Jay Peak, VT 3/18/03

Tony Crocker

Administrator
Staff member
I considered myself fortunate to have had access to famous mogul and off-trail skiing during my first 2 days in the East. Coverage was adequate and the soft snow forgiving. Today it cooled off to the upper 30's, and Jay's off-trail areas remained hard all day, so no more T-shirt skiing.
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The groomed runs were no picnic either, and the first run down Upper Northway/Ullr's Dream was teeth-rattling all the way down. Back at the base before I met a guide Scott from the marketing area:
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We moved over to the Jet and Bonaventure chairs. The groomers there had a few slick spots and chunks, and Scott took a body-slam fall and emerged with a couple of facial cuts. View here is of Big Jay, where some skiers venture out of bounds and ski to Route 242 below.
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Overview of rocky face of Jay Peak and the Vermonter trail along the ridgeline.
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The steep shots on that face were not adequately covered even if the snow had been softer.

In the afternoon there was some softening but not on a consistent basis. CanAm was the only mogul run I tried as it faces east. Views from top of CanAm:
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Face Chutes looked like interesting terrain, but Scott said the access to it had burned off during the previous two warm days. I tried a few other runs like Vermonter, Goat Run and Green Mt. Boys before departing at 3:15 for the drive to Quebec City.

Today at Jay reminded me some of Feb. 2 at Fernie. Jay has a high snow reputation, and I suspect with mostly north exposure it preserves well in the absence of rain or a heat wave like the past 2 days. Thus, like Fernie, Jay does not seem well prepared to respond to adverse weather developments. I overheard a group of local women at a trail junction complain that today's surface conditions were the worst they had seen this season.

Today was a spotless blue-sky day and the views in all directions (including all the way to Mt. Washington) were impressive. If Jay can duplicate this weather on April 8, 2024 it will be spectacular location to view a total solar eclipse of nearly 4 minutes duration.
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Last edited:
I scanned and added film pics above.

After about 4 hours of driving I reached the Ice Hotel NW of Quebec City.
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Guide explaining the hotel:
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Ice sculpture depicting Viking discovery of North America:
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Cross country skier:
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Chapel and igloo snow blocks:
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Ice beds for overnight guests layered with animal furs for insulation:
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Dance floor:
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I did not stay here but I wanted to see this unique site, rebuilt every year for about 3 months.
 
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