets iced up and moguled on heavy-traffic days. Alligator Alley is a good way to avoid upper Goat after it’s gotten nasty.
Most advanced-intermediates will enjoy the groomed black-diamond trails off the Jet Triple Chair, once you make it past the somewhat-steep top sections. A favorite is Derick Hot Shot, a narrow winding trail that gets moderate bumps on high-traffic days. If you’re looking to make sweeping arcs, head to wide-open Jet and Haynes. If you get to the top of the Jet and decide the terrain looks too steep, take Montrealer to Angel’s Wiggle, then take the Wiggle all the way down or choose from some wonderful intermediate terrain like Lower Milk Run, Paradise Meadows and Hell’s Crossing. (We wish this area of the mountain were served by its own chair.)
All of the beginner terrain is at the bottom of the mountain and is kept well-groomed (except on those pesky snowy days, when you’ll just have to learn how to ski powder). A quad chair recently replaced the Metro T-bar, completely transforming the beginner experience by connecting all the beginner trails and making it easier to move around the mountain. There isn’t a lot of beginner terrain, but what’s here is quite nice. Higher-level skiers and riders use some of the beginner trails to reach the Tram and Green Mountain Flyer, so keep an eye out for them.
On those pesky snowy days, you’ll just have to learn how to ski powder.
A fabulous beginner run that doesn’t get much traffic is Deer Run, to the right as you get off the lift and a short traverse across the mountain. It’s also fun to cut over to Queen’s Highway. Bushwacker and Moon Walk Woods are great “kiddie glades,” with Moon Walk being wide open enough to groom. We also like Raccoon Run, which accesses the newer condos and has its own chair.
It’s a big jump from the beginner area to the intermediate runs. There is no beginner way down from the summit, but if you are an adventurous person and want to try the intermediate terrain at the top, just remember to come down by mid-afternoon before the snow on the major trails is skied off.
A dedicated learning center with a moving carpet at the base of Tramside gives first-timers your very own piece of the mountain. Most first-timers will be happiest taking a lesson or two before venturing up the lifts on their own.
Snowboarders should be aware that Ullr’s Dream is a great run, but duck into Kokomo to avoid the lo-o-ong flat at the bottom. Riders coming out of Beaver Pond Glade and Andre’s Paradise hook back up to Ullr’s, so you’ll also want to heed that warning (plus Andre’s has its own unavoidable flat that will have you hoofing back to the trails).