bwt3650

Yeah, it gets buried. We plan on spending a good chunk of this winter up there so I definitely expect some f-u comments once winter really gets going. 1500’ was the magic number a couple of times last year for some big events.

The cam at my place at jay has nothing at around 1900 ft. Based on their pics, I would guess the line was around 2500-2800 ft there.

Best time of year when references to the picnic tables start showing up in posts.

All good points..I was also thinking about the pass holders who won’t be able to do the day trip or overnights too. As it stands right now, even many border counties with vt are under the quarantine rules, as well as that big chunk of pass holders who are people that drive a couple hours, ski and come back. Demand though, is definitely there.

The vt quarantine is the real wildcard for the season. The question is do people follow it? I think a lot of people are going with the idea that it will change by ski season and buying passes and booking stuff. If it doesn’t, you are eliminating a giant pool of skiers, many who might be looking to take advantage of the refunds once they realize it might not be changing. Like pf said, I think many will just day trip it anyway since there really isn’t an enforcement mechanism; and maybe Vermont knows that. As it stands now though, I think the resorts, and all the small restaurants and businesses will be crushed if they don’t change it. They can’t survive without those major market skiers.

Some trees really starting to look bare today..next stop, snowmaking in about 4 weeks.

Jay is giving me two free lift tickets for saddleback this year. I def have to get up there and check it out. You guys speak so highly of that place.

Yep; very true. I was surprised that last weekend, there was stuff going on almost non-stop in the ice haus. Don’t know if it was camps or what, but a surprising amount of teams and people in and out. Those tournaments are big business tho. Ive heard pass sales are actually up over last year, but I don’t think anyone knows if that will hold because if vt doesn’t loosen restrictions, a lot of those sales will turn into refunds. I think epic pass sales are booming too. There is clearly demand.

Jay’s reopening plan..no reservations and they are selling day tickets at the window. Much of the resort will be business as usual, with capacity restrictions of course. They are clearly anticipating the border staying closed and losing all the Canadian traffic but should be an amazing ski experience for us here. Taking the dog out at 5am with temps in the 30s the other morning has me ready. https://jaypeakresort.com/resort/blog-updates/202021-jay-peak-resort-anticipated-operating-plan

Wont be long until it all turns white.

Stop up this winter...I agree 100 percent. The glades on team side sometimes hold powder for a week. Imagine fifty percent less traffic and the tram only dumping 25 percent of that total up top because of capacity restrictions. All of northern Vermont could really be special for locals and people staying up there. We were planning on renting out our place a bit more, but probably will just rent the holidays and a weekend here or there and just stay most of the winter. My wife was told she would be remote “well into 2020” so it’s a lot easier. Could be epic if the winter cooperates. That border closing is tough; The skiing part of me is looking forward to what could be, but the other part hopes it opens because jay really depends on it and I worry about the impact on the jobs and the resort. It looked like they were starting to turn the corner from all the EB-5 bullshit and Steve Wright seemed like he was doing a good job running it and then covid changes everything. My hope is that there are no outbreaks and shutdowns and the resorts are pleasantly surprised by demand from New England skiing the East more instead of the week long trips out west. On a winter note, what winter patterns do you do best in your up there since upslope is the bread and butter and it’s less about synoptic.

Spending a good deal of the winter up at jay; there’s three of us!

Was listening to gov. Scott’s press conference today and he was asked about the lodging and hospitality industry. In response, he said (and I’m paraphrasing) that after they handle the school issues the next couple weeks, they would focus on assisting those industries both financially and looking at easing restrictions. Reading between the lines, great news for helping out the ski industry that has been pummeled and some hope for out of staters looking at the ski season; maybe a more manageable and fair quarantine system is coming?

That’s the one..crazy windy at first chair and I think the only thing running was the triple..I went by the four runner at about 11 and the chairs were off and thought there was no way it was opening..came out after lunch and couldn’t believe it was running. Virtually untouched for a few runs and just sick skiing. 2nd place was right around Valentine’s Day at jay..the glades off the freezer were deep as hell.

Moving on from the deep complexities of mean people, how about some lighter discussion...favorite run of last season? As soon as I saw this thread open, I immediately thought of that late feb dumping at Stowe/jay and how a run down starr was probably top five in my life...disappointing season; but it had its moments!

I’m from jersey, which is even worse than a masshole. We spend a good deal of time at jay in the winter and this year, with my wife and kids able to work and do school remotely, we plan on being up there 75 percent of the winter. Never realLt had anyone in that area give us a hard time besides some ball busting. I don’t take it personally, and quite frankly, Jersey does have a disproportional amount of a-holes so I get it. If someone wants to get off giving us a hard time or judging us as “tourists” have at it. I think that most people (not all) that you talk to and have a conversation with and don’t get immediately offended by, you realize you are really good people. I just want to ski, chill and drink some beer, no matter what your beliefs or political affiliation is. I do agree that preventing us from using our home without quarantine is not right, as im not sure there is a way to quantitatively judge someone’s risk factor just by state, but I’ll play along. and yes, I think the less Facebook, the better. I’ve never posted anything besides pictures of my wife or kids and don’t ever touch anything in the news, political or covid related. Nothing good comes of it.

That’s reassuring to hear and seems like a common sense move. I think they will all blast the mountains to get open, it’s the refreshing of the usual high traffic areas when they get icy that may get cut back; but this is nothing more than thinking out loud. The early commitment on snowmaking from sugarbush is a solid move tho. The jays and Stowe’s of the world should be safe bets with the upslope machine that in a normal year gives you that 3-6 every few days go keep things fresh. It’s places like a hunter for example that need to blow a ton of snow all season for those thaw/freeze days that I wonder if they will cut back..but it’s vail, so I guess they can afford it better than most. on another topic, I wonder if there is any plan for the tram at jay? Probably the least social distanced place in all of Vermont.

Yeah, I can see limiting day sales. Season pass def the way to go this season, as always. Day passes are the higher margin sale tho, so will they be able to operate fully losing that $100 plus dollar a day sale and the food and bev sales? I’m confident that those of us who ski 20-30 times a year on a pass are going to get some time in but losing those family day trips has got to hurt. And with losing all that money, where do the cuts start? less Snowmaking, less grooming or cutting terrain, cutting patrol or lifts? Be nice to get off to a quick start so there less reliance on pounding the snow guns. Your’re right tho, I don’t think anyone has more than a guess at this.

Stealing dr. Fauci’s favorite line, I am “cautiously optimistic” about the ski season. Yes, lodges and bars will be pretty much non-existant and those who ski once a year on a Saturday in jan will have a hard time, but for those of us who like to hit it on a Mid-week morning, I think it’s going to work. I saw an interview with killington’s gm and I thought he said pass sales were actually beating their expectations by a good deal. My worry is the resorts which rely on that packed Saturday in Jan or Presidents’ Day crowd to make it through the year. The smaller, local mountains will need people to make an effort to visit this year more than ever. Either way, enjoy this time of year as the excitement builds toward the first cold snap, first flakes and hopefully, snow making by october.

May be the last day of snow on superstar for the disappointing 19-20 season..Hopefully, 20-21 finds a way to work out.

Looks like some upslope action on the nam for Friday night in the northern greens.. Maybe the weekend at Stowe and jay could be saved if we get a 6-12 hour window of some decent upslope snows on top of the glacier that looks likely. Anyone have any thoughts?

I noticed that too. Never been to whiteface, but the thought had crossed my mind to ski them this week and was surprised they were closed when I checked the report yesterday. I know when they open its only for like a day or two under perfect conditions, but thought maybe this would have done it...Maybe with the warmer winter the falls aren't completely frozen over..Anyone know the when the last time they were open? The go-pros I've seen of that terrain looks sick.

I saw the chairs were off the quad at around 11 and thought there was no way they would open it. Went out after lunch and got some of the first runs in... You are not exaggerating!! Maybe ski patrol and people who work at a resort see that sometimes but for the average skier, it was unbelievable...From the four runner on the way up, it sounded like people were having orgasms in the woods...Best skiing in along time. The top of Starr and Hayride were just sick.

By far, best day of the year at Stowe. Lines were long in the morning but after lunch the four runner went on line and it was incredible out there. Literally, powder up to my knees on Starr. It is a great weekend to get out there in nne. The snow is that good right now.

Was at hunter today for a few hours before heading up to Stowe for the weekend..it was bulletproof, un-skiable ice...some of the worst conditions I’ve seen this year. They had tons of guns blowing but wasn’t really helping yet. Must be killing them to blow so much so late in the season but they really have no choice..it was that bad. Stowe on the other hand should be awesome in the morning.