Big Jay on Leap Day
02.29.04 - Leap Day 2004 began as an unassuming day at the mountain. Slightly overcast skies, a brisk wind, and a small crew made its departure around 9am, totally unaware that the events of the day would throw quite a wrench into the coming weeks. After hiking the Mirror the previous day, mainly for a last check of our equipment for the upcoming Camp Peggy OŐBrien Hut Tour, we were pleasantly surprised with a bit of the fresh stuff. The last snow had fallen nearly a week prior to the hike, so needless to say we were delighted. With this in mind, we decided that a trip up Big Jay might deliver similar conditions. After a brief fuel stop and car drop at the Big Jay "lot", we were ready to party. At 10AM, we joined forces with another group of four and began the trip.
With the Tram Line out the door, and around the corner, we opted for the slightly more challenging hike from the Freezer. As we approached the trail to the "trail less" peak, the sun began to burn through the clouds presenting a fantastic day to our party of eight. The hike was, as expected, very packed, but under the now blazing sun, the going was slow as we shed layers and readjusted our equipment. Summiting in under an hour, we took some time to catch our breath and discuss the plan of attack.
After my last trip to Big Jay a few weeks ago, and by observing the various lines from the ridge as we hiked in, I had anticipated skied out conditions. At first, it seemed I was correct. As our party split into two, one to the right and one to the left of the main chutes, we were both treated to a surprise. As one chute closed and another opened, I began to flow skiers left and stumbled upon a totally untracked yet slightly mushy chute, and then another. As we came closer to the valley floor, the snow became much heavier and as sticky as any I have seen this year.
On the traverse out, I began to wonder what the probability of snow in the High Peaks over the next week would be. It sure seemed like an awful lot of work to get 4 miles out in the wilderness to ski and ride on mush. As I picked, poked, and crosschecked my way down to 242 I started to entertain other options. When we returned home, the weather channel confirmed our doubt, not only were more warm temps on the way, but so was some rain, lots of it, followed by a cooling down period. As we drove back to Boston, every possible option was discussed from CO to WA to BC and finally Lake Tahoe. Monday morning tickets purchased, we are on our way. Stay tuned.
~JR
New pics added for Jib Jam compliments of Karen.
Features Archives
Part Two:
Champagne on New Years Eve,
Utah Style
01.27.04 - Now that we had settled into the groove, and slowly began coming to grips with our powder situation: 17” at Park City followed by a foot or so at the Canyons in two glorious days, it was time to ring in the New Year, Utah styles. Which turned out to be, well, a minor letdown given the high we were coming off of from the skiing. We cruised Main St in Old Town, Park City, and met up with the drunkards, shared our New Year’s hats with some ladies, and then crashed out after giving a hollah out to our New York City brethren who had just watched the ball drop.
1.20.04 - Snow is an incredibly pleasing component of the winter season. It whitens our Christmas morning, closes school for hopeful youngsters, and opens the doors of a winter sports world that flourishes in its existence. Jay Peak 2003/2004 has taught me something else about snow. It seldom comes alone. There exists an evil so great that even Billy S, the leader of the Northeast Kingdom, has no weapon powerful enough to combat this force. Not a triple, nor a quad (not even a high-speed one), nor the almighty tram, could overcome this great threat to skiing...
Champagne On New Year's Eve - Utah Style
01.12.04 - One of the first indications that we had made the best decision for being in the right place for New YearŐs since the Ő95 MSG show was when we were on Park CityŐs Town lift, heading up the Western side of this classic Utah Ski Resort, and my brother and I looked down beneath our freshly waxed dangling skis and heardÉ nothing. Below us, hotshots floated down the black diamond trail, Widowmaker, kicking up nothing but the purest champagne powder I had ever laid eyes on and they were not making a sound. The snow was too deep!
01.05.04 - The FC staff (equipped with new digital cameras,
wide-angle lenses, printers, snowboards, two-way radios, etc.) charged up to
Jay Peak to ring in the New Year. We had everything from Grandma’s Lasagna
to Theo’s Spanakopita and enough beer to wash down anything in between.
Only one problem: no snow. The warming trend over the last week saw periods of
fog, rain, and freezing rain effectively ruining the mountain for any off-piste
travelers.
Older Archives
12.28.03 - Big Jay
12.27.03 - 6th Chair, 1st Chair, 1st Tram...A Great Day
12.08.03 - Big Monday
12.07.03 - Anticipation
12.05.03 - Opening Day
11.22.03 - 10 Ideas to Kick the Pre-Season Blues
11.01.03 - Tech Tip #1: Pre-Season Tune-Up
10.04.03 - Tenney Mountain Opens – October 4th
09.01.03 - FC Magazine Launches Online Winter Home