As the title says I'm going to Jay Peak for the first time. I'll be staying there for three days so no rush to do everything in one day. What would the regulars there recommend and what to stay away from? I don't plan on visiting any parks since I'm nursing a twisted ankle and I never done any glades since they don't have any runs like that where I live but I do want to try them. I'm an intermediate rider and plan on bringing two (maybe three boards with me) to cover the different things there. Pity the lifts close at 4pm and from what I've been reading there no night life there, is it worth driving into Canada to do something to kill time in the evenings?
Going to Jay's Peak for the first time
Simon Birch
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That's a lot of why I loved Sutton…small town, beautiful women speaking in French. Then driving down to Jay Peak with beautiful women snowboarding speaking French. Heaven!
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I would say that the stateside runs will be best for you. Go through some of the easier tree runs like. Full moon, half moon, bushwacker (i think it's called that)
If you are going to be on the tram side, try taking Uller's and go through a glade near the half way point of the trail.
For some odd reason I like the runs on state side more than compared to tram side.
Night life? What night life? It's a joke.
If you are going to be on the tram side, try taking Uller's and go through a glade near the half way point of the trail.
For some odd reason I like the runs on state side more than compared to tram side.
Night life? What night life? It's a joke.
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Uller's Dream to Kokomo is fun, but Kokomo isn't much of a glade compared to the new ones, Bushwacker and Half Moon. Kokomo is fun, but pretty wide open for a "glade." More like trails through trees. Bushwacker and Half Moon are more tight tree runs (tight being a relative term…they're blue-rated "glades") where you can pick dozens of different ways through the trees. Plus, Uller's is a LONG run from the top…it's fun, but also really popular so you'll get lots of scraped off spots on the turns.
Can't argue about "night life," although they do have a couple of new bars at Jay. You can hang out at the main bar/restaurant, or belt down a few PBR's and play in the watermark. Otherwise, Troy Vermont is a wasteland.
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Thanks for all the information everyone, a lot of good ideas and recommendations. I guess I'll see what I can do for my level when I actually see some of the glades and runs there. :laugh:
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Rain hit here at Jay Peak last night, wind was huge had to be 40-50 MPH. Now at 6:55AM it's lightly snowing. First lift is at 8:30, with upper Mountain lifts at 9AM hope with the wind conditions will still be great. Last three days here just rocked. You will love Jay,
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never been to windham.. but the blacks at jay were significantly harder than the blacks at mt snow if youve ever been there. if shes newer id keep her away from the jet triple chair lift side.
i believe that was the harder side of the mountain.
im sure someone will correct me if my memory is mistaken.
of course when i went the fog was so heavy you couldnt see 10 ft in front of you and a heavy winter storm came on the second day.
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What Tony said, and then some. The Jet side of the mountain is all blacks, except for one blue down the ridge for those who chicken out. Jay is a little odd in that they believe "expert" means "expert" so they don't label the double black trails. There are older trail maps where Jay Peak used to list several of the trails on Stateside as double blacks, but they stopped doing that, so you can get into some pretty serious stuff without realizing it. It keep your friend to the blacks over on the other side, off of Northway or Alligator Ally (JFK, etc). They're relatively short and there are places to bale if she can't handle it. Also lots of trees. Lots of trees.
Yea, I definitely don't wanna take her to that side. You should've seen her face when we went to Whistler. She was like, "How many freaking lifts did we just take to get to the top?!"
So there's no marked double diamonds on the mountain at all? Kinda makes me nervous now...lol So don't bother with the tram for northway or vermonter to take the blue down? Will it be too tough for her? Any lifts to just avoid?
Looking forward to getting into the trees.
So there's no marked double diamonds on the mountain at all? Kinda makes me nervous now...lol So don't bother with the tram for northway or vermonter to take the blue down? Will it be too tough for her? Any lifts to just avoid?
Looking forward to getting into the trees.
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Yea, I definitely don't wanna take her to that side. You should've seen her face when we went to Whistler. She was like, "How many freaking lifts did we just take to get to the top?!"
So there's no marked double diamonds on the mountain at all? Kinda makes me nervous now...lol So don't bother with the tram for northway or vermonter to take the blue down? Will it be too tough for her? Any lifts to just avoid?
Looking forward to getting into the trees.
we just told you avoid the jet triple chairlift and that entire side of the mountain. the tram is fine provided you take the right trails down. but to be honest youre better off just taking the flyer if its open. youll see when you get there
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There aren't too many choices. The Flyer goes up to just below the Tram. The Tram is worth taking for the experience, but not worth the wait times. This time of year it will usually only be The Vermonter trail which is open anyway (I've never been there when the top of Northway has been open). It can be intimidating for a newcomer. You're at the top of the world, and it feels like it. Very narrow staging area along a mountaintop ridge. The Vermonter is pretty narrow with steep drops off either side, and you'll have sixty people all starting out at once. The first time I went I just waited until most everyone else had gone before I took off. Check out the map…the Tram is a fun experience, but it doesn't serve any blue terrain except The Vermonter (and the usually-closed upper Northway, or the Face Chutes, but you won't be doing those, trust me). Might as well stay on The Flyer, or ride over to Bonaventure on Stateside. The Metro only goes about 1/3 of the way up.Yea, I definitely don't wanna take her to that side. You should've seen her face when we went to Whistler. She was like, "How many freaking lifts did we just take to get to the top?!"
So there's no marked double diamonds on the mountain at all? Kinda makes me nervous now...lol So don't bother with the tram for northway or vermonter to take the blue down? Will it be too tough for her? Any lifts to just avoid?
Looking forward to getting into the trees.
As for glades, Kokomo is by far the easiest. Pretty wide open. The new glades, Bushwacker and Half Moon are also rated Blue, but they're a lot tighter, more traditional tree runs. They'd probably be rated black at most other mountains, but they're pretty easy. My wife did Bushwacker and made it through fine, and she's a pretty tame skier. But she wouldn't go back and try Half Moon. The tree runs marked black are definitely more tight and steep.
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Ready to head back to Jay Peak today. Hope the weather holds up….
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Moon (Half moon), Bush Wacker, and Kokomo glades pretty much have a groomed trail running through them. You can pop in and out at your leisure for more fun. Buck Woods (listed as Black) and Quarter moon are nice intermediate glades, which are fun to pop into if you are coming back from State side to Tram side off of taxi.
The Tram is a lot of fun, I highly recommend it. It's too bad the Jay Peak meet threads are long gone because there was a ton of info, pics, and videos of Jay.
The Tram is a lot of fun, I highly recommend it. It's too bad the Jay Peak meet threads are long gone because there was a ton of info, pics, and videos of Jay.
How was it?
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great mountain man, gooo, with great snow coverage, we stayed thee for 3 days too but the second day too much wind, gondola was closed and 3rd day it was open after 2. but nevertheless great place
lol are you sure? it was full with kids,
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Groomed runs still fast. Flyer express was not running. So I hit state side. The Jet slope was holding up & still firm, Derrick Hot Shot was chopped up but fast as hell, tree runs and moguls are just spring perfect, no ice no slush just soft enough to enjoy. Looking forward to the next 9 days here to finish my season.
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Dude, if you're there for nine days, head up to Sutton, Quebec (got a passport?). Great tree runs, serious steeps, very different terrain than anything you'll find in Vermont. And hot French girls.
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Thanks, no passport, will keep that in mind for another year. Got a season pass here at Jay Peak,
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I had a great three day run out there, Jay Peak is way better than anything we have down here in VA. Couldn't beat the price either, we got lift tickets that came with the condo we stayed in. The advice I received on this thread helped a lot and saved me a lot of time so thanks again everyone.
Driving back I passed Cannon Mountain which looked interesting, might have to check that place out next winter when I visit family again in New England.
Driving back I passed Cannon Mountain which looked interesting, might have to check that place out next winter when I visit family again in New England.
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Cannon is a lot of fun, and since it's out if the way, not too crowded. Those steeps you see from the highway, running down to the lake, are great. I've only been once, just about a month ago, and really liked the variety of terrain and old school vibe. And it's a lot bigger than it looks.
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