Jay Peak, VT 10/5/99

JimB

New member
<I>(Note from the Administrator: This report was originally posted on 10/5/99. Due to our move to new servers, the date and time attributed to this post is incorrect.)</I> <BR> <BR>John Crowley and I met at 6:30 and headed off to Jay Peak for <BR>our first turns of the season. First noticed snow on a few lawns <BR>near St. Albans, and some shady hillsides along Rt. 105. As we <BR>started up Rt. 242 the dream began to become a reality. Ground coverage <BR>began just after the First Trax ski and bike shop and snow depths <BR>increased until we reached the Stateside lodge. About 4"-6" left <BR>there, after some melt and consolidation yesterday. <BR>Gazing up at the reds, yellows and browns, accented by copious <BR>amounts of white was awe inspiring. The morning fog had yet to <BR>lift and, as it often is, the summit was in and out of the clouds <BR>as we ascended. <BR>Not having a trail map in front of me I can't give all the proper <BR>names, but we ascended under the quad and up Can Am, stopping <BR>briefly to chat with four gents who were mowing (with handheld <BR>sickles) some stubborn saplings on one of the major trails. They <BR>said they'd been at it since June. We all agreed conditions were <BR>ideal: about 45-50 degrees, very light breeze, intermittent sunshine, <BR>and lots of snow. <BR>We reached the top of the new quad in just under two hours (nice, <BR>easy pace) and spoke to two fellows working on the impressive <BR>return station. One had gotten first tracks on his snowboard <BR>on the Triple side of the mtn., and John and I would later agree <BR>this probably should have been our choice. <BR>We headed on up, climbing up Northway for another ten minutes <BR>towards the top of Poma Line, and decided the extra time to get <BR>to the summit probably wasn't worth it. At the higher elevations <BR>the winds were still light but the sweat I'd broken into was <BR>starting to create quite a chill. The snow had gotten much <BR>lighter, though cream cheese was still an accurate description. <BR>About 10"-12" a couple hundred feet shy of the summit. <BR>We perched atop one of the many lengths of snowmaking pipe and <BR>changed into our alpine gear. The process felt incredibly familiar <BR>and just plain right. After snapping a couple photos (who knows <BR>when we'll get to ski with the foliage again?) our first turns <BR>commenced. <BR>John made graceful quick arcs in the edgeable snow as I struggled <BR>to make my old straight sticks work right. It was a struggle all <BR>the way down, but the snow did its part. The consistency allowed <BR>a little playing around, but certainly demanded respect. The water <BR>bars, brush poking through, and a few ;-) rocks made it a <BR>decidely non-McSki experience. <BR>John continued to handle the tough conditions with grace as I <BR>continued to struggle, but both of us could not keep the grins <BR>off our face. <BR>A snowboard track came out of Kitz Woods, proving that yes, trees <BR>are there if you want them. We stayed in the increasingly heavy <BR>snow of the trail as we descended Northway towards the base of <BR>the quad. It was over all too soon and we both wished we'd had <BR>the time to ascend Haynes, which seemed from a distance to be the <BR>choice slope of the day. Fat snowboard arcs could be seen from a <BR>distance and the cover looked to be quite consistent. <BR>We saw two alpiners in the parking lot heading up. Cofirmed <BR>snowboarder count was about 6. <BR>We skiied on October 5th. Not the most glorious ski run ever, <BR>but a glorious start to the season. Waiting for more white stuff <BR>is going to be even harder now.
 
<I>(Note from the Administrator: This report was originally posted on 10/5/99. Due to our move to new servers, the date and time attributed to this post is incorrect.)</I> <BR> <BR>It was a photographers dream. Fantastic highlights of numerous colors,accented by pure, beautiful, pristine WHITE- everywhere. At one point, I was looking down Haynes and just slipped right out of the forward motion of <BR>time. Was it standing still? I don't know, I wasn't aware of anything but what I was looking at, what I was engulfed in; it surrounded me and rose high above. I felt as though, by being there, I was a part of it. A much longed for strip of angelic white shot straight down the mountain. It covered the trail completely, and mixed in the sea of greens, yellows, gold <BR>and copper, orange and red on either side. There was snow on the leaves,leaves on the snow. Such beautiful artistry. Bliss. <BR> <BR>I shot off an entire roll of film. I took pictures when I parked below the Jet Triple. I took pictures of the surreal, snowy autumn trees that lined Jet as I snow shoed up it. I photographed the many fallen leaves when <BR>I was drawn into Stateside Glade on the way up. I walked a bit of Heavens Road, across Jet and up UN, as in UN-equaled beauty. <BR> <BR>When I arrived at the top, I dropped my burden, sat and observed. The snow on this side of the hill was pretty much as Jim reported. I planned on meeting he and John, BTW, but I, ahem,became ill. It was gloppy, thick and wet(THE SNOW), so I was happy to have the Tubbs. Even with them, I was slipping sometimes. <BR> <BR>The soupy white stuff made for a little work on the descent as well. It was tricky at times too, let alone it being my first run of the <BR>(foliage)season. <BR> <BR>I made much-labored-for arcs down Derrick Hot Shot; glanced an occasional rock or two and on over to Haynes where I stopped and time did <BR>too. Eventually, I moved and crossed over to Upper UN, down to Heavens Rd. I whisked through the leaves on the snow and could hear them under my skis while passing through Stateside Glade. There was brilliant color all around. <BR>Then I popped out onto Jet, under the snowy chairs of the triple. It wasn't long before the run was over. As Jim stated, it passed all too quickly. Waiting for more won't be easy. Hopefully, waiting won't be necessary <BR>either. Snow in the forecast tomorrow?
 
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