So I was also at Jay on 3/24 though I didn't know other FTOers were there. I didn't spend that much time at the resort -- just a couple runs in the glades in the morning to warm up. Snow was already very soft and wet -- definitely slushy conditions, with lots of rocks and stumps to be found. There's still good skiing in patches, but it's going fast.
Spent most of the day skiing Big Jay. Was hardly the best day for it, but the woman and I have been meaning to do it for a long time, and hey -- we weren't missing any powder at the resort either.
Here's a view of Big Jay from the top of the tram:
Heading off on the hike over:
The trail over:
Almost there, looking back at the tram:
It was a quick 45 minutes to the summit of Big Jay from the top of the tram. Conditions even at the top of Big Jay were heavy and slushy -- classic mashed potato snow. Lots of untracked lines to be found through beautiful steep tree chutes -- will definitely have to come back here sometime when it's been colder and have some fantastic powdder skiing.
A typical view:
The main chute:
These pictures don't do it justice, but this stuff is reasonably steep, though not extreme. I'd estimate 35-40 degrees in some sections (i.e. similar to Hillman's Highway). There are also cliffs to watch out for -- I wound up on top of a 25-footer to dense trees,logs,and brush at one point, and had to hike back up a short ways.
A bit more skiing:
Eventually we got to the bottom and did some gentle traversing through terrain like this:
Got back to the road maybe 45 minutes after we left the top of Big Jay.
Started hiking back to the ski area before catching a ride with a blue pickup with a guy who lives in Jay. We were very grateful, as it was further back than we had thought.
We got back in time to ski a few more runs, which we took under the Bonaventure quad in beautiful soft mushy bumps. It was good, though getting very thin, particularly in the long runouts back to the lifts. Won't be long before you won't be able to get back to the lifts at all without taking your skis off.
Spent most of the day skiing Big Jay. Was hardly the best day for it, but the woman and I have been meaning to do it for a long time, and hey -- we weren't missing any powder at the resort either.
Here's a view of Big Jay from the top of the tram:
Heading off on the hike over:
The trail over:
Almost there, looking back at the tram:
It was a quick 45 minutes to the summit of Big Jay from the top of the tram. Conditions even at the top of Big Jay were heavy and slushy -- classic mashed potato snow. Lots of untracked lines to be found through beautiful steep tree chutes -- will definitely have to come back here sometime when it's been colder and have some fantastic powdder skiing.
A typical view:
The main chute:
These pictures don't do it justice, but this stuff is reasonably steep, though not extreme. I'd estimate 35-40 degrees in some sections (i.e. similar to Hillman's Highway). There are also cliffs to watch out for -- I wound up on top of a 25-footer to dense trees,logs,and brush at one point, and had to hike back up a short ways.
A bit more skiing:
Eventually we got to the bottom and did some gentle traversing through terrain like this:
Got back to the road maybe 45 minutes after we left the top of Big Jay.
Started hiking back to the ski area before catching a ride with a blue pickup with a guy who lives in Jay. We were very grateful, as it was further back than we had thought.
We got back in time to ski a few more runs, which we took under the Bonaventure quad in beautiful soft mushy bumps. It was good, though getting very thin, particularly in the long runouts back to the lifts. Won't be long before you won't be able to get back to the lifts at all without taking your skis off.
