The University of Vermont's Independent Voice Since 1883

The Vermont Cynic

The University of Vermont's Independent Voice Since 1883

The Vermont Cynic

The University of Vermont's Independent Voice Since 1883

The Vermont Cynic

Powder Preview: Jay Peak Resort

Regardless of how unseasonably warm it may now be, winter has arrived and with it the advent of a new ski season.

For those who have been waiting for this since the snow melted off their favorite mountain April last, this is Gabriel blowing his horn.

Skiing represents an escape as much as it does a pleasurable pastime, and in this endless pursuit of escape by means of a mixture of floating falling and flying, the question of where is a pertinent question.

Finding a local mountain where escape is most possible lends itself to the eternal UVMer question, “Where are you skiing this winter?”

For those who have poorly budgeted your time and delayed the answering of this question until now, the Vermont Cynic will present you with a preview of several of the more popular resorts in the area, starting this week with Jay Peak resort, and to be followed in the coming weeks with exciting briefs on several resorts including, Stowe, Smuggler’s Notch, and Tignes. Jay Peak opened this season this past weekend with four trails and nearly two feet of snow on the ground.

A local skier commented, “This is probably some sort of record; normally they don’t open till the weekend before Thanksgiving and there is never more than one trail open.”

This is an even more outstanding statement when considering the past two years for Jay which were both record-breaking years.

Apparently, skiers among us must have prayed hard in the off-season for a bounteous year. Jay Peak is located in a unique area of Vermont near the Canadian border, about and hour and a half from campus.

This location, at the tip of the Green Mountain range, allows for the meteorological condition “orographic lift” to force air masses up and condense resulting in a local phenomenon known as the “Jay Cloud” to bring the most snow of any eastern resort to its varied and steep terrain.

Jay Peak receives annually an average of 351 inches of fresh, nearly getting as much powder as its Rockie Mountain counterparts.

The snow is but half the story as the terrain offered at Jay is both varied and beautiful.

Jay peak has worked hard in the off season to better itself having added 2 new lifts, new, better rental equipment, and more snowmaking capabilities. Speaking of the new improvements, Bill Stenger, president of Jay Peak resort, says, “Our mountain has long been known for snow and glades and remarkable terrain but with these new lifts our gentle lower mountain terrain will provide exceptional entry-level skiing and riding.”

Luckily for the glade skier, the people at Jay offer a “ski anywhere inbound” policy.

Over two-hundred acres of “off-piste” skiing are made available, and much environmentally minded brush clearing is done in the off-season to ensure a powdery bliss whilst gliding through 2,153 feet of tree-laden vertical drop.

Jay peak has worked hard in the off season to better itself having added 2 new lifts, new, better rental equipment, and more snowmaking capabilities.

Speaking of the new improvements, Bill Stenger, president of Jay Peak resort, says, “Our mountain has long been known for snow and glades and remarkable terrain but with these new lifts our gentle lower mountain terrain will provide exceptional entry-level skiing and riding.”

A season pass to the resort will set you back 199 dollars, American, and a rather lengthy wait in the customer service line while they look for your application, which they have somewhere in their hole of an office, but not where it was supposed to be. Even after they find your application in their decrepit Canadian computers, it will take considerable time for them make your photo ID, which will make you look like a generic cheap stalker.

Transportation to mountain is well provided for if it isn’t cheap. Buses leave from UVM on Fridays and Saturdays and cost ten dollars per round trip ride.

Jay Peak is a mountain that all skiiers should have the privilege to experience at least once, if not many times this season, especially after Christmas when their glade skiing becomes what it is so famous for being: a winter wonderland.

For further information, or daily snow reports visit Jay online at:

http://www.JayPeakResort.com

More to Discover
Activate Search
Powder Preview: Jay Peak Resort