Monday, January 22, 2007

Good Weekend at Jay

I encountered everything at Jay this weekend, cold temps, high wind, cordoroy, hard pack, ice, powder, rocks and grass. When I read the snow report on Monday morning apparently there was something else "windblown hardscrabble". I guess it was there but I am unclear what it is.

We found some good powder in Andre’s Paradise. The highlight of the day was the upper Goat Ice Fields. My young friend and I decided to trade skis. His skis were loose on me, so we decided to ski the Goat and trade back when we got to North Glade. It was about 3:00 pm when we started down the Goat and you could only see about 20 feet in front of you, with frequent white outs because of the high winds. I looked to the right to see my buddy pass me then we hit the ice ( a cross between a hockey rink and an earthquake zone). Usually the “goat power slide” is a way to show off for the chairlift because it is only 30 feet long. This time the slide went from the turn to the chairlift tower. My loose ski ejected and it was a race between me and the loose ski, we both stopped at the feet of my side kick. Needless to say, we traded our skis back.


High wind + snow=Low visibility
(The weather channel said on Saturday that the wind on the top of Mount Washington was 100 mph with a wind chill of -70 F. I do not think Jay was far off.)
Is it hot chocolate time yet?

1 comment:

  1. I think what the snow report is referring to as the "windblown hardscrabble" is most likely the earthquake cracks in the middle of the Goat Icefields which spand for about 100 feet right around the Green Mountain Boys Bend. The Goat Icefields were in great condition this weekend, the ice was as fast as its been in years resulting in a few minor crashes. Thank God, the JPSP kept all the beginner and intermediate skiers on the Goat Run where it was suppose to be hard-packed corduroy. We wouldn't of wanted them to end up in Andres Paradise, where it was marked as being very "Thin cover, with lots of Ice". As I did ski both these runs this week-end, im sure the signs were just mixed up because the only thing I found out in Andres Paradise was a little bit of Northern Vermont FRESHIE

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