Oh, man! It's taken me a while to write this post for a few reasons: laziness, forgetfulness, prioritizing photos, but also taking time to digest the cheer magnitude of this amazing day! It kind of felt like a pinnacle day in my short skiing life - my first black run, my first time hitting a park, the first time I got to watch a friend on their first day, and like, a really cool celestial event with new friends? I'm trying to not let this post be a season refelction, as that will come later, but here we go!
Part I: Preperation
This weekend had been marked on my calendar for well over a year, and I took these days off of work four months ago, so it was serious! I spent the weeks leading up to this trip working on plans, shopping lists, and of course, a schedule made on Canva detailing every moment of the day.
About a week before I decided I wanted to attempt to make eclipse-themed Jell-O shots... The idea was a black Jell-O shot with edible glitter floating inside. Then, I would use a cap and spray-cake-decorating-spray to make the sun's corona... It came out... visually unpleasant - tasted great! Well, some of them did... I made one batch with sugar-free lemon Jell-O, which was a 0.3oz pack - came out great! Then, I made a big batch with a 0.3oz pack of sugar-free orange and two servings of regular lime. The lime came in a 3oz bag, which was confusing to me. Anyway, I measured out 0.3oz to add to my large batch. Apparently, the 3oz bag is so big because of all the sugar that's in it, and I needed to put two 3oz bags in, so I had a soupy mess in 60+ liquid "Jell-O Shots...". Anyway, we had 15 really nice, visually displeasing successes.
Our second craft went MUCH better - making eclipse-themed T-Shirts! We got black t-shirts from Michaels, put parchment paper inside the shirt, put a plate face-down on the shirt, and sprayed bleach around. They came out great! We used sparkly puff paint on the backs to decorate like we were in high school - we got many compliments throughout the day! We had an early night in bed ready for our early wake-up!
Part II: The Morning
3:45am the alarms were going off - showtime! Some reports said the state of Vermont could double in population with visitors and every ski mountain had warnings out about crowding - so we wanted to make sure we got in no problem. My car, with myself, Emma, and Stevens, was meeting up with another car in Montgomery, featuring Elizabeth, Snowboard Emma, and Rachel. There was... no one else out on the road, but that worked out nicely for us! From Montgomery center we caravaned up 242, turned into the Tramside entrance (since that was the only one open), accidentally went to Tramside base, turned around, and snuck over to Stateside, where there were no more than 20 cars - phew! We did a quick bathroom break in the hotel and then had some quiet time before sunrise.
First colors started appearing when we got in the parking lot just after 5:00am, but started to get REALLY pretty around 6:00am. A whopping two additional cars had joined us by this point... we were still happy to be there early! We set up a table, got out a stove and grill, and started making breakfast sandwiches - also our seventh cast member, Harrison, had now arrived with his flagpole with Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift flags - which at first seemed like a lot, but actually proved to be a great way to find the cars without having to think.
The sun broke over the horizon just after 6:15am which led to some STUNNING colors, including illuminating Jay Peak, which was still snow-crusted up top. Breakfast shenanigans continued, including some morning beers and Dirty Shirleys - I had a very light one since Emma was planning to take me down Haynes for the first time. I almost bailed on Emma's plan when I looked over at the Jet side and saw that Haynes was only half groomed, but they finished grooming right before lifts started spinning.
Snow Report
Day 132: Early Word (6:20am)
Today we all gather to watch the moon temporarily swallow the sun in an area which forecasters are continuing to paint as one of the best places to view this spectacular event in the entire country. Jay exists right in the path of totality, where not only can the solar eclipse be seen in its full glory, but we are also one of the only states expecting clear skies for an even more flawless experience. Today will be warm with a high near 47 degrees making for spring conditioned snow especially as we come into the afternoon.
Based on the estimated influx of around 160,000 people visiting our Green Mountain state, we are prepared for many of them to make their way here. While we are beyond grateful for the spotlight this puts on our modest resort, we put the safety of our guests and staff above all else. Please be aware that Uphill Travel is not recommended, and Ski Patrollers will be stationed at key points across the mountain to turn people back. Finding a place to park is expected to be the largest strain on the resort today, and only the main Tramside Entrance will be open so that we can better monitor access. Parking attendants will be working hard to ensure that cars are parked as efficiently as possible, but once we are full, we will be limiting access to the resort.
Pink Talking Fish will perform Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon album in its entirety, outdoors at the Tramside base on Alice's Patio leading up to totality. They will play from around 2:30p - 3:15p. Exceptional visuals by Heavy Light VT will accompany the concert on a video wall.
Eclipse Lift Hours: We've had to adjust our hours for The Whiteout event today:
*7:30a - All lifts open except the Tram.
*12:30p - The Jet, The Flyer, and The Bonnie close for the day.
*2:00p - Lower Mountain lifts close for the eclipse.
*4:00p - The Metro Quad (Tramside) and Taxi Quad (Stateside) re-open to facilitate movement between base areas.
*5:30p - Metro and Taxi lifts close.
The morning was a chilly 27 degrees, but quickly warmed up once the sun came up. After some lounging, music, and overall silliness, we started to get suited up for the 7:30am lift start time. We left Rachel and Stevens at the cars, both who do not ski or snowboard, and the rest of us were off!
Part III: Shredding
We all made our way over to the Jet for first fourth and fifth chairs - I enjoyed watching all the groomers head in for the "night" as they finished up their respective trails.
Runs 1-3
Run 1: Jet Triple - Montrealer - Northway - Sweetheart
[1.07 mi, 3:30, 1152 ft, 34.0 mph max, 18.2 mph avg]
Run 2: Jet Triple - Haynes - Mont l'Entrepide
[0.73 mi, 4:17, 1184 ft, 30.7 mph max, 10.2 mph avg]
Run 3: Jet Triple - Montrealer - Angel's Wiggle - Paradise Meadows - Kangaroo Trail
[1.21 mi, 4:19, 1148 ft, 29.3 mph max, 16.9 mph avg]
We started off the day with a bang! The Jet was a nice easy ride up - didn't feel too long which was nice. I wanted to keep it easy for the first run, so we took the BEAUTIFUL Montrealer (after a bunch of photos, of course) to the Northway. I'd never taken Northway all the way down before, so I was excited to do that. The snow was hard and Northway was icy, so we got some decent speed. What no one was ready for was the sharp turn onto Sweetheart. Emma came to a short stop, Elizabeth came to a shorter stop, and I could not stop in time, so I slid right on underneath Elizabeth, sending both of us flying. Elizbeth landed gracefully on her belly, while I had a ski pop off and I slid ~10 feet down the hill I thought we would continue on. Thankfully, Elizabeth and I had met last week so it wasn't a COMPLETE stranger that I clotheslined, but I was EMBARASSED. She was super cool about it and laughing, but what a way to start the day! I committed to staying back for the rest of the morning runs.
After climbing back up the hill, we took Sweetheart back to the Jet and got ready for round two - the black diamond Haynes. Emma was convinced I was ready! We headed up, I talked over it a thousand time, and then we made it to the beginning, which truly looked like a cliff into the abyss. The view was beautiful, at least! The plan is just to use edges, go across, turn, go across, etc., and it worked! I made it down in one piece! Elizabeth and Snowboard Emma were super kind and supportive as I was shaking like a leaf. Emma did take a video and I will say, I didn't look too stupid! The second half of the run was much easier on the blue Mont l'Entrepide. Emma was equally as delighted that I made it down physically undamaged - one because she didn't have to rescue me, but also because this was the first time she's taught someone from day one to their first real black - yay! (Don't tell her this, but I made a certificate on Canva that I'm going to give her as a thank-you gift).
The third and final run off the Jet was a redemption run - Montrealer and then the Angel's Wiggle route down, which was nice and easy. It's fun skiing with a group - I'd never really done it before minus the two baby runs my first time at Bolton.
I should also point out that every lift ride we would turn around to check the parking lot... it never once filled up... Still worth the sunrise!
Runs 4-5
Run 4: Bonaventure Quad - Goat Run - Queen's Highway - Chalet Meadows
[1.30 mi, 4:47, 1365 ft, 29.7 mph max, 16.3 mph avg]
Run 5: Bonaventure Quad - Goat Run - Queen's Highway - Chalet Meadows
[1.21 mi, 5:00, 1319 ft, 31.7 mph max, 14.5 mph avg]
Next up was the Bonnie! The trees up top looked nice and crispy, so I wanted to see them up-close. Emma recommended hitting Goat Run since it was still groomed and early and probably not too icy, and she was CORRECT. Between Easter and this day, I've learned that I really love Goat Run... when she's in good condition! We ended up lapping this twice since it was so much fun! Thankfully, it was also very uneventful. Rachel also met us to bring us drinks, yay!
Runs 6-8
Run 6: Taxi Quad - Queen's Highway - Raccoon Run
[0.69 mi, 2:03, 551 ft, 33.8 mph max, 20.1 mph avg]
Run 7: Village Chair - Grammy Jay
[0.63 mi, 3:18, 341 ft, 29.8 mph max, 11.5 mph avg]
Run 8: Village Chair - Chalet Meadows
[0.23 mi, 2:31, 171 ft, 12.3 mph max, 5.3 mph avg]
Our final bit of runs before our first intermission was around my favorite trail - Grammy Jay! Emma and I really leaned into the bit of doing a Jell-O shot on the Village Chair, so we first took Taxi to Queen's Highway to Raccoon Run to get down there - the snow was starting to feel sticky down here. We took our Jell-O shot and then hit the famous Grammy Jay - which was a little flat at first for our snowboarders, but nevertheless, they persisted. Our final run before intermission was taking the Village Chair to Chalet Meadows to the car!
Part IV: Teaching & Learning
We had a nice snack and drink break at the car. I noticed the energy was shifting to party mode, which was fine, but I know Steven's expressed interest in renting skis and taking an Emma lesson, so we set a rally point to get back on the snow - our break was probably about an hour. Also, at this point, we were down to t-shirts that it was so warm! I was definitely going to leave sunburnt... Oh well, at least our eclipse shirts looked cool! Also during this break, Stevens and Rachel used chalk markers to decorate the cars which was super cute.
Run 9-10
Run 9: Bonaventure Quad - Northway - Angel's Wiggle - Hell's Crossing - Paradise Meadows - Kangaroo Run
[1.40 mi, 5:40, 1358 ft, 29.6 mph max, 14.9 mph avg]
Run 10: Bonaventure Quad - Northway - Taxi - Queen's Highway - Chalet Meadows
[1.54 mi, 7:27, 1355 ft, 23.7 mph max, 12.4 mph avg]
Emma and Stevens went into the rental shop to get set up, so I joined Harrison on the Bonnie for a longer run - the classic Northway - Angel's - Hell's - Paradise - Kangaroo. The snow was getting more sticky, which was a newer sensation for me - especially going between shaded spots and sunny spots. Either way, it was a fun run! Snowboard Emma and Elizabeth joined us for the second run. I warned them that I was going to take the flat Taxi to get to the magic carpet, but they came with - yay! Northway was starting to bump up, but Taxi was in good condition. I parted ways with team snowboard and headed over to the Stateside Carpet where I found Emma and Stevens!
Runs 11-14: (yes these count)
Run 11: Stateside Carpet - Left Side
[0.05 mi, 1:30, 36 ft, 2.0 mph]
Run 12: Stateside Carpet - Left Side
[0.05 mi, 1:30, 36 ft, 2.0 mph]
Run 13: Stateside Carpet - Right Side
[0.05 mi, 1:30, 36 ft, 2.0 mph]
Run 14: Stateside Carpet - Right Side
[0.05 mi, 1:30, 36 ft, 2.0 mph]
These were short, fun laps. I hadn't been in a carpet in over a year, and it was super fun to watch someone, a friend nonetheless, experience skis for the first time, and like it! We did two laps on the banked turns and then two laps on the "perfect slope." He was loving it! Emma told us there's a new cut-through from the top of the Carpet to the Grammy Jay, Stevens was excited, so naturally I ran to the car to get some drinks for us to celebrate! The cut-through has a small uphill and short flat bit before opening up at the top of Grammy Jay.
Runs 15-17
Run 15: Stateside Carpet - Grammy Jay
[0.39 mi, 3:45, 266 ft, 16.9 mph max, 6.3 mph avg]
Run 16: Village Chair - Grammy Jay
[0.60 mi, 6:04, 338 ft, 12.4 mph max, 5.9 mph avg]
Run 17: Village Chair - Chalet Meadows - Shakedown
[0.27 mi, 3:50, 167 ft, 13.9 mph max, 4.2 mph avg]
Now it was time for Stevens' first real runs! To our delight, the cut-through opens up before the steep spot on Grammy Jay, so we slowly made our way there, I got ahead to get a video, and we watched Stevens gracefully and spectacularly wipe out - he was a good sport, and got back up without a problem (in contast to the brutal time I had getting back up on my first day - Emma thinks the couple of drinks definitely helped). He was a champion getting on the chair (Emma did have the lifty slow it down for him), we enjoyed our White Claws en-lift, and he gracefully fell right on his butt getting off the chair. Much to my own dismay, I did not have my phone ready.
I couldn't help but notice the energy and comradery of the day was increidbly similar to UMass Homecoming weekends. We were having so much fun skiing that I almost forgot there was a "main event" later on.
Our second lap down the Grammy Jay was better than the first - Emma gave Stevens his options for getting down: send it, pizza send it, or pizza turns - Stevens chose to send it, and he made it down without falling! Once at the bottom, we went back up the Village Chair and worked our way back to the Stateside base, where I was feeling brave and "hit the park" (aka went over one (1) box and couldn't get enough speed for the jump).
We then started our second intermission. I RAN to the rice ball booth but they had just closed, which was absolutely tragic. We tried to devise a plan to get Stevens to ski over to Tramside for free, but we ultimately had him return his skis to shuttle over with Rachel. Back at the car, Elizabeth was sound asleep on top of Snowboard Emma's car, folks were drinking and snacking, and overall vibes were excellent. Harrison did bring out a blow-up "doll," so I took a quick sensory break during that, but overall it was a nice recharge. We said 1:30pm was the beginning of the mental rally, and 1:45pm was the physical rally.
Part V: Eclipsing
Runs 18-19
Run 18: Taxi Quad - Queen's Highway
[0.67 mi, 3:25, 509 ft, 18.2 mph max, 11.8 mph avg]
Run 19: Metro Quad - Perry Merril - Half Moon - Queen's Highway
[0.58 mi, 3:56, 453 ft, 17.5 mph max, 8.4 mph avg]
1:45pm came around and it was rally time! Emma, Snowboard Emma, Elizabeth, Harrison, and I haphazardly made our way up to the Taxi while Stevens and Rachel found their way to the shuttle. I had a FULL bag of drinks for eclipse o'clock, and we were off! The snow was super slow, which was challenging for team snowboard, but we made it in one piece! I saw the Metro was still running when we arrived, so I said to Emma that we should get one more run in, she immediately said no, then Elizabeth said we should get one more run in, and Emma immediately said yes... rude. I decided to hit Half Moon, since it was the only moon walk I haven't done - it was lovely! The rest of the crew did Full Moon (or Quarter... whichever came first) and ended up doing a group pee in the woods. I was going to also release some toxins, but strangers immediately appeared - oh well!
We eventually landed at what would become our home base - a shack just uphill from the Metro loading area. We got drinks in the snow, took bathroom breaks, and took at least a million photos with almost every permutation of people in our new little group - it was honestly and simply lovely. Snowboard Emma and I made a snowman (eclipse glasses included) while Elizabeth and Emma did the thing where the snowboarder lays belly-down scorpion-style on skis and the skier sits on the snowboard and they somehow slide down - very fun to watch. Gen and Cory eventually showed up - arriving hours after we did (thankfully parking was nowhere near as big of an issue as we had planned). We chit-chatted, got some snacks, and really just enjoyed the time together, then shit started to get cool!
We did a halfway decent job at not staring at the sun without the glasses, but it was hard! From the second the moon started to eat the sun people were getting excited, and it only picked up from there - I'm still digesting all of the emotions that went into this day. We took more silly photos, drank more silly drinks, listened to the distant live music, and slowly started standing and staring. The sliver of sunlight got smaller and smaller - we started to notice that the air was significantly colder - at least 15 degrees. The lighting started to get... weird. First it felt almost flourescent. I noticed the sky behind the lodge started to change colors. The sun got smaller and smaller and suddenly it was gone. Even with everyone (myself included) screaming, it felt like the world was standing still. Like, I'm really struggling to get these words out becuase it was such a new, profound experience... Glasses came off and all you could see was a black orb in the sky surrounded by massive, white rays of light. The corona looks MUCH bigger in person in comparison to the moon. We could see Jupiter and Venus, and there was a beautiful orange light coming from behind the lodge. I didn't know if I was supposed to scream, laugh, cry, or spontaneously combust. It almost felt religious? Clearly I'm word vomiting right now. Emma and I shared a rare second kiss of the year (we're strictly New Years kissers) because we simply did not know what to do with outselves. The energy all around us was electric. It equally felt like time was standing still, but also that it was quickly fleeting. Right before totality ended the light behind Jay Peak rapidly intensified and then suddenly... it was over? We truly all looked at each other not knowing what to do with ourselves - do we just go back to normal? Do we talk about it? It was truly the most incredible thing I have ever seen, and the fact that I got to share it at one of my favorite mountains with a group of new and old friends is something I will cherish for a LONG time.
We spent time talking, digesting, and taking more photos in the moments following totality. The Metro started spinning again, the band opened their second set with "Here Comes the Sun," and we all skied down for a bathroom and dancing break. Did that really just happen? It truly almost felt like a dream.
The rest of our time on Tramside included dancing to the band's last song and first encore and taking the Metro back, but somewhere in the mess of insanity I had lost my pass! I was truly only sad because it had Emma's name on it. Thankfully one gate was open so I could get back okay. I was also definitely feeling the drinks at this point - I had cut myself off at the last Jell-O shot during totality, but I had a good few hours of come-down ahead of me. The run back was fun, and thankfully losing the pass brought be back to the car and not lapping the Taxi like team snowboard did. I changed my clothes, and now it was finally time for the wind down.
Part VI: The Wind Down
Run 20
Run 20: Metro Quad - Perry Merril - Chalet Meadows
[0.32 mi, 1:11, 318 ft, 22.5 mph max, 16.1 mph avg]
Team snowboard+Harrison finished their few final laps, and soon enough we were all back at the cars cooking up dinner. I had switched to Shirley Temple mode since somone had to drive home. Emma and I shared a moment of tension when I showed her something on my phone, she had to physically cover one eye to read it, and then immediately grab another beer (she proudly told me she did not care how she felt the next day, and also no, she did not end up finishing this beer). After dinner (burgers & dogs) Harrison put on purple sparkly boots and started to blast the muisc, which was my cue to go into a disassociative state in my hammock chair, which was not the worst thing honestly. I always struggle to mesh with people who like to blast music - I like having music playing, but I also like to hear myself think and hold a conversation with minimal effort, but to each their own.
The wind-down continued, we slowly started to clean everything up and re-pack. I wanted to go to Smuggler's Notch the next day, and I mentioned to Emma that she said she wanted to go with me too, but I was nervous about her current state of intoxication. She went inside to get her ski gear from the patrol room and I drove down to meet her, and I found her sitting on a snowbank, covering one eye, and slowly pouring out her beer. The patrol room was apparently closed, oh well. We got home around 7:30pm with zero traffic and basically went immediately to bed. Gen, Cory, and Stevens were in the Northeast Kingdom for basically 5 hours before making it to I-93, so staying was definitely the move! They ended up getting home around 2:30am after leaving around 5:00pm - absolutely wild.
A day to remember for a LONG time!
End of Day Stats: 20 Runs, 13.04 miles, 12,139 feet, 34.0 mph max, 1:14:28 skiing, 4:46:47 elapsed.
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