Skiing Jay Peak

Skiing Jay Peak

Saturday, April 5th, 2025

Runs: 12

Distance: 7.53 miles

Elevation: 7,598 feet

Max Speed: 27.7 mph

Avg. Speed: 9.5 mph

Moving Time: 48 minutes, 32 seconds

Total Time: 3 hours, 21 minutes, 19 seconds

It's time for the anniversary of last year's total solar eclipse at Jay Peak! We joked about making it a tradition to have a "be-a-nuissance" day the first weekend of April, and the plans came to be! I drove up after school on Friday night, and although our crew was going to be a bit smaller, it was going to be fun! Emma and I got dinner at Daily Planet in Burlington before heading back to her place to watch RuPaul's Drag Race. Stevens arrived to Emma's around 10:00pm, and then it was bed time! 

Snow Report

April 5th | 6:16am

**COFFEE REPORT**

TK's latest forecast says that morning turns are your best bet before a wintry mix shoves in by lunchtime. Light winds with highs in the mid-30's. Monday and Tuesday are looking like good chances for snowfall, with the possibility for up to a foot by Wednesday morning.

Check back in a little bit for an official report while we get things rolling, gromming's still out doing their thing and patrol will be out shortly to check trails. The freeze/thaw of surfaces might require a little extra TLC and attention this morning, so sit tight and we'll get you out there as soon as we can.

We got up just before 7:00am, got coffee (well, they did, as I still don't drink coffee), picked up Patroller Sarah, and headed up to the mountain. The patrollers were free skiing to celebrate the holiday, but they had to get their stuff from the patrol room. I went to the rental shop with Stevens, and then we all got set up at the car, shared some Irish Breakfast Shots, and experienced our first eclipse of the day (which meant we put donut holes on skewers and held them up to the sun, which was behind a cloud... it was so fun and silly). 

Runs 1-2

Run 1: Jet Triple - Haynes - Mont l'Entripede

[0.71 mi; 3:20; 1204 ft; 27.4 mph max; 12.7 mph avg]

Run 2: Jet Triple - Montrealer - Cat Walk - Angel's Wiggle - Taxi - Lower Milk Run - Kangaroo Trail

[0.77 mi; 5:24; 1168 ft; 27.7 mph max; 11.8 mph avg]

There was finally a normal amount of people at the mountain (versus the insane crowds we've seen all season) and the only big event was a school's (possibly an international or foreign school based on all the English accents) vacation to learn how to ski. Emma, Patrol Sarah, and I dropped Stevens off at the magic carpet while we got  a couple laps on the Jet (I have to do my daily steeps). Haynes skied okay, a little hard, but okay. I didn't need to go back. Funny enough, this was my Strava PR for Haynes, since I haven't been able to ski it top-to-bottom yet this season!

Run #2 was down Montrealer over to Cat Walk and eventually to Lower Milk Run, which I'd never done in full before. It was fine - a little crusty, a little bumpy, a little dirty, but no problem overall. Once we were back at the Stateside base we found Stevens and Team Snowboard (Snowboard Emma and Elizabeth) chit-chatting, and it was time for the Taxi!

Runs 3-6

Run 3: Taxi Quad - Queen's Highway - Grammy Jay

[0.77 mi; 4:03; 558 ft; 21.0 mph max; 11.4 mph avg]

Run 4: Village Chair - Queen's Highway

[0.45 mi; 2:41; 322 ft; 26.6 mph max; 10.1 mph avg]

Run 5: Tramside Carpet

Run 6: Tramside Carpet

Team Snowboard was parked on Tramside and no desire to head over that way due to wind and the fact that both the Flyer and the Tram were down, so we parted ways soon after coming together for a bit. Emma, Patrol Sarah, Stevens, and I all shared a chair on the Taxi, and Emma whipped out some Naturday's for us to drink from her jacket pocket - how fun! We brought Stevens down Queen's Highway and then to the Grammy Jay. He survived the "headwall!" He did say it was "scary as sh*t," but he killed it. He survived getting off the Village Chair at full speed and then made it over to the Tramside base!

Emma and Patrol Sarah had to run into customer service so Sarah could drop off some papers, so Stevens and I went over to the Tramside Carpet for a couple of runs. He was flirting with linking turns and making parallel turns while I was still trying to figure out how to ski backwards. We went in to use the bathroom afterwards and saw a text saying that the patrollers dropped their skis off for a free sharpening and are getting coffee (**eyeroll**). We eventually met back up and headed back to find the snowboarders!

Runs 7-8

Run 7: Metro Quad - Perry Merril Ave - Shakedown

[0.61 mi; 5:27; 354 ft; 20.2 mph max; 6.7 mph avg]

Run 8: Bonaventure Quad - Northway - Angel's Wiggle - Hell's Crossing - Paradise Meadows

[1.29 mi; 8:24; 1,391 ft; 23.9 mph max; 9.2 mph avg]

We made it back to Stateside via Perry Merry Ave and Shakedown (TikTok told me I need to work on my "pops" when I jump... tbd on that). I did hit a couple of boxes, but did not pop when I finished them... sad. We did a quick pit stop at the car for another breakfast shot and the second eclipse of the day, now featuring team snowboard! We played "Total Eclipse of the Heart" while holding up our donut holes, and afterwards a man came up to us and said "wow thank you for the free entertainment, I have never met meatball worshipers before!" - which was WILD. 

Stevens was feeling good and was ready for a challenge, so we headed over to the Bonnie for his first upper mountain run! We had another Naturdays on the way up. It was WINDY up top - even the recycling bin had been knocked over! Emma coached him down the Northway, and he killed it! He fell once in the middle of the run and came to a stop at the "SLOW" gate, but I do think he would have stopped on his own if he didn't see the gate as a safe hammock that he could run into at a gentle speed. We got him back up and Emma coached him through the two headwalls at Angel's Wiggle before a solid finish down Hell's Cross and Paradise Meadows. Feeling ballsy, I even dipped into the easy, flat part of Hell's Woods like a daredevil! At this point, some frozen precipitation began to fall and it was PAINFUL.

Runs 9-10

Run 9: Bonaventure Quad - Goat Run - Lower River Quai - Perry Merril Ave - Half Moon - Queen's Highway

[1.33 mi; 9:24; 1,503 ft; 26.7 mph max; 9.8 mph avg]

Run 10: Metro Quad - Perry Merril Ave - Chalet Meadows

[0.53 mi; 3:13; 322 ft; 21.3 mph max; 9.8 mph avg]

Stevens was satisfied with his one upper mountain run, but I was itching for one more. Stevens and Emma went off to the Taxi while Patrol Sarah, Team Snowboard, and I hopped back on the Bonnie (apparently in good time, as it went down for the day soon after!). We decided to hit up Goat Run, which... wasn't in GREAT shape. At least the upper stretch. More or less a glacier with some edgeable patches. Thankfully, the S-Turns were in good shape, and I proposed we go down Lower River Quai and hit one of the moons. Lower River Quai was LOVELY and Half Moon was just a treat! I hadn't gone off-trail in these woods before, so that was fun, too! We did a QUICK pee stop at the Tramside lodge and then hopped on the Metro, which had a comically long line due to the school group. We followed Perry Merril to the junction with Chalet Meadows, where we ran into Emma and Stevens! We all followed Chalet Meadows back to the Taxi for a few more runs.

Runs 11-12

Run 11: Taxi Quad - Rusch Park

[0.32 mi; 2:26; 354 ft; 29.8 mph max; 7.9 mph avg]

Run 12: Taxi Quad - Queen's Highway - Doe Woods - Boulevard

[0.46 mi; 4:01; 407 ft; 21.8 mph max; 6.9 mph avg]

My heart wanted to keep the day going, but I was getting HUNGRY, and the painful precipitation was starting to pivot over to rain. We called a "three more skip the last." Run #11 was down the park, which was MUCH more built up than before! I went over a box right at the start, but got scared and slowed down a ton. Got over it fine, but tipped forward at the end (instead of popping!) and dug a ski into the snow and went SPLAT. Elizabeth said she was actually worried about the fall because of how my leg twisted, but I felt completely fine (and am still fine a few days later, so seems like I'm in the clear!). I tried to go over one of the jumps, but it was VERY high and I got scared again. Next time!

Our final run was another delight. We sent Stevens down Boulevard and the rest of us went into Doe Woods, which was surprisingly in fantastic shape. Only issue was that I stayed in too long and got stuck on the wrong side of water pipes, so I had to pop my skis off, step over, and click back in... silly. Afterwards, we caught Stevens and enacted operation: Tramside! 

Since it was raining and we had our hearts set on hot dogs, the patrollers went to the patrol room to change, Stevens dropped off his rentals, we all took a bathroom break, and then we drove from the Stateside lot to the Tramside Lot, which has a little mini-garage under the main lot. We set up camp there for an hour or so, folding table and mini grill and all. This was my first time using this grill, so there was a small learning curve (like letting it burn off all the plastic residue), but the mission was successful! We had one more total eclipse (note for next year: more munchkins) and eventually decided to part ways. Team Snowboard went into the water park while the rest of us started the trek home, stopping for snacks at Maplefields. Emma and I introduced Stevens to GNAR and Hot Dog... the Movie! as any good ski friends would, and it was a delightfully early bed time for all!

I don't usually drink while skiing because it's dangerous as hell and I just don't really care to, but it is still fun to have a ragamuffin day once a year!

Map of Jay Peak