Back in the Winter 2018+19 magazine, we attempted something ambitious: putting Jay’s glades into words. All 24 of them.
The Taste of Glades breaks down the basic recipe of woods skiing here: snow, trees and a fall line, followed by several pages proving there’s really nothing basic about it. From the friendlier entrances of Moonwalk Woods and Buckaroo Bonzai to the considerably less polite terrain of Deliverance, Staircase and Tuckerman’s Chute, every patch of woods has its own personality.
The leaves are still hanging on for now, but they’ll be on the ground soon enough. Then we just need to bury them.
Dig into the old Glade Guide while we wait.
Riding or skiing the glades has always involved a low-maintenance recipe of three ingredients: snow, trees and a fall line. Rarely, however, is glade skiing and riding as straightforward as it reads. At Jay, especially, it never is. The concoction for Jay Peak Resort’s open glade policy fluctuates from one zone to the next, but generally requires a complex biome of flora and an expansive maze of twists and turns.
Nevertheless, all of Jay Peak’s 24 glades have a way of tapping the same result across the skill spectrum: a raw, unprocessed and meditative stillness that silences whatever noise rolls through (or around) your head. What you thought was a simple detour away from the crowds quickly becomes a healthy serving of something much headier.
Funny how that works: the lighter it gets, the deeper you go.
Jay Peak exists in its own microcosm, where the nimbostrati (a.k.a., many nimbostratus clouds) drape the mountain in a milky haze for hours, yeah, okay, days, and the wind pushes the snow around like a game of checkers. Ski a glade today, but come back tomorrow when the barometrical game designers have rearranged the board overnight, filling in the empty spaces and gaps with more fluff.
The snow, you see, is always in flux, a constant stimulus for your arbitrary cravings. Whether you seek soft pillows or stiff peaks, it’s your reaction time, emotional state and the uncertainty of getting flogged in the face by a branch that are simultaneously surprising and oddly indulgent.
From a distance, the glades stand as a single, wild hinterland connected at the roots. Close up, its world is divided in two, with hardwoods and softwoods owning either end of the mountain: dense species like yellow birch, sugar maple and American beech start from the base and creep their way uphill, fading into a softer-but-sturdier alpine scrub of balsam firs and red spruces.
Left to its natural state, Jay Peak’s glades would be a tangled and impassable mess. But a 10-year undertaking in the ‘90s opened up the congested forests to another dimension of skiing and riding, acting as a portal to another world. Passages were cut between trees, the hardiest ones left for the health and longevity of the forest, and helped to define the various routes that swirl and intersect down the fall line (some with better visibility than others). Just pick a line and give it a lick. If you don’t like it, you can always swap it out for something different.
New England geology might sculpt the land, but how you interpret it gives your experience its signature style. As the resort policy goes, if you can see it, you can ski it, a loose directive that puts the recipe’s final outcome in your creative hands. Cut right for a silky rhythm between turns, or point it straight for a less-than-straightforward huck of your ol’ meat. The only wrong way to find your flavor is to say you didn’t try at all. Just be sure to clean your plate before you go back for seconds.
Whether your glade experience is as fresh as a sapling or as stout as an old growth, there’s a zone for every level of skier and rider to explore. So when you’re ready to make like a tree and “leave” the corduroy behind, our Glade Guide will help you get there.
Off the Jet Triple chair and running along the boundary of the resort, Timbuktu’s expansive terrain and sustained pitch makes it a perennial favorite among the Raised Jay.
This mild glade has a constant intermediate grade with a short and steep pitch near its end. From there it opens to flatter terrain with some of Jay’s most beautiful woods skiing and riding.
Kitz Woods starts with tight trees at the entrance and opens to a steep, fun-filled run. The glade finishes where Hell’s Crossing meets lower Northway.
One of the locals’ favorite glades, Hell’s Woods can be tricky to enter, but it’s well worth the trouble. Once you’re in, it opens up and mellows out. The short but expansive ride requires repeat runs to explore the entire glade.
Considered heaven to Viking warriors, this powdery steep glade is many locals’ favorite. With its steep, deep and tight terrain you’ll feel like you entered heaven on this run. Valhalla begins with a series of steep chutes that open up and offer some high level glade skiing and riding.
Jay’s most extreme run, the Face, commands respect from those who attempt it. It’s often at the top of many skiers’ and riders’ checklist after a snowstorm. If you can handle it, you’ll be out of breath at the bottom and telling your friends about this one for days.
Recommended only for the most expert of skiers and riders, Tuckerman’s is a short and thrilling ride, and is called a chute for a reason. Tight turns on steep terrain is what you’ll find here. Save this one for when both your legs and the snow are fresh.
A long glade with a challengingly playful mix of terrain, Canyonland takes its name from the large gullies that form natural halfpipes throughout the trail.
Known as “Bonnie Glade” to the locals, it offers small, uniform moguls with a beautiful consistent pitch and comfortable, open trees. Folks of all abilities love this glade.
Similar to Bonnie Glade, but with a steeper pitch, Show-Off Glade challenges skiers and boarders. Be sure you’re making your best turns; you’ve got an audience overhead.
Ranked among the most difficult of Jay’s glades, Deliverance doesn’t disappoint. With three steep chutes making up the entrance, the open lines will be a welcome sight in the bottom half of this challenging glade.
This exciting glade is accessed from the top of Can Am via two possible entrances. Beginning with a single chute, it quickly splits into four steep fingers. Vertigo is off the beaten path and therefore often overlooked, but this is one of the most challenging glades at the resort.
A moderately mellow glade with an open feel to the trees, this is a great lower mountain glade for many levels of skiers and riders.
This often-overlooked glade seems steep from its entrance, but it mellows out after the first four turns. Still, surprises are in store. Keep an eye out for rocks and drops to play on from top to bottom.
Expo Glade is one of Jay’s few glades with a steep, constant pitch. It’s fast and fun, but its open trees make it accessible to skiers and riders of many abilities. And it always seems to deliver great snow.
Hands down one of the most beautiful glade runs at Jay, North Glade is a great run that holds snow for days and days. With its rolling terrain and open feel, many skiers make sure they cross this one off the list day after day.
Staircase consists of three rocky, steep and narrow chutes that eventually flow to an open glade as the pitch levels off, making this one of Jay’s most challenging runs.
Everglade stands out as the longest run on the mountain. This bowl-shaped glade seems to go on forever, starting steep and ending mellow. As your legs get tired, the terrain levels out and trees open up, leaving you with a constant feeling of joy from top to bottom.
A Jay Peak must-ski, Beaver Pond’s entrance can be intimidating, but eventually levels out, opens up, and, most would agree, offers the most beautiful, flowing, scenic lines on the mountain.
Arguably one of the best glades at Jay, André’s is further in from the Beaver Pond entrance. It starts with slightly steep, narrow chutes that open to an expansive glade. The beauty and the terrain is stunning. Eventually these woods lead to a groomed run-out connecting with Ullr’s Dream and Kokomo.
André’s Paradise is the ski area boundary, and venturing past the ropes could get you seriously lost, especially if you hike up the long trail on the way to Black Falls. (If these names are unfamiliar, don’t look for them.)
A fun series of tree islands formed by the groomed trails cutting through the woods, Kokomo serves as a perfect intro for new glade skiers and riders. Plus, it offers a pleasant alternative to the flatter run-out at the bottom of Ullr’s Dream.
Unlike Moonwalk and Bushwacker, this new glade has no groomer path through the middle. The easy mellow pitch of Doe Woods serves as a great place for your first true woods experience.
With the lowest degree of difficulty, Moonwalk is an excellent place to begin exploring the trees. Choose from Full, Half and Quarter Moons; the first being the most difficult, with the second and third progressively easier. This is an adventure for all ages and ability levels.
Bushwacker serves as a wonderful introduction to glade skiing and riding, and its gentle slope offers the option of cruising a groomed trail running throughout the glade or creating your own path in the trees. This glade begins with a fairly steep pitch, then levels off gently on to Ullr’s Dream run-out. Bushwacker is a great warm up before exploring steeper
