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 There's not all that much skiing over here, but it is well done. The Jet is a wide, totally groomed black diamond with consistent moderate to steep pitch, and is the favorite playground for those learning advanced technique. The Haynes is similar, off to the left, but is less well groomed, and is steeper at the top with a couple of headwalls. Derek Hot Shot has the most character of these runs - again, a flat black diamond, but narrower with a few little curves, and is not an expressway like the other two tend to be. Timbuktu is a very advanced glade. U N is a steep, narrow, straight, gnarly bump run ? Kitzbuehel is also a terrific run for mogul addicts, but it is a natural snow trail.
One of the most attractive aspects about Jay has always been the value for the vacation dollar. Non-holiday, a 5-day package at the Hotel Jay goes for $485 a person double occupancy, which includes five breakfasts and dinners, lift tickets and a complimentary 2-hour group lesson each day. Mid-February and mid-March cost about $200 more for the 5-day, and Christmas/New Year is about $785. The Villa Condos do not come with a meal plan. If you were to purchase the meal plan for a condo (which many do), it costs an average of about $90 more per person.
But, although, old-fashioned, and quaint, Hotel Jay has clearly seen better days. For the first time, I was disappointed. Over President's weekend, the place resembled a "romper room" rather than a classy, quiet and relaxing abode that I was used to. I spent the bulk of my time, both in my room and during dinner, shielding my body and ears from the darting and shrieking! Management should state policy for hotel decorum to larger groups who wish to stay in the hotel, or insist that these people stay in the condos.
I have stayed at the Hotel Jay many, many times over the past 20 years, and never had a bad meal, and never had any stomach problems after eating. Here was another area where I feel quality suffered. The prime rib special was tough and tasteless. The regular menu entree of steak was virtually inedible. 
Cafeteria food could be better!
Overall, I found that the resort did not smoothly absorb the crowd that it attracted. Ski conditions themselves were very good - the mountain itself was, as usual, empty allowing access to virtually every lift all day without any delay. Kudos for this. But Jay must learn how to manage success and handle the larger groups Attracting people is easy -- keeping them is hard. This is the last extended stay with the family that I will book at Jay for a while - it is also the last visit I will make during February, unless management of the mountain and guest services improves dramatically.
It's funny -- usually, whenever I stayed and skied at Jay, all I could think about was the next day skiing, and when my next trip would be. About four days into this trip, I found myself wondering to my family about a trip to Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia next year."
Do all good things have to come to an end?
Steve Markoff lives in New Jersey with his family.
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