Sick Bird Rider
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2020
{Reprinted from the NYSkiBlog Forum Archives} SBR note, Jan. 2023: This was written some time ago, I have added a few updates in italics
Here is a "Jay Beta" letter I have sent to a few first time visitors. I'm sure others will chime in...
Jay can be a confusing place for the first time visitor. Take the JP snow report with a grain of salt. Conditions can be amazing and or it can be cold and icy. [Stateside Lodge is very old-school and mellow, more amenities can be found at the Tramside - that's where the Waterpark is.]* (the old Stateside Lodge has since been torn down and rebuilt, though it is still called Stateside Lodge)
Pro tip #1: be prepared for cold and wind. The Flyer chairlift is not nicknamed The Freezer for nothing. Best lift for avoiding wind is the Jet Chair or second best, the Bonaventure chair, both at Stateside.
#2: wax your boards and sharpen your edges. If there are snowboarders in the crowd let them know that there are some nice runs that end with long flat runouts (eg. Ullr's Dream, JFK) and the Taxi trail from Stateside back to Tramside is not very snowboard-friendly IMHO. No matter how much snow they claim to get, there will always be some hardpack somewhere.
#3: pay attention to turn-offs or you could end up at a different base lodge than you intended to.
#4: take a ride on the Tram if it is sunny and not too windy. The short hike to the summit gives an amazing view. The Vermonter is the best run off the Tram if you are riding groomers. Valhalla is a good (steep) glade off Vermonter. Green Beret is GNAR! Otherwise stick to chairlifts.
SBR's best fast cruiser trail picks:
off the Tram:
Vermonter to Montrealer/Northway then to Stateside lodge by any number of trails. Angel's Wiggle to Lower Milk Run is a fun way to the Stateside lodge off the Northway.
off the Flyer chair:
Northway to Goat (can be icy where it goes under the chair but usually improves after that). If going to Stateside, take the Goat all the way. If going back to Tramside, my faves are Goat/Green Mtn Boys/Racer or Goat/Lower River Kwai/Interstate
Ullr's Dream is a great easy run (with a steep pitch near the top) if freshly groomed and not crowded. It can be the "full-on super G" if conditions are right. Take Kokomo to avoid the final flat stretches of Ullr's.
JFK is one of my favourite runs of all time. I'd call it an easy black diamond. A little hard to find. If you are up for riding in the woods, try JFK then duck into Lower Everglade at the bottom of the pitch (before it turns left and takes you to Ullr's). Lower Everglade is a great glade, mellow pitch, pretty open, good snow.
off the Bonaventure chair:
- good warm-up run is Northway. Great expert run: Can-Am.
- if you want to display your mad park skilz, the 720 park on Lower Can-Am is the BIG one. (check the trail map, new parks have been added)
off the Jet chair:
- Jet, Haines & Derick Hot-Shot. If you ride the Derick, cut over to Haines & Lower Jet to avoid the LONG run-out of the Willard. Easy way down, take the Montrealer.
Good glades to start with:
Lower Everglade; Buckaroo Banzai (off the Goat), Bonaventure Glade, Show-Off Glade; Buck Woods; Expo Glade (Expo is the hardest of this bunch).
More challenging but do-able glades for mere mortals:
Beaver Pond; North Glade (steep but open), Canyonland (long and gets tracked out fast), Timbuktu (don't go too far right or you will be walking back); Hell's Woods (short & steep); Andre's Paradise is probably the best glade at Jay but will be very hard to get to without independent leg action (ie. skis). Kitz Woods and Valhalla are very nice but also steep and tight.
Runs best avoided unless conditions are POWDER:
Upper Milk Run; Powerline; Northwest Passage; Poma Line. (Powerline is now called 601 & Mickey in honour of two long-time patrollers)
Runs to humble yourself on:
Staircase; Upper Everglade: Vertigo; UN (actually great bump runs but endless); Deliverance; Green Beret, Kitzbuehel ("the kitz" is really a great run. it is totally old-school serious black diamond), is never groomed and there is no snowmaking. plus the fall line is totally off kilter. for some reason you never see snowboarders on it).
Apres ski: Go through Montgomery and in one stop you can: visit Don at FirstTrax (have a slice of pizza and spend some $ in his shop), have a local beer and a really good burger at the Snowshoe, buy groceries/booze & Vermont cheese at Sylvester's Market. If you want a really nice meal in a casual setting on the way back, check out The Belfry, on the 242 between Jay and Montgomery.
Above all, have fun.
*Original post predates the huge investment in stateside
Here is a "Jay Beta" letter I have sent to a few first time visitors. I'm sure others will chime in...
Jay can be a confusing place for the first time visitor. Take the JP snow report with a grain of salt. Conditions can be amazing and or it can be cold and icy. [Stateside Lodge is very old-school and mellow, more amenities can be found at the Tramside - that's where the Waterpark is.]* (the old Stateside Lodge has since been torn down and rebuilt, though it is still called Stateside Lodge)
Pro tip #1: be prepared for cold and wind. The Flyer chairlift is not nicknamed The Freezer for nothing. Best lift for avoiding wind is the Jet Chair or second best, the Bonaventure chair, both at Stateside.
#2: wax your boards and sharpen your edges. If there are snowboarders in the crowd let them know that there are some nice runs that end with long flat runouts (eg. Ullr's Dream, JFK) and the Taxi trail from Stateside back to Tramside is not very snowboard-friendly IMHO. No matter how much snow they claim to get, there will always be some hardpack somewhere.
#3: pay attention to turn-offs or you could end up at a different base lodge than you intended to.
#4: take a ride on the Tram if it is sunny and not too windy. The short hike to the summit gives an amazing view. The Vermonter is the best run off the Tram if you are riding groomers. Valhalla is a good (steep) glade off Vermonter. Green Beret is GNAR! Otherwise stick to chairlifts.
SBR's best fast cruiser trail picks:
off the Tram:
Vermonter to Montrealer/Northway then to Stateside lodge by any number of trails. Angel's Wiggle to Lower Milk Run is a fun way to the Stateside lodge off the Northway.
off the Flyer chair:
Northway to Goat (can be icy where it goes under the chair but usually improves after that). If going to Stateside, take the Goat all the way. If going back to Tramside, my faves are Goat/Green Mtn Boys/Racer or Goat/Lower River Kwai/Interstate
Ullr's Dream is a great easy run (with a steep pitch near the top) if freshly groomed and not crowded. It can be the "full-on super G" if conditions are right. Take Kokomo to avoid the final flat stretches of Ullr's.
JFK is one of my favourite runs of all time. I'd call it an easy black diamond. A little hard to find. If you are up for riding in the woods, try JFK then duck into Lower Everglade at the bottom of the pitch (before it turns left and takes you to Ullr's). Lower Everglade is a great glade, mellow pitch, pretty open, good snow.
off the Bonaventure chair:
- good warm-up run is Northway. Great expert run: Can-Am.
- if you want to display your mad park skilz, the 720 park on Lower Can-Am is the BIG one. (check the trail map, new parks have been added)
off the Jet chair:
- Jet, Haines & Derick Hot-Shot. If you ride the Derick, cut over to Haines & Lower Jet to avoid the LONG run-out of the Willard. Easy way down, take the Montrealer.
Good glades to start with:
Lower Everglade; Buckaroo Banzai (off the Goat), Bonaventure Glade, Show-Off Glade; Buck Woods; Expo Glade (Expo is the hardest of this bunch).
More challenging but do-able glades for mere mortals:
Beaver Pond; North Glade (steep but open), Canyonland (long and gets tracked out fast), Timbuktu (don't go too far right or you will be walking back); Hell's Woods (short & steep); Andre's Paradise is probably the best glade at Jay but will be very hard to get to without independent leg action (ie. skis). Kitz Woods and Valhalla are very nice but also steep and tight.
Runs best avoided unless conditions are POWDER:
Upper Milk Run; Powerline; Northwest Passage; Poma Line. (Powerline is now called 601 & Mickey in honour of two long-time patrollers)
Runs to humble yourself on:
Staircase; Upper Everglade: Vertigo; UN (actually great bump runs but endless); Deliverance; Green Beret, Kitzbuehel ("the kitz" is really a great run. it is totally old-school serious black diamond), is never groomed and there is no snowmaking. plus the fall line is totally off kilter. for some reason you never see snowboarders on it).
Apres ski: Go through Montgomery and in one stop you can: visit Don at FirstTrax (have a slice of pizza and spend some $ in his shop), have a local beer and a really good burger at the Snowshoe, buy groceries/booze & Vermont cheese at Sylvester's Market. If you want a really nice meal in a casual setting on the way back, check out The Belfry, on the 242 between Jay and Montgomery.
Above all, have fun.
*Original post predates the huge investment in stateside
Last edited:
