Skiing Jay Peak
Saturday, February 7th, 2026
Runs: 22
Distance: 18.34 miles
Elevation: 21,224 feet
Max Speed: 29.8 mph
Avg. Speed: 10.8 mph
Moving Time: 1 hour, 58 minutes, 40 seconds
Total Time: 7 hours, 33 minutes, 9 seconds
WE'RE BACK! I was really excited to get back to Jay Peak after my Maine trip. I was feeling way more confident in my skills (and areas for growth) and was, for the first time, feeling excited to hit the new trails instead of scared! I usually don't see Emma and Sarah that much on patrol days, but I was hoping to get at least one run in with them - we'll see how that goes! We were up nice and early for patrol O'Clock. Sarah was going to drive with her fancy new car (and new snow tires), and thank goodness she did! The snow was not well plowed at all, especially in the beginning of the drive. We did make it to the mountain with only one bad fishtail. Emma left her passes at home, so Sarah got to be my sugar daddy for the day (I am eternally grateful for the patrol passes and will be getting them both end-of-season gifts for letting me ski for free). I got my pass, went up to the Bullwheel/lodge, and slowly got suited up for the day. I was hoping to get on the Tram, but with the recent snowfall, I wasn't expecting any luck.
Snow Report
SATURADY FEBRUARY 21 AT 7:20AM
All-Time Saturday Setup
We're planning to spin all 9 lifts on time this morning on weekend hours: lower mountain lifts 8:00a-4:00p an upper mountain lifts 8:30a-4:00p. If there's a mechanical, wind, or snow-related delay, you'll see updates here first.
5" to 6" of fresh snow fell overnight, snapping a 3-day streak of sunshine in the best possible way. It came down heavy early last evening, then kept at it through the night, stacking into a deep fresh blanket of medium-density February goodness. The kind that floats but still has a little backbone under your skis and powder planks. Fresh snow, calm winds, wall-to-wall coverage. This one has all-time weekend powder day written all over it.
That pushes the season total to 348", a pretty substantial number with more than two months still to go.
We're looking at a high around 26F at the base and 19F at the summit, with minimal wind and essentially 100 percent open terrain. It's still snowing lightly as of this report, but flakes should taper this morning, clouds should gradually thin, and we may even sneak in a little sunshine for good measure.
Tomorrow looks like another beauty. No new snow expected, but sunshine, a high near 31F, and plenty of leftover goodness will keep both groomers and glades feeling fresh and fun.
You can't ski and party if you don't ski and party, so our apres music scene turns up at the Bullwheel from 4-7 with the ripping guitar and wailing vocals of local favorites Seth Yacavone and his Blues Trio. On Tramside, catch Sneaky Pete Downing playing all the favorites at Tower Bar from 4-7. And Nate Michaud brings his solo guitar virtuosity to Sis Boom Burgers from 5-8.
Weekend warriors, this is your Saturday. Enjoy it.
Runs 1-4
Run 1: Taxi Quad - Queen's Highway
[0.70 mi; 2:21; 554 ft; 28.0 mph max; 17.9 mph avg]
Run 2: Metro Quad - Perry Merril Ave - Raccoon Run
[0.79 mi; 2:39; 571 ft; 27.9 mph max; 17.9 mph avg]
Run 3: Village Chair - Chalet Meadows
[0.21 mi; 1:20; 121 ft; 18.3 mph max; 9.4 mph avg]
Run 4: Taxi Quad - Kangaroo Trail
[0.46 mi; 1:41; 374 ft; 26.9 mph max; 16.6 mph avg]
My first run was a classic Taxi to Queen's Highway right after 8:00am. I gasped at how crowded Tramside base was! The line for the Tram was already backed up to Alice's and even The Flyer had a huge crowd. The Metro was delayed (apparently it was a patroller's fault HAHA), but thankfully at that hour the single's line was empty, so I scooted on there and it opened soon after.
Run #2 was down Perry Merril to Raccoon - I had to accept that I was unlikely to hit any PR's today due to the slower, fresh snow. I took the Village Chair to Chalet Meadows for Run #3, and then Taxi to Kangaroo to the Bonnie for Run #4. Even though there were people, it was a nice, calm start the morning!
Runs 5-9
Run 5: Bonaventure Quad - Northway - Upper Milk Run - Taxi - Lower Milk Run - Paradise Meadows
[1.28 mi; 6:20; 1,480 ft; 26.9 mph max; 12.1 mph avg]
Run 6: Jet Triple - Haynes - Mont l'Entrepide
[0.75 mi; 4:49; 1,257 ft; 23.8 mph max; 9.3 mph avg]
Run 7: Jet Triple - The Jet - Heaven's Road - Sweetheart - Stateside Glade - Lower Jet
[0.86 mi; 5:48; 1,250 ft; 22.6 mph max; 8.9 mph avg]
Run 8: Jet Triple - Kitzbuehel - Heaven's Road - Sweetheart
[1.00 mi; 7:20; 1,257 ft; 23.1 mph max; 8.2 mph avg]
Run 9: Jet Triple - Montrealer - Catwalk - Northway - Taxi - Micky
[1.25 mi; 6:28; 1,217 ft; 27.6 mph max; 11.6 mph avg]
Now it was time to start getting adventerous. Run #5 brought me up the Bonnie and I was going to scope out something that I heard about... They started grooming Upper Milk Run and redesignated it as a blue! They only groomed the skier's right side, though, and did it before the snow fell, so skiing it was... confusing? I truly wasn't sure what was happening with my lower body. I think a combination of multiple snow surfaces, me not being used to 6" of fresh, heavy snow, and also just not being warmed up. Lower Milk was more of the same, but I skied it moderately better? From there, I followed Paradise Meadows over to The Jet to get some laps over there.
Turns out they moved the single's line from the outside to the inside - I didn't realize until it was way too late (even the lifty was complaining that it was moved). There was NOT a race, so I FINALLY got my full Haynes/Mont l'Entrepide run in! Haynes was spicy, Mont l'Entrepide was... confusing. I wasn't sure I actually knew how to ski at this point in the day.
Run #7 was down The Jet, which was... spicy and confusing. I turned onto Heaven's Road, since I needed the stretch between Stateside Glade and Sweetheart for my map, and then skied part of Sweetheart which was... nice! Okay, I was starting to remember how to ski. I bounced briefly into Stateside Glade just to get some turns in, and then popped out onto the Lower Jet to get back into the single's line. I was feeling... better than before?
Run #8 was a brave one! I took The Jet up and skied Kitzbuehel (the steep side, too!). At this point, I was BACK. I skied it shockingly well, doing basically everything right. I was trailing this couple that did not know what they were doing, calling this a double-black and basically making facts up about the mountain. I turned onto Heaven's Road and skied all of Sweetheart. I texted the patrollers and told them "I AM SO BACK."
Run #9 was up The Jet and down Montrealer, which was approaching spicy, but again, I was back! I noticed extreme new signage at both headwalls saying "STATESIDE BASE ONLY," which I wanted, but I was confused? I skied to Catwalk and then onto Northway (which was spicy). Apparently they're rerouting traffic from Vermonter/Montrealer to alleviate congestion at the Wiggle Fence... I don't think they made the best choice, but that's not my job! I followed Taxi to Micky and did a B- job, which is good for me!
Runs 10-13
Run 10: Bonaventure Quad - Can Am - Lower Can Am - Kangaroo Trail
[1.00 mi; 7:37; 1,440 ft; 28.0 mph max; 7.9 mph avg]
Run 11: Bonaventure Quad - Northway - 601 - Micky
[1.03 mi; 8:24; 1,417 ft; 26.9 mph max; 7.4 mph avg]
Run 12: Bonaventure Quad - Upper River Quai - Goat Run - Queen's Highway - Doe Woods - Chalet Meadows
[1.03 mi; 7:46; 1,476 ft; 23.1 mph max; 8.0 mph avg]
Run 13: Bonaventure Quad - Everglade - Alligator Alley - Green Mountain Boys - North Glade - Deer Run - Ullr's Dream
[1.42 mi; 12:55; 1,608 ft; 25.3 mph max; 6.6 mph avg]
Onto the Bonnie! Run #10 was truly the moment I'd been waiting for - my innaugural trip down Can Am. I wanted to do this one with friends, but they were still busy with patrol and I was riding the high of skiing Kitz well, so here we go! It was daunting at first, the view was stunning, and I did okay! The upper stretch had a few rocks to dodge (I also stayed FAR away from the lift!), the middle stretch was challenging in it's pitch, and the lower stretch was solid! The challenging thing for me with steeper bumps, I think, is that I try to make tight turns, which usually results in me skidding down into the nearest trough, slamming into it. As I get more comfortable linking turns, I'm starting to widen my turn radius on larger bumps, and when I turn like that it seems to go and feel better! Lower Can Am was just soft and fun, and I followed Kangaroo Trail back to the Bonnie.
Run #11 was for the next on my list - 601. 601 was a bit more challenging than Can Am due to the double fall line and having more exposed rocks. The trail was also more narrow, so if and when there were people around it got a little awkward. I wouldn't say I loved this trail, but it felt good to ski it! Similarly to my run down Can Am, when I allowed myself to take wider turns (and keep weight forward, shoulders down the fall line, blah blah blah), I felt much stronger and in better control. It was also satisfying to connect 601 to Micky and ski the full line!
Run #12 was the final trail I had on my list for the day, and it lined up so my favorite patrollers could join me! I got off the Bonnie and waited by the Vertigo sign for around five minutes as Emma and Sarah wrapped up their sit. They joined me, and we got to Upper River Quai! There's apparently two entrances and no sign for either - one that cuts to the Tram tower and one that skis down Can Am and cuts in on the left. I wanted the FULL experience, so Tram tower it was! This trail felt basically like a love child between Can Am and 601. Double fall line, big bumps, super steep, some rocks, etc. I think it was the most challenging of the three, too. I took one nice fall that landed me upside down - thankfully the snow was soft. I think I fell because of the tight turn issue mentioned before. Anyway, I got back up, and we finished it up - I was SUPER excited to color these in on my map! I wanted to connect to Lower River Quai and basically ski the rest of the Tram line, but Tramside was still a nightmare and team Patrol wanted to hit Doe Woods - so we wiggled over that way and had a wonderful time.
We had a quick intermission in the patrol room for a bathroom break and then back to the Bonnie! Emma and Sarah had been wanting to take me into North Glade for a while now, and I was still running the confidence high from Saddleback, so I was truly down for anything (sans the chutes up top). We skated over from the Bonnie to the entrance to Everglade, which was tight and steep but truly not an issue. We then skied along Alligator Alley to Green Mountain Boys (which was in BAD shape). The entrance to North Glade was on the left of Green Mountain Boys, and it was a DREAM. Similarly spaced trees as Stateside Glade, but a little bit steeper. The snow was an absolute dream, and we giggled the whole way down. This might be my new favorite glade, upstaging Stateside! We popped out onto the beloved Deer Run and finished out on Ullr's. We did a quick bathroom and caffeine stop at Tramside and then started a series of a few silly runs.
Runs 14-17
Run 14: Tramside Carpet - Interstate
Run 15: Metro Quad - Perry Merril Ave - Grammy Jay
[0.85 mi; 2:47; 502 ft; 29.8 mph max; 18.2 mph avg]
Run 16: Village Chair - Chalet Meadows
[0.21 mi; 1:00; 138 ft; 19.5 mph max; 12.6 mph avg]
Run 17: Stateside Carpet - Chalet Meadows
Emma and Sarah (and I, lets be real) always love to hit every lift for the bit, so our next few runs were aimed at that goal (realizing now that I forgot the Flyer existed. The Tram doesn't exit in my mind). Run #14 was up the Tramside Carpet with our caffeines and down Interstate. Run #15 was up the Metro and down Perry Merril and the Grammy Jay (Emma and I essentially went for the Chinese Downhill from Hot Dog... The Movie - she won). Run #16 was up the Village Chair and down Chalet Meadows, and Run #17 was up the Stateside Carpet (I learned to not have your poles on the carpet proper, becuase you can accidentally stop the carpet when you get off... oops!) and down Chalet Meadows to the lodge. Emma and Sarah needed to get a run in on the Taxi, but I did not need that again so I went inside to use the bathroom.
Runs 18-19
Run 18: Bonaventure Quad - Northway - Canyonland - Taxi - Lower Can Am - Queen's Highway - Doe Woods - Chalet Meadows
[1.14 mi; 10:31; 1,414 ft; 22.3 mph max; 6.5 mph avg]
Run 19: Bonaventure Quad - Northway - Hell's Woods - Sweetheart - Stateside Glade - Sweetheart
[1.32 mi; 9:15; 1,440 ft; 21.0 mph max; 8.6 mph avg]
Once reunited, we got back in line for the Bonnie (I was equally grateful and proud of them for waiting in the peasant lines with me all afternoon). I had never skied Canyonland before, so that's where we were off to! Sarah mentioned this one area in the glade called the "Bowling Alley," so that was the goal. Northway was full of carnage, so we were happy to dip off onto 601 and then Canyonland. We traversed over for a while (she said people usually dip in further down off of Northway to get this line), until we made it. It was a fun natural mini-half pipe near Upper Milk Run (RIP). The rest of the woods were steep and fun - just a little busier than North Glade. Afterwards we made our way over to Doe Woods again.
Run #19 was our final run on the Bonnie, as they had to get ready for sweep. We skied all of Northway, which was either matte ice or bumps (unpleasant). We thought we'd continue to Hell's Crossing, but with the new funneling from Montrealer, this usually quiet area was BUSY (and the snow was even more unpleasant). We decided to dip into Hell's Woods instead, which was very pleasant! From there we skied Sweetheart (pleasant), cut into Stateside Glade (wonderful), and finished up on Sweetheart (a dream) to get in line for The Jet.
Run 20-22
Run 20: Jet Triple - Hotshot Derick - Willard - Mont l'Entrepide
[0.79 mi; 5:12; 1,243 ft; 28.9 mph max; 9.1 mph avg]
Run 21: Jet Triple - U.N.
[0.80 mi; 6:56; 1,250 ft; 26.7 mph max; 6.9 mph avg]
Run 22: Jet Triple - Montrealer - Catwalk - Northway - Taxi - Lower Can Am - Queen's Highway - Doe Woods - Chalet Meadows
[1.45 mi; 7:30; 1,207 ft; 21.5 mph max; 11.6 mph avg]
We rode The Jet up and team patrol went into the top shack to wait for their sweep. They noticed many skis outside the shack, including a set of rentals, and were displeased. Apparently a patroller had family/friends up for a birthday party? Emma and Sarah offered for me to join them on sweep, I decided I'd ski a bit more and then decide. Run #20 was a solo lap down Derick, which was... awful? I was surprised, but apparently they'd been grooming Derick this season, and I could tell. I would hit a bump, turn, and then skid 20 feet to the next bump. Unpleasant! The upper bit of Willard was no better, so I cut across to Mont l'Entrepide to finish out, which was much nicer.
Run #21 was down U.N. The snow was in significantly better shape with just a few hard patches. I also wanted to redeem myself after my last U.N. jaunt - which I mostly did minus one fall! I was thinking about sweeping with them, but then I rememebered how awful the groomers were and opted against it.
My final run du jour was down Montrealer (unpleasant) to Catwalk and Northway (downright bad - folks were down on the sides missing equipment, some were hiking down, it was rough). Then I fought for my life to get down Taxi to Lower Can Am to Queen's Highway, finally ending in the wonderful Doe Woods.
Back at the Bullwheel, the carnage continued. It was PACKED. Also there were kids scaling the cubbies? One kid was litterally on my pizza box. Crazy. I grabbed my stuff and scurried to the back stairs (cut off the band, sorry!) and did my chores downstairs in the cafeteria level. Thankfully I brought my own cider.
I met Emma and Sarah around 4:40pm - they told me all about the crazy birthday party. We then drove over to the Belfry for dinner, which was just wonderful. Our waitress adored us (of course), and Patroller Kim joined us. Sarah and I did get a little silly, and Emma was kind enough to drive Sarah's car home. We didn't stay up too late afterwards, because we were going to Burke in the morning!
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