Conditions Report
Report from Monday, March 25, 2024
When I’m not chasing snow to mountain destinations with my snowboard, I’m a book publicist at McGill University. I’ve worked with many talented writers for the past eighteen years, and many have become my good friends. Writers are similar-natured. We’re often adventurers, gypsies, and truth-seekers. We tend to gravitate towards one another. Recently, I had the pleasure of working with hockey historian Don Weekes on his book Picturing the Game. Don is also an expert-level, lifelong downhill skier, and we became immediate friends because of our mutual appreciation for snow-covered mountains. When we’re not talking shop, we’re comparing notes about skiing and snowboarding. After an early season outing at Owl’s Head with Don and his long-time ski buddy Dave, a sports writer, we planned to get together for a spring skiing day at Jay Peak when schedules aligned.
Mother Nature gifted East Coast resorts with some much-welcome snow accumulation in early March. The third week of the month started with more heavy snowfall, and we planned to head to Jay on Friday. Don contacted me later in the week about rescheduling for the following Monday, a sensible plan given that the week ended with high winds and cold temperatures. More snow forecasted for Sunday night meant we might get some freshies on Monday, and warmer temperatures and minimal wind would keep the snow soft. The perfect day. This is how it works in the northeast. The best plans are often made last minute. I had a third day at twenty-five percent off at Jay Peak on my Indy Pass and wanted to make it count. My friend Karen reached out over the weekend, and we planned to snowboard at Mont Sutton on Sunday. We had the best time lapping lines on Sutton’s natural snow and diversified terrain in the sunshine. It was a good teaser for what to look forward to at Jay Peak. While Jay is the bigger of the two mountains, with a peak elevation of 3,968 feet compared to Sutton’s 2,870 feet, the two resorts share similarities, including proximity, and are both favorite destinations for skiers and riders out here looking to challenge themselves.
Snowboarding with friends is a key motivator for stepping outside my comfort zone. I snowboard solo a lot. I’m an old punker from Eastside Toronto, and on my lone wolf days, I surf the side hits and listen to my tunes. It is my meditation, and I live for days like that on the mountain, but I am also very focused on progressing every season, and I owe that part to my friends. They are the ones who push me to go higher, steeper, and faster on my snowboard, explore different terrain, and not waste one moment of a good mountain day. Don and I left our meeting place on Montreal’s south shore at 6:00 a.m. Monday morning, we approached Jay from the tram side and were on the Metro Quad lift shortly after it started spinning at 8:30 a.m. We headed far skiers left and lapped some fast runs on rollers and soft corduroy to get our legs before heading up the Flyer Express chair shortly after 9:00 a.m.
The Flyer was closed for wind hold on my first trip to Jay this season. On a second trip earlier this month, I rode at stateside all day to avoid the spring break crowds on the tram side. It’s another benefit to skiing and snowboarding at Jay; you have options and can be creative in how you approach your day. This was my first ride up the windy ridgeline in about a decade. While the notoriously cold ride up is rarely a good time, standing at the top of Goat Run for my first ride down felt amazing. Over the years, I have conquered many of my fears on this very mountain. Don has decades of experience over me in this element and is on skis, but following him forces me to snowboard fast. I attacked that run, setting the tone for our day as we lapped line after line, rode up all the main lifts, and explored the entire resort. We took the Northway to the Stateside on our third ride up the Flyer. I motioned to Don towards my favorite little run, Purgatory, that he didn’t know about in all his years skiing at Jay. It was fun for me to play Gguide for a change for a minute.
After several runs off the Bonaventure Chair, Northway to Purgatory, and Hell’s Crossing to Paradise Meadows, we skipped to the Jet Triple Chair via Sweetheart. Don was shocked to learn that in all my years going to Jay Peak, this was my first time riding up the Jet. The only excuse that I could come up with is that throughout that time, my kids, now teenagers, were little, and Mountain time fit in around everything else. I’m sure many SnowBrains readers whose kids were ‘raised Jay’ can relate. There’s more time now for exploring. The runs off the Jet are mostly super fast on variable terrain. I loved it and knew I had been missing out all these years. This is the part of the mountain that reminds me most of Sutton. It’s technical, and it keeps me engaged. After enjoying the terrain off the Jet, we made our way back to the tram side for a food break and – if it was running – a ride up the tram.
Jay Peak is known for its 60-person Aerial Tram. Along with New Hampshire’s Cannon Mountain, also on Indy Pass, Jay is only one of two ski resorts in the northeast with a high aerial tram to access its peak and upper mountain. I love snowboarding steep lines but do not like hanging from a metal box in the sky with 59 other people. I don’t enjoy airplanes either. The last time I rode up the tram was, I think, 1999. Don convinced me for a couple of reasons. For one, it was running, and the line to get on was short. More importantly, on a day like this, the views alone are worth the stomach knots. The view from the top was breathtaking, and I am glad he convinced me. Again, I was transported to the first time I stood at the top of Jay Peak some twenty-five years previous. We took tons of photos before making our way down Vermonter. We took another ride up the Flyer, ending our day where we started. After I called it, Don went up for a couple more runs, and I sat outside the Aroma Cafe, taking in the mid-afternoon rays and people-watching.
We lapped so many lines for a day that I lost track. Those are the best mountain days when you are beyond exhausted and tired, but you know that you earned it. The snow was tracked by about 2:00 p.m., and it was time to return to Montreal. We drove north along the 242 highway towards Montgomery Center to take in local landmarks, arriving back in the city shortly after 4:00 p.m., ahead of rush hour traffic. In terms of conditions – bluebird, soft snow, no wind, mild temperatures – it was the perfect Jay day, the best of the season so far for me. In our age of climate uncertainty, we live in the moment and hope for more days like this one. Winter isn’t done with the northeast yet. Forecasters are tracking a possible multi-day late winter storm roughly Tuesday through Friday. The end of the week here looks sweet indeed, and the season could go until the end of April and beyond. Currently, 74 of 81 runs are open, and all nine lifts are spinning. Monday, April 1st, lifts will operate thirty minutes early on a holiday schedule, with the Lower Mountain open at 8:00 a.m. and the Upper Mountain lifts spinning by 8:30 a.m. Jay has revised the schedule and scheduled several events for the solar eclipse on April 8th.
