Once every spring season, we close our doors for the day and get back to the reason we are all here to begin with, for the skiing.  We have to talk the talk and walk the walk all season long, and all of us in our own respective ways spread that stoke to you, our loyal customers.  Some of us just skin, some of us just ride lifts and some of us do both. We all come from different backgrounds of how we all became skiers and all have different ability levels and personal preferences on what we ski on.

But on this day, our annual Jay Shop Day, we skin, we ride lifts, we hoot and holler and cheer for each other on the slopes.  We wear Hawaiian shirts, BBQ in the parking lot, drink beers early and celebrate each other as much as we do the sunshine and soft snow that we have all been waiting for all season.

Yesterday was a special day for many reasons.  First and foremost, the weather finally cooperated and gave us that sunshine and near prefect snow conditions with soft snow, no stickiness and no one around but our crew and handful of Jay locals. We got a chance to all have a day off together, ski, party and just enjoy each other’s company (along with a few of our canine friends) outside of the confines of the shop.  We laughed, we crashed, we threw snowballs at each other, we ate food that accidentally feel to the ground off the grill with a fresh layer of parking lot dirt on a sausage or hot dog.   

It was Don’s real first day skiing again after sitting out the entire season recovering from Achilles surgery. It was Emilie's first time skiing with all of us after her season ending knee injury from last season.  Connor skied over as much moss, dirt and grass as he did snow.  Robbie ripped on 130-centimeter rental skis, Jenna skied faster backwards than I could ski forwards and Mike skied as smoothly and precisely as he always does.  Antonio showed us what is possible with white ski pants mixed with mud and debris and showed us how to properly fall without getting hurt.

We smiled, we laughed, we spoke on highlights and lowlights of the winter we experienced here in the Green Mountains. Today is back to reality with the shop doors once again open as we count down the days to the last chair at Stowe at 4:00 pm on Sunday. 

Another year is in the books and we can’t wait to do it all over again for next season!  Here is to peel away corn, soft bumps, goggle tans and tailgate parties in the parking lots as we close the books on the 2023/24 season.