Skiing Jay Peak
Saturday, April 12th, 2025
Runs: 18
Distance: 23.09 miles
Elevation: 21,703 feet
Max Speed: 30.0 mph
Avg. Speed: 14.0 mph
Moving Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes, 59 seconds
Total Time: 5 hours, 18 minutes, 37 seconds
Back up to Jay for another exciting (and wet) day! The weekend started Friday night, where my roommate hosted a Fiddler on the Roof-themed Seder, which was as fun as it sounded! Only issue was the Seder involved a LOT of wine, and in order to make it to Jay in time (by my standards), I had to be up at 3:30am... here we go!
The reason for the early wake-up and having to be at Jay was because Andrew was going to propose to Linnea! I had a long, sleepy drive. I christened the Hooksett bathroom and then got some breakfast (while making friends with the cashier who was surprised I knew the song "I'll Make Love To You" by Boys II Men, which was playing over the loudspeaker, which was also insane). It was raining in Boston, snowing in southern New Hampshire, raining again after Hooksett, and back to snow in Franconia Notch. Finally, the snow turned to rain one last time as I cleared the Whites, and I saw a moose in a drainage pond just before the Vermont border! Once in Vermont, the sun was up and the rain had subsided - it was looking beautiful! I stopped again at the Maplefields in Orleans and continued onto Jay (I forgot how beautiful the drive is from this side of the mountain). Once Jay came into view, I could see the Jay Cloud at work as morning fog began to rise off of the slopes.
I was in the delightfully empty parking lot a little before 8:00am. I ran into the lodge to use the bathroom one last time and booted up in the car, just to avoid any possible accidental interactions with the soon-to-be-engaged couple (it was a surprise that Sarah and I would be there, I think?). Sarah spent the night in her car at the Echo Lake parking area near Cannon, and she slept until a reasonable hour, so I had some time to ski solo while she drove up and my patrollers patrolled.
Snow Report
SATURDAY APRIL 12 AT 7:05 AM
We're looking at an indecisive weather pattern that starts off as a rain/snow mix later on this morning before changing to rain for the afternoon, so just like last weekend, early turns are best turns. Fog will likely play havoc with visibility higher up, but the wind is going to stay calm and temps'll hang in the mid-30s. Sunday looks to be drier with a chance of showers, and TK's latest update calls for some accumulating snow in the middle of next week.
All 9 lifts turning on time this morning, soft snow, and 76/81 trails. Jay Peak plays host to the Vertical Challenge finals today with a day full of ski & snowboard races, music, fun, and community on Tramside from 9a-3p. All races will take place on Interstate. Another Temps des Sucres weekend is upon us, so get your maple on from 12-6p today. Enjoy a horse-drawn wagon ride down to the Clubhouse for sugar-on-snow treats and other maple goodness with local sugarmaker Kane's Sugaring Outfit. The Seth Yacovone Band plays the Tower Bar 4-7p, and, weather permitting, a dazzling fireworks show lights up the sky at 8p on Tramside.
Runs 1-3
Run 1: Taxi Quad - Queen's Highway - Grammy Jay
[0.87 mi; 3:12; 571 ft; 29.3 mph max; 16.3 mph avg]
Run 2: Village Chair - Queen's Highway
[0.47 mi; 1:29; 312 ft; 28.4 mph max; 19.2 mph avg]
Run 3: Metro Quad - Perry Merril Ave - Half Moon - Queen's Highway
[0.72 mi; 3:48; 505 ft; 21.2 mph max; 11.3 mph avg]
It was wet and above freezing, so I assumed there would be slushy trails, but nope! I originally planned to ride Taxi and head over to Tramside to hop on the Tram, but once I realized the snow was still fast I GUNNED it to the Grammy Jay, hoping to beat Emma's PR. I did not get a faster time than she did, but I did beat my own PR by a second, so that's something! Run #2 was up the Village Chair and down Queen's Highway, and when I saw the line for the Tram was a bit longer than desired, I hopped on the Metro to get a run in Half Moon, which was ROUGH. Pretty much frozen over still. The groomed track was okay. I told Emma about my bad time in these woods, and she said she had an even worse time in the Beaver Pond glades, so at least that was validating.
Runs 4-6
Run 4: Flyer Express Quad - Ullr's Dream - Kokomo
[1.84 mi; 5:42; 1,677 ft; 29.8 mph max; 19.3 mph avg]
Run 5: Flyer Express Quad - Northway - JFK - Ullr's Dream - Kokomo
[1.68 mi; 5:51; 1,631 ft; 25.6 mph max; 17.3 mph avg]
Run 6: Flyer Express Quad - Northway - JFK - Ullr's Dream - Kokomo
[1.76 mi; 6:41; 1,686 ft; 23.9 mph max; 15.8 mph avg]
By now it was 8:30, so I got onto the Flyer (also no line!) and had what was the most wonderful run down Ullr's Dream. The snow was immaculate packed powder with ZERO icy patches. Also, hardly anyone had been on it so far! I was in HEAVEN. Kokomo was also in pretty good shape, especially for mid-April! After that wonderful run, I called Emma to ask how she thought JFK would ski, and she gave the green light! She's been advising against JFK all season because it apparently gets notoriously icy, but it skied excellently today with the same snow surface as Ullr's. It was a fun trail! I do get how it could get dicey when icy, though. Run #6 was another lap of JFK, but from the second entrance off the Northway (apparently there are three), which was just as wonderful.
Runs 7-8
Run 7: Flyer Express Quad - Northway - Goat Run - Lower River Quai - Perry Merril Ave - Queen's Highway
[1.73 mi; 6:33; 1,680 ft; 25.9 mph max; 15.8 mph avg]
Run 8: Metro Quad - Subway
[0.37 mi; 3:58; 531 ft; 27.2 mph max; 5.6 mph avg]
Emma and Sarah's sit was at the top of the Metro watching over some vertical challenge race that involved older men in tight one-piece spandex suits... not too sure what was happening there. I was back on the Flyer for Run #7, which doubled as the only run of the day that I shared with a stranger (mostly... more on that later). I also checked a... certain location-based dating app on the lift and noticed my college RA was a half mile away?! I immedaitely texted him a screenshot saying "WHAT IS THIS" - turns out he and some friends got a condo for the weekend. He started skiing last winter, but we have never skied together (I wanted to on this day, but later events would dictate otherwise). Emma also mentioned she had gossip for me, so I followed Northway down to Goat to Lower River Quai, all skied well. Emma was busy patrolling and talking to the racers, so I snapped a picture of her and skied off. Once at the Perry Merril/Queen's Highway junction, she called me and told me to come back to discuss our gossips, so I made a sharp turn and hopped on the Metro.
I popped my skis off and joined her, meeting her friend Bonnie (who REALLY wants a "gay friend," as she kept saying), and then compared our respective gossips. I shared about the RA, and she shared that, without revealing too much, she made a connection last night with someone that was LONG overdue. How exciting! In this time, Sarah was on the Bonnie, so I waited for her. Patrol Sarah eventually joined the pod, my Sarah landed and started chit-chatting, and I went down Subway (a new trail for me) to use the bathroom for my 8th run of the day.
Runs 9-10
Run 9: Flyer Express Quad - Northway - JFK - Ullr's Dream - Kokomo
[1.84 mi; 7:05; 1,673 ft; 23.5 mph max; 15.6 mph avg]
Run 10: Flyer Express Quad - Northway - Purgatory - Hell's Crossing - Sweetheart
[1.90 mi; 11:26; 1,558 ft; 25.2 mph max; 10.0 mph avg]
Sarah joined me after I used the bathroom, and then we were both on the Flyer! I touted about Ullr's and JFK's awesome snow, so we opted to get a lap of JFK in (again, for me). This time, we took the third entrance (which I think exists so folks can get to JFK from the Bonnie). There was an impressive fog at this point, which definitely made things exciting! The trail was a bit scratchier now, too, but still skied well. We followed Ullr's to Kokomo and got back on the Flyer!
I really wanted to get over to the Jet side before the couple arrived (thank goodness 1) we share locations and 2) they like to sleep in). Run #10 was down the Northway to Purgatory - which was a bit like a chute - and then to Hell's Crossing and half of Sweetheart. We did a quick break at the lodge/car. I swapped my Pit Vipers for googgles, put toe warmers on my socks, and grabbed a Naturdays for the lift. The weather was WEIRD. It was starting to snow through the fog, though, which was fun!
Runs 11-13
Run 11: Jet Triple - Derick Hot Shot - The Willard
[0.79 mi; 4:41; 1,211 ft; 20.6 mph max; 10.1 mph avg]
Run 12: Jet Triple - Haynes - Mont l'Entripede
[0.71 mi; 3:41; 1,214 ft; 30.0 mph max; 11.6 mph avg]
Run 13: Jet Triple - Montrealer - Taxi - Queen's Highway
[1.69 mi; 7:06; 1,371 ft; 25.4 mph max; 9.4 mph avg]
We skied over to the Jet and in an act of bravery, I wanted to try Derick Hot Shot for the first time! The fog was THICK - maybe 30 feet of visiblity? I think this actually worked in my favor, though, because I didn't have the impending doom of what's to come to spook me at all. Derick's had some small bumps, but nothing too bad. I took it nice a slow, and actually really enjoyed it! The ONLY issue we had was some guy zooming down that almost killed Sarah. No deaths were recorded, but he did ski over her skis, which wasn't great. We opted to continue onto The Willard, which was similar but less steep, and then had a medium-tough skate back since most of the runout was melted. Another new trail = complete! I really liked this one, too.
Haynes was up next, which skied pretty well, but we kept it on the slow side due to the low visiblity. Mont L'Entripede, though, was EXCELLENT. I was able to get those wide, carving turns, AND I could see where I was going!
At this point, the almost fiancees were officially on Jay Peak property. Sarah and I decided we'd head back to Tramside and check out Poma Line (ANOTHER new trail - I was truly on a roll) while we waited for the green light. We followed Montrealer to Taxi to Queen's Highway, grabbed a pretzle and a cookie (the BEST cookie I've ever had) at the Tramside Cafe, and got back on the Flyer!
Run 14
Run 14: Flyer Express Quad - Northway - Sweetheart
[1.46 mi; 6:42; 1,526 ft; 24.1 mph max; 13.1 mph avg]
While on the Flyer, we got the text that the couple was on their way up the Jet! Sarah and I scratched our plans and ZOOMED over back to the Jet. By zoom, I do mean carefully skied a bit slower than usual because of the visibility. We followed Northway all the way down to Sweetheart and right onto the chair.
Run 15
Run 15: Jet Triple - Montrealer - Northway - Hell's Crossing - Sweetheart
[1.25 mi; 5:34; 1,214 ft; 22.5 mph max; 13.5 mph avg]
While on the chair, though, Andrew said "It's going to be a little later!" WHAT DOES THAT MEAN. We asked what "a little later" meant, because if it was like 20 minutes, we'd just camp out at the patrol hut, but it was going to be a couple hours, we'd ski some more. NO ONE RESPONDED. I called Emma and she said to just come to the patrol hut. I don't know why no one was texting us, because apparently that call blew our cover! Anyway... Sarah and I popped off our skis, walked onto the back porch, and found Andrew on his knee!! I gasped and dragged Sarah around the corner with me. It was so sweet. And it was snowing again! Tears flowed and then eventually we all cheered and celebrated. I was in charge of photos, Emma put sashes and the works on them, it was lovely! There was also a random man there? Turns out he was Emmas... connection! How fun!
After some standing around, Andrew firmly requested that we ski because that poor boy had some stress to release! My only demand was that we ski sweetheart, since it's LOVE. We got a few more pictures of them at the trail sign, and had a lovely lap.
Runs 16-18
Run 16: Jet Triple - Montrealer - Taxi - Queen's Highway
[1.68 mi; 7:14; 1,355 ft; 24.4 mph max; 13.9 mph avg]
Run 17: Flyer Express Quad - Poma Line - Ullr's Dream - Kokomo
[1.75 mi; 8:20; 1,631 ft; 26.5 mph max; 12.6 mph avg]
Run 18: Metro Quad - Perry Merril Ave - Chalet Meadows
[0.57 mi; 3:13; 358 ft; 23.8 mph max; 10.6 mph avg]
Sarah and I had The Connection ride the Jet up with us, which was just fun for chit-chats. Emma, Patrol Sarah, and The Connection all went back to Stateside to wrap up their skiing, but Sarah, Linnea, Andrew, and I followed Taxi to Queen's Highway, because I was still hellbent on skiing Poma! Back on the Flyer, we ooo'd and ahh'd at the engagement while the precipitation precipitated on us (truly a little bit of everything). Poma was not as bad as the Patrollers had made it sound. It was narrow with bumps, but it was more of a chute than a narrow bump run at this point. I did not ski it well, but I skied it! The rest of Ullr's and Kokomo was lovely, and I got some adorable photos of Linnea and Andrew holding hands on the runout.
At this point, though, we were SOAKED. Especially my gloves, and pants, and jacket. Fun was waining on my end, which was disappointing, because my body felt good! I called my two more skip the last as we took the Metro over to Perry Merril and Chalet Meadows. Sarah and the Fiancees got another lap in after me, and then we all changed and met Linnea and Andrew's parents in the Bullwheel to celebrate!
The celebration lasted a few hours, the RA came to say hello, and we really had a lovely time just hanging out and gawking over the ring. Eventually, the parents left, and then the happy couple after. Emma's Dad joined us for a bit, and truly the funniest moment of the day happened soon after. Patrol Sarah leaned over to me and loudly said "Oh by the way, if Emma and [REDACTED] keep doing what they're doing, you're welcome to stay with me in my guest room!" I did not react, Emma yelled "THANKS. SARAH." Emma's Dad covered his ears and then went to get a beer. It was EXCELLENT.
Around 6:00pm it was time to go, as I was HUNGRY. Sarah and I left around the same time, and we thought the Patrollers had left soon after. Sarah and I had a full hour and a half at Emma's house alone before the rest showed up (including The Connection) - which was not happy about only because there was no communication and I was sure they were lost in a ditch somewhere. We watched "Hot Dog... The Movie" again and went to bed soon after. Minus that last snaffu, it was SUCH a wonderful day!
A quick epilogue - Emma's Dad called her the next day and said "Do you have some news to share with me?" to which Emma told him about her recent ADHD diagnosis. He essentailly said "Okay great but do you have anything ELSE to share with me?" to which she firmly said "NOPE." How fun!
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