At Jay Peak, Vermont it was around 2 degrees F at the summit 3,968 feet (1,209 meters) in altitude, and the wind was howling! Despite its relatively unimpressive summit height, Jay can boast a vertical drop of 2,153 feet (656 meters), with an acreage of more than 385 accres, of which 100 acreas are gladed terrain. Annual snowfall is also impressive, at 355 inches (902 centimeters). Not bad for the East Coast!

I have snowboarded and skied in Colorado, at Steamboat, Copper Mountain, Arapahoe Basin (highest lift served ski resort in the U.S.), and Breckenridge, as well as Squaw Valley, California, and Tuckerman Ravine, New Hampshire (pix below). Jay ranks among the best mountain on which I've had the pleasure to snow slide!

I also posted a bunch of shots from Burton Snowboards . The company is, of course, based in Burlington, Vermont -- a New England company through and through. You can see the pix here.

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tuckerman ravine

Tuckerman Ravine on New Hampshire's Mount Washington is one of the few snowsliding spots on the East Coast that can rival the generally far more spectacular mountain ranges of the West. I've skied and snowboarding the ravine's Headwall on three different years shortly after college. Despite conquering the peaks out West, this plummet was probably the most scared I've ever been on the snow. This was especially true on the way up, where at the steepest part two-thirds of the way up, it's basically like climbing a ladder made of snow and ice, while holding your skis and poles (or snowboard or skis in pack on back). You can actually look straight down through your feet to the bottom.

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surf photos
new england surf vortex