
Jay Peak
385 acres, 81 runs near the Canadian border. Vermont's snowiest resort, legendary glades, Indy Pass.
Jay Peak's summit reaches 3,966 feet, dropping roughly 2,153 vertical feet to a base at 1,814 feet across 81 runs spread over 385 acres near Jay, Vermont, close to the Canadian border. Terrain splits 50 per cent intermediate, 26 per cent beginner, 20 per cent advanced and 4 per cent expert, with average annual snowfall of roughly 359 inches, the highest of any ski area in the eastern United States. The resort carries Indy Pass affiliation. Nine lifts, including one aerial tram and four quad chairs, serve the mountain alongside one double chair, one triple chair and two surface lifts.
Jay Peak has earned a reputation as Vermont's snowiest resort, a distinction rooted in its far-northern location and prevailing weather patterns that deliver substantially more natural snowfall than mountains further south in the state. This snow reliability, combined with legendary gladed terrain, has built a devoted following among serious powder skiers.
Jay Peak opened for skiing in 1957. Following the sudden death in March 2006 of Jacques Hebert, the Canadian principal shareholder and operator, his heirs, lacking experience running a major resort business, decided to sell. In 2008, a group of investors headed by Ariel Quiros and resort CEO Bill Stenger purchased Jay Peak and undertook a major expansion funded through the EB-5 immigrant investor programme, adding hotels, condominiums, an ice rink and an indoor water park.
That expansion later proved to be the largest EB-5 fraud in American history, with roughly 350 million US dollars raised from investors and around 200 million US dollars misused on unrelated projects and personal expenses. The Securities and Exchange Commission seized Jay Peak in 2016, placing it under receivership until an auction in September 2022 saw Pacific Group Resorts, Inc. of Park City, Utah, acquire the resort for 76 million US dollars, with the sale completed that November and the bulk of proceeds distributed to defrauded investors. Adult daily tickets run from 99 to 149 US dollars, with a discount available for Vermont residents.
Jay Peak spreads 81 runs across 385 acres skiable of terrain. It leans intermediate at 50%, with 21 beginner runs to find your feet and 19 advanced or expert runs when you want to push.
The 2025-26 season at Jay Peak ran from 22 November 2025 to 10 May 2026, a remarkably long roughly twenty-four-week season supported by average annual snowfall of around 359 inches, the highest of any ski area in the eastern United States. This exceptional snowfall total, driven by the resort's far-northern location, supports one of the longest seasons in the Northeast.
Midwinter, from December through February, typically brings the deepest, most consistent conditions to Jay Peak's legendary gladed terrain. As an Indy Pass resort, Jay draws some visiting skiers holding that multi-resort pass alongside dedicated powder-focused visitors drawn specifically to the mountain's exceptional snow totals.
Given Jay Peak's remote location close to the Canadian border, the resort draws a genuinely dedicated visitor base willing to travel further than for many other Vermont mountains, rewarded by consistently deeper snow than areas further south. School holiday periods bring family visitation supported by the resort's indoor water park and hotel amenities.
Specific event programming beyond standard operations is not confirmed in available resort information. Since Pacific Group Resorts, Inc.'s November 2022 acquisition following the resort's EB-5 fraud scandal and subsequent federal receivership, Jay Peak has continued operating under stable ownership, building on nearly seven decades of history since its 1957 founding. The mountain's exceptional snowfall remains its defining seasonal characteristic.
Jay Peak sits near Jay, Vermont, close to the Canadian border, with a base elevation of 1,814 feet and a summit at 3,966 feet across a roughly 2,153-foot vertical drop over 385 acres. This far-northern setting places the resort in one of the snowiest corners of the eastern United States.
The town of Jay and the broader Northeast Kingdom region offer modest local lodging and dining, with the resort itself providing substantial on-site accommodation given its remote setting. Montreal, Canada, lies within a reasonable drive across the nearby border, adding an international dimension to the resort's visitor draw.
Vermont State Route 242 provides access to the resort through the Northeast Kingdom. Winter driving conditions on this route can include substantial snow and ice, consistent with the region's exceptional snowfall totals, and travellers should allow extra time given the resort's remote location. There is no direct public transport service to the mountain.
Montreal-Trudeau International Airport, across the Canadian border, and Burlington International Airport, within Vermont, both serve the broader region, with Jay Peak drawing a genuinely international visitor base given its proximity to Montreal alongside its core Vermont and Northeast skier base.
Hotels and lodges near Jay Peak, powered by Stay22.

Mount Buller closes out its 2026 season this Sunday, joining Falls Creek, Hotham and Charlotte Pass in a cluster of closures landing almost simultaneously and roughly a month ahead of schedule. The culprit is stark: Spencers Creek's benchmark snow depth hit 31.2cm on 3 September, just 18% of the 73-year average and an all-time low for this point in the season. Six of Victoria and NSW's best-known resorts will have shut their lifts early within a span of about two and a half weeks.

Tremblant has confirmed a major expansion of its Quebec ski area, with a new Timber Summit sector adding 62 acres of terrain, eight trails and a high-speed quad chairlift for winter 2027/28. It's part of a CAD 42.5 million investment that also includes a new beginner learning zone at Versant Soleil opening this coming season. The project has grown considerably since it was first announced back in 2020, when it carried a far smaller budget and an opening date that never eventuated.

We knew when the Bird Bath Pond Skim showed up on Hotham's Instagram that the season was on its way out. It's been a rough one - I only managed two days on snow all year, at Falls Creek - and now Baw Baw, Selwyn and Hotham have all called it, possibly the worst Australian season I've seen in a decade. Hotham's last day of lift operations is Sunday, 6 September, with a Retro Day, Father's Day après and closing sales before the lifts stop turning for good.

Thredbo Alpine Resort has confirmed plans to replace its 37-year-old Gunbarrel quad chairlift with a new six-seat Doppelmayr D-Line, targeting winter 2028. The AUD 35 million project will keep travel time roughly the same but lift capacity from 2,800 to 3,000 skiers per hour. It's part of a broader investment push that also includes doubled snowmaking capacity at Friday Flat for 2027, with the ageing Kosciuszko Express now flagged as the resort's next major lift replacement after Gunbarrel.

An aerial tram carrying around fifty passengers struck the boom of a construction crane on the route to Pic Blanc at Alpe d'Huez on Wednesday morning, injuring 23 people, three seriously. The cabin tipped on impact before the operator reversed it to right the car. Most of the injured were treated on site, with five taken to hospital in Grenoble, including a pregnant woman assessed as a precaution.

A deadly flood on the Nepal-China border, a decade-old tragedy on Italy's Marmolada, and an unstable glacier right now above a village near Zermatt - three very different mountain ranges, the same underlying story. Warming ice is destabilising terrain that was considered settled for generations, and the results range from catastrophic floods to slow-motion monitoring situations that could go either way.

Tyrol's highest ski area is gearing up to open a full month ahead of most of the Alps. The Pitztal Glacier is scheduled to start its 2026/27 season on Saturday 26 September, running through to 2 May 2027, with the lower-altitude Rifflsee area following in December. High-altitude terrain up to 3,440 metres gives the glacier a head start on snow, though as always, the actual opening extent will depend on how September's weather plays out. Early online ski pass bookings can save up to 30%.

A hanging glacier above the Swiss village of Randa, just south of Zermatt, has been shedding large chunks of ice for weeks, with authorities warning more break-offs are likely. A danger zone has been closed off since June, though officials say the village's 479 residents aren't at risk. It's a familiar pattern for this glacier - it's done this before, in 1819, 1972 and 1973 - but a reminder of how closely Alpine authorities now watch terrain once considered stable.
More Jay Peak intelligence: snow report, lift system, webcams, resort overview.