Vermont's Jay Peak, Not Open For Season Yet, Dealing With Too Much Of A Good Thing

Jay Peak Resort in northern Vermont posted to social
media this photo of resort crews prepping the slopes
for next week's opening amid heavy snow. People
have already been flocking to the resort, and
some of them have been causing serious
headaches and dangers for the resort. 

The people who run Jay Peak Resort, in far northern Vermont, say they have had - incredibly - nearly   four feet of snowfall in the past two weeks. 

The problem is, the resort is not open for the season yet. They were planning on opening at the very end of the month, around Thanksgiving. But the resort is pushing up the opening date to this coming weekend, given the unexpectedly snowy circumstances.

But the crew up there has to first get everything set up and running to accommodate those skiers. 

Meanwhile, all that fresh natural snow is too tempting to ignore, and people are heading up to the mountain to ski and ride, even thought the lifts aren't operating yet. 

Which leads us to Skiers Behaving Badly. 

In a Facebook post today, Jay Peak Resort General Manager Steve Wright reported that over the weekend, there had been two break-ins at lift shacks, two fires, two groups of lost skiers and "an injury severe enough to wipe out the entire season for someone who thought adding backflips into their early season matrix was a good and swell idea."

People were also ignoring pleas to stick to the Tramside part of the resort so that crews could get the Stateside, where crews were operating winch cables. Skiers and riders were running over the winch cables, which is a BIG no-no.

That's a big danger to the skiers and riders, AND the crews operating them. The Facebook post states: "We care a hell of a lot for the Mountain Ops team, who while grooming/winching /snowmaking in near whiteout conditions, also have to navigate folks ignoring pretty simple requests."

Uphilling and skinning - attaching skins to skis so you can climb uphill and not slide backward - is pretty much a pre-season tradition at ski resorts when there's a ton of snow before the resort opens.

Since lifts aren't open yet, people climb ski slopes, then blast down from the top on the not-officially-open trails 

Some resorts, including Jay, tend to tolerate this as long as uphillers don't get in the way of work crews or otherwise violate rules. Jay Peak refers to a culture of watching out for each other and respecting basic rules of engagement and civility in the sport as having been "Raised Jay." 

The Facebook post acknowledged experienced uphillers who are behaving fine, but the early winter weather has "brought out new folks owning an attitude resembling altogether different from Raised Jay." 

My guess is some of these troublemakers have brought their phones so they can shoot scenes for clicks on social media. 

By the way, since Jay Peak isn't open yet, there's no ski patrol there yet to rescue anyone who does something stupid. 

Here's another thing. It's hunting season. Deer hunters aren't going to do their thing on the Jay Peak trails. It's stupid, plus they know the deer woh't be there. 

But one person commenting on Jay Peak's Facebook post said he saw back country skiers hiking up the hills near Route 242, passing by a deer hunter's truck. The skiers were not wearing blaze orange, so there's an accidental shooting in the making.  

I noticed the comments on Jay Peak's Facebook posts were supportive of the resort's warnings, but cautioned that you can't easily stop a mix of stupidity and entitlement. "What are the chances a jersey joey or Mickey Montreal will listen to this?," one person asked. 

Another said this type is the scourge of most resorts, warning of another type of ski resort jerk, the "Killington Karen."  

In a sign that this is why we can't have nice things, Jay Peak is threatening to block uphilling or any other activity on the mountain for everybody until the resort officially opens. Because of the entitled few that are wrecking things. 

I haven't checked in with other Vermont resorts that aren't open yet, but if I had to guess, they're seeing some of the same problems Jay Peak Resort has seen in recent days.

Do better, folks!  

Despite Better Weather This Winter, Climate Change Is Changing The Face Of Vermont Winter Recreation

Ice fishing enthusiasts on Lake Champlain several 
years ago. Climate change has made many winter
sports and recreation seasons shorter and more
unreliable than in the past. 

By historical standards, this December in Vermont has been no great shakes in terms of winter weather.
 

But in at least parts of the state, perhaps the whole state, this was  the most wintry December since 2019, and a rare exception to the balmy Decembers of the past few decades.

That's not saying much. The record warmth and rain in  the final few days of 2024, spelled more trouble for a potentially beleaguered industry.  

We're talking ski areas, and especially outfits related to cross country skiing and snow shoeing, snowmobiling, ice fishing and outdoor skating. 

Traditional winter weather has returned now that it's January. It's cold, and some of the ski resorts got decent shot of snow in the past couple of days.  Even if this winter turns out to be the much colder and snowier than what we've gotten used to in the past couple of decades, it will probably be an outlier.  With climate change, strangely balmy winters are here to stay. 

Which makes us question the future of Vermont's storied winter sports and recreation industry.  At the very least that industry is changing. And  will continue to change. 

Our ski resorts' ever increasing reliance on snowmaking is well documented. This is especially true for smaller independent resorts,  Big conglomerates like Vail can weather a bad ski season in say, Colorado, because their other resorts elsewhere in the world might save the day with better snow.

Marketplace, with airs on National Public Radio, recently took a look at the Bolton Valley Ski Area in Vermont.

Bolton has heavily invested in snow making in recent years so it's ready to take advantage of any moments when it's cold enough to manufacture the flakes. Since the family that runs the resort bought it in 2017, they've invested $1 million in snowmaking, notes Marketplace. 

The resort has had other trouble with likely climate change-related issues this year. The access road to the resort was essentially wiped out by flash floods in July. Repairs to the road barely finished before the ski season started.

CROSS COUNTRY SKIING

The Bolton ski area has a relatively high base elevation, at about 2,000 feet, so they're more likely to see snow than rain, compared to places in the valleys. Which brings us to businesses like cross country ski centers. 

Last winter's record warmth and lack of snow meant that Vermont's 26 ski touring centers had about 50 percent fewer visitors than the prior winter, which also fell well short of a banner year. 

New Hampshire Public Radio last March ran a piece about how cross country skiing, particularly school competitions in the sport, are having a tough time in the Green Mountain State. Says NHPR:

"Kate Hale, a postdoc studying show hydrology at the University of Vermont, says the winter season is shrinking in Vermont due to climate change. 

'Snow on is occurring almost two weeks later on average in the year and snow off is now occurring about a week earlier in the spring,' Hale says. 

On top of the shrinking length of the season, Hale said that Vermont is seeing an increasing amount of rain-on-snow events."

Kind of like what's going on this weekend and early in the week.  You finally manage to get a snowpack, albeit a thin one, but still enough to cross country ski. Then it's suddenly 50 degrees and raining so you have to start over again with the snow. 

Hale told NHPR that Vermont/s snowpack depth has declined about 13 percent between 1965 and 2022.

That really takes a toll in cross country teams that are based in the warmest, lowest parts of Vermont, like the Champlain Valley.

Last year, the South Burlington cross country team had to take buses up to the higher elevation Sleepy Hollow Ski Center in higher elevation Huntington. But the travel time interferes with homework and sleep for team members, so that's not great, either. 

As the Waterbury Roundabout/Barre Times Argus noted in September, the longer summers and shorter, less snowy winters are changing the face of outdoor recreation in Vermont, as people gravitate toward hiking and mountain biking and away from snowshoeing and cross country skiing. 

SNOWMOBILES

 Vermont Public Radio's podcast Brave Little State last March had an eye opening look at snowmobiling in Vermont. 

In 2001, the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers did an economic impact study of snowmobiling in the Green Mountain State.  Reports Brave Little State:

"That study estimated that snowmobilers that year spend about $511 million on gas, food, lodging and snowmobiles - including parts and service. That figure also includes vehicle registration and VAST membership fees, which go right back into the organization."

Turns out that 2001 study was done near the heyday of snowmobiling in Vermont. Since then, VAST is now selling  half the number of annual trail passes than it did a couple decades ago. The Vermont Agency of Transportation says the number of snowmobile registrations is down by half. 

Meanwhile, the cost of gas, insurance and trail maintenance is going up. Especially since the snow has become so unreliable in Vermont due to our warmer winters. 

On top of all that, floods in the summer of 2023 caused $4 million in damage to VAST trailers. Additional flooding caused more damage in 2024,

Cindy Locke, executive director of VAST, told Brave Little State: "Will we survive this? I don't know. You know, I don't know if snowmobiling will survive, you know, winters without snow. I know they won't. Like we won't survive after  just a few, if we have brown winters." 

 ICE FISHING

On Lake Champlain, what had been in the past reliable annual ice events have been interrupted and canceled by warm weather in recent years. 

Last year, The Pond Hockey Classic on Malletts Bay in Colchester was canceled.  A major Lake Champlain winter ice fishing derby was canceled for the second winter in a row due to thin or nonexistent ice. 

A 2020 study indicates below freezing periods have declined by nearly three weeks since 1960.  That has shortened or in some cases eliminated the period of time in winter when lake ice is relatively safe for ice fishing. 

Which isn't good, since tourism based on ice fishing amounts to expenditures of $147 million per year, according to information from the University of Vermont.

THIS WINTER

I don't know what the rest of this winter will bring. December brought mixed results, with some decent snow cover at times, but also some pretty intense thaws. Overall this winter is almost guaranteed to be colder than last winter, as 2023-24 was the warmest one on record.

Snowfall so far this winter has been unimpressive. You can get decent snows with slightly warmer than average winters, so it's not like the odd winter in Vermont can't bring deep snows. 

But that seems to be gradually getting less and less likely as the climate change years go by. The face of winter outdoor sports in Vermont is changing, and in many cases fading. Athletic types are going to need to get used to embracing warmer weather sports. 

 

Study: Ski Areas Losing Billions To Climate Change

Screen grab from live cam at Bear Mountain section of
Killington Resort, Vermont, taken March 4, 2024. Note
the unusual lack of snow in the woods in the background
A study indicates climate change is 
costing the ski industry billions of dollars. 

 To put it mildly, this has been a lackluster Vermont ski season, given the record warm winter, frequent thaws with rain thrown in every once in awhile. 

Vermont's experience this year is probably part of an expensive trend ski areas are dealing with. Here's the AP summing it up: 

"U.S. ski areas lost $5 billion from 2000 to 2019 as a result of human-caused climate change and could lose around $1 billion annually in the 2050s depending on how much emissions are reduced, a new study found."

The ski area losses are an example of how climate change is already starting to dent the economy, at least in some sectors.  

The Associated Press continues:  

"'It's a now problem, not a future-looking problem,' said Auden Schendler, senior vice-president of sustainability at Aspen One, a ski and hospitality company that helped fund the study, published in Current Issues in Tourism."

The study looked at 226 U.S, ski resorts and  used 1960-1979 as a baseline. Those years were before climate change had a noticeable effect on ski conditions. 

Then they looked at the seasons between 2000 and 2019, and found those season were shorter by 5.5 to 7.1 days compared to that earlier, golden era.

This despite the fact that snowmaking technology and capability was much better in the 2000s than it was in the 1960s and 1970s, 

Looking to the future, it gets worse:

"Under an optimistic emissions reduction scenario, the future of the U.S. ski industry would see seasons shortened by 14 to 33 days in the 2050s, even with snowmaking. A high-emissions scenario would nearly double the days lost."

Obviously, this trend will be uneven, with winners and losers every year. Vermont ski areas are salivating for just one damn snowflake for gawd's sake. Meanwhile, resorts in the Sierra Nevada have so much snow now they don't know what to do with it. 

Overall, though, the trend on skier days and skier visits will be drifting downward.  Making snow will only get you so far. 

 

Vermont Floods Threatened Cherished Snowmobiling And Winter Sports, But Repairs Saved The Season

A still from a YouTube video by Pat Moore shows
this summer's destruction around Okemo Mountain
in Ludlow, Vermont. Repairs were made in 
time for this winter's ski season. 

 Now that much of Vermont has a snow cover, I'm sure lots of people are chomping at the bit for snowmobile season. Also skiing and snowboarding. 

Due to this past summer's horrific floods, the snowmobile season for the winter of 2023-24 could have been curtailed quite a bit. However, volunteers saved the day, er, the winter. 

The Vermont Association of Snow Travelers reported at least $2 million in flood damage to parts of its 4,500 mile network of trails. 

As WPTZ reports, however, at least 90 percent of the damage has been repaired in time for winter. Jim Fay, president of VAST's board of directors, told the television station: 

"Volunteers are spending hours on end, during the week, on weekends, getting stuff brought back up, and we're in good shape."

Fay said volunteers are using personal equipment and hiring local construction companies and paying out of pocket to fix trails "They're going above and beyond," Fay said. 

Two VAST suspension bridges over the Winooski River, one in East Montpelier and the other in Waterbury, were severely damaged and will remain out of commission through this winter. VAST is working with FEMA to obtain funding for those repairs. 

Some Vermont ski areas suffered flood damage, but it wasn't enough to disrupt this winter's ski season.

In hard-hit Ludlow, Okemo had to close for summer activities for a couple weeks due to damage, mostly in town and not so much on the slopes.

Okemo's slopes did suffer some minor erosion damage, but that has long since been fixed.  Some buildings suffered water damage, but that, too has been repaired. 

As of Thanksgiving, only 12 of Okemo's 129 trails were open for skiing and riding, but that's only because it's early in the season.. As snow making and natural snow (hopefully!) pile up, Okemo will expand its offerings. 

Killington, the "Beast of the East" also suffered some flood damage in July, and was forced to curtail some summer operations for awhile.

Two base lodges, Bear Mountain and Skyeship, were heavily damaged, WPTZ reported.  Those buildings weren't used in the summer, and have since been repaired for winter. Some ski trails were also damaged, but have since been fixed and will be used as usual this winter.

Infrastructure in hard hit ski towns - like roads, sewers, electricity and such - have long since been restored and won't be an issue for people visiting during ski season. However, some favorite restaurants and shops have not yet reopened.  

All these tourism-related businesses are of course completely tied to Vermont's economic health. If tourists are discouraged from visiting Vermont  because of flood damage - or fears that the destruction would harm their experience - we all suffer. 

I haven't found data on how the summer flood affected the autumn foliage tourism season. But I do know the floods dented Vermont's summer figures. 

Vermont Business Magazine at the end of August reported tax revenue in most categories fell short in July, the first month of the state's fiscal year. 

The target for rooms and meals tax revenue in July was $14.3 million, but actual revenue was $13.5 million. That's not a crash, but it fell short. Other revenue streams that were less related to the flooding also fell short.

So, bottom line, we'd better hope we see a lot of winter visitors to Vermont.  We'd also better hope for big dumps of mountain snow this winter. That's a tall order in a winter in which El Nino is raging and climate change isn't helping. 

I'm among legions of Vermonters who don't like shoveling snow in the winter. But I don't know about you, but I"m completely willing to take one for the team.