Jay Peak

Sometimes you just have to put aside the skiing and riding and think about the fuel that keeps us out there in this cold weather: food, that is.

Jay Peak swings into party mode with its five-day Mardi Gras celebration, which begins Monday and runs through Sunday. With everything from mask workshops to zydeco dance instruction to hot bands and parties, the Northeast kingdom will be rocking like New Orleans. The ski area has brought in Crescent City chef Mark Uddo to oversee the week of cajun and Big Easy dining, which will cover all the bases, from gumbo to a crawfish boil.

By the way, there is superb deep snow in northern Vermont. And Jay is one of those areas that helped break the mold of white-paved edge-to-edge boulevard runs, which get just a little old at times. The glades at Jay are among the best in the Northeast, and range from very doable intermediate tree runs to tight and steep stuff.

After a snowfall -- and there's about 350 inches -- the back-country powder runs are worthy of Warren Miller treatment. The blue cruising runs are long and fast-skiing, and the black stuff is challenging. The area is served by a 60-passenger aerial tram up to a 4,000-foot summit.

TONY CHAMBERLAIN