Corn snow and creamees in one day—now that's what I call heaven.
The Skimeister and I and three friends hit the slopes of Jay Peak in the northern reaches of Vermont for a fabulous day of spring skiing yesterday. This week's weather is amazing, so we all decided to play hooky and make the most of the incredible late-season snow cover.
The high-speed quad wasn't open, so we took a handful of runs off the tram, which normally has a long liftline during the season. Not so this week.
The views from the top of Jay Peak were tremendous. If you skied down Vermonter you could see to the east toward Burke Mountain and Mt. Washington. If you skied down Northway, you first got views of Big Jay and the long and lovely Lake Champlain, and then as you tracked around to the right you could see Lake Memphremagog near Newport, Vermont.
Warm temps created some sticky snow in the sunny, flat spots—it created a lot of resistance when you skied through it. But if you sought out shady areas or slopes that weren't directly facing the sun, you found some super-fun corn snow.
After riding off the tram for a while, we stopped for beverages and lunch on the deck of the main lodge. It was nice not to have to hang out inside the lodge, which is normally crowded and stuffy. Jay Peak's current ad campaign is right on the mark: If you aren't here for the skiing, you aren't here. Their base facilities are really showing their age.
We headed to the top again to scoot over to the Stateside section of the ski area. We enjoyed skiing laps off the Jet triple. U.N. was bumped up nicely. Big, soft bumps with deep troughs. Nice workout!
Haynes and The Jet were great for cruising. Every once in a while I'd send up a spray of snow when my skis motored through a pile of corn snow.
Jay Peak just announced the resort will remain open until April 27. They will close for a few days next week during the midweek, so check their Web site for all the details. They've had more than 400 inches of snow this season and it really shows. We really didn't have to avoid many bare patches or rocks.
The tickets are now going for $40, but if you have a season pass from another resort or a Catamount Trail discount booklet, you can get a ticket for about $31. It was amazing skiing for this late in April! And I think I got a sunglass tan.
On the way home we stopped at Devlyn's Creamee Stand for some soft-serve ice cream. It's located on Route 105 around Sheldon, Vt. Be warned that their small cones are like large ones elsewhere!
That cool vanilla-chocolate mixed cone was a tasty way to end the perfect spring skiing day.
JAY PEAK SKI RESORT AT A GLANCE
Summit elevation: 3,968 ft.
Vertical drop: 2,153 ft.
76 trails, glades, and chutes
20% novice,40% intermediate, 40% advanced
8 lifts: Vermont’s only aerial tramway (60 passenger capacity), 1 high-speed quad, 2 fixed grip quads, 1 double chair, 1 triple chair, 1 T-bar, 1 magic carpet
Off-piste skiing:100+ acres
Terrain parks: 4
Old-school base lodges
