UPDATED TRAIL MAP
Jan1
Ok, so the new trail map is now live. It’s still a work in progress and we’ll be making small changes and modifications here and there. Essentially, here’s what we’ve done.
Deleted the ability to post comments (except for me, Patrol and mtn ops folks).
Added a simple, here’s what’s open chart.
Added a way to filter your views to just Intermediate, advanced, beginner trails.
Added an sliding opacity control button. This isn’t a big deal, I just wanted to say it.
Like I need to ask for feedback.
Steve: The revised trail chart and map is a HUGE improvement. Thank you.
Please add the date and time of the data, for example,”updated Thursday 1/1/09 @ 8:30 AM” so users can tell how current, and reliable, the data is. Keep it up.
Ya agreed, huge improvement looks great. And that opacity control button is actually pretty cool, haha. Any ways, looks great. PRAY FOR SNOW!!
I do not see the map. Just a blank page where the map should be. What plug in’s does the map require? Can’t imagine my browser is lacking but perhaps it is.
Still disappointed I can’t see any of the Jay web site from work because I can not install software on work comps (latest Java is required). There is something to be said for straight up PHP and XHTML documents rather than Java based displays.
Not as good as your old one. I can only view about 3/4 of the mountian and have no scroll features to see the rest. Type and amount of coverage on trials would be helpful as well! Honesty about the conditions allows us to be prepared with equipm and our attitude - which is way better than being disapointed and teed off.
Mark–you can click and drag the map vertically and horizontally to get the area you’d like to see.
can’t see anything, just a black blank screen. on a mac here. looking forward to it when it is working.
Thanks Scott. Assume you have Flash 9 loaded, yes? I’m seeing it fine. Maybe clear out your cache and see if anything updates.
Still can’t see the trail map. I am using Flash Player 10.0.12.36, which is the current version.
love it!
WOW!
Just checked this morning’s report. That’s unheard of! I’ve never read anything like that before from a ski resort. Surprisingly accurate though.
Thanks for the honesty.
Thanks Dale, we try to keep it pretty straight.
Saturday 1/3/09 8:15 AM @ tram base
as reported in the conditions page (which to JP’s/SW’s credit IS accurate), there is an inch or more of new snow at the base; my guess is there’s more new stuff up top, especially by Andre’s & BP. BP on right side was untracked yesterday. Expo Glade had stiff pow but still skieable, softer in spots; Bushwhacker–dinky little beginner glade–was great with 8″ of light stuff mostly untouched on left side. Glades on Stateside not as good tramside–less snow? windblown? timbucktu sketchy at spots.Derick very good most of day. Vermonter at 3:30 was downright dangerous–so watch for sections that are blown of any shred of snow–glades are best option–even for beginners–since they have snow. Right now its blowing and snowing hard. My thermometer says 0 F, but that’s warmer than yesterday, so who cares–used to it by now. Heading out.
I think there’s more up top but we haven’t had Patrol chime in yet. Concur on all thoughts and would add that Ullr’s, especially the last section, is rough so be careful.
Looks good.
Couple of comments:
1-zooming in/out seems missing
2-being able to display the map in full screen or at least that the map takes the whole width of the screen.
3-Display altitude on the main peaks.
4-People are used to the look and feel of maps.google.com..U may want look at their control for panning,zooming,full screeen…
Thank you-
Claude Hussenet
Just want to say the new trail map w/ the list of what’s open is great.
Love the new trail map!
The following would be helpful:
1. List the open trails/lifts on your mobile site as well. Those without Flash (old machines, iPhones, etc.) can’t see the list of open trails. I’ve talked to some people on dial up who won’t wait for the Flash files to load either.
2. As Claude noted, full screen or zoom in/out.
I can’t see it in IE but I can in Chrome. It loads slowly and you can only see a portion of the map having to scroll it. I agree with a previous comment that sometimes less is more. I would have to give it a two thumbs down.
Thanks Rtibbs. Hope you can appreciate (given even the varying posts in this thread) that managing the disparity can be a challenge…;)
I would love to give feedback on the trail map but I am still not able to see it. I’ve uninstalled Flash and reloaded it. I’ve also cleared my cache. I’m running XP with IE7.
I’ve never seen it work on my computer.
Any more thoughts?
looks great to me. for people who are only seeing the left half, you have to “drag” the other half over with your mouse
snow on the way!
New Trail Map is greatly improved…worth waiting for.
Well Done. Previous version was an embarrassment. I had the blank page issue previously but now its all good. Counting down to the next visit in 17 days: Woo Hoo.
to be able to zoom out to see the whole mountain is crucial!
OK, I can get to the trail map from the link in the BLOG, but still not from the main website (any of the links).
At least I can get to the map now. I like what I see so far.
Copy of a post I made on the hotel thread:
Hi, Guys.
Kudos for the website, trail map upgrades and blog: Jay-o-philes like me need a place to share our love for the hill.
Make it better? Get an artist’s concept of the hotel up, share some long-term plans to whet the appetite (and support the real estate investment) and LOVE to see a web cam: I skip Tremblant to ski other hills in the Laurentians but I can’t help but check their webcams. Come on, guys, get with the 90’s.
Since when does Jay have 77 trails ??
Not that it matters of course.
This is an update from my prior comment. I can now access the map. However, the “trail status” “pop up” is in place and can not be closed. It also shows 5/78 trails open and 7/8 lifts open but it also shows circles next to all trail and lift names. I can not close this box and get to the trail map. This is not good and I am surprised other users are posting the same issues… especially users using WinXP with IE7… which is generally the most used OS/Browser combo… though of course others are growing (Linux w/FF2 here).
I suspect this may have something to do with pop up blockers. I have had java issues on other sites due to my pop up blocker. As a web master and a heavy internet user… I despise Java. Content should never be buried in java apps that prevent some users from viewing content. It is especially concerning that something so vital as trail/lift operations is hidden behind java that numerous users can not access. Just my 2 cents…
New map works fine here on Vista/FF3/Flash10. However, as a guy who’s sworn by Jay for years and also builds software for a living, I think that jaypeakresort.com has gotten bigger, fatter and slower over the years. Now, I know full well that users are always demanding (and that will never change
but I also know the value of good straight feedback. So here’s my honest 2 cents…
You’ve gone too far with all the flash!
Site load times are getting to the point where now, just logging in to check the current conditions requires 5-10 seconds of waiting while flash downloads the entire Adobe Air runtime. This is on a 10 Mbit line, with a fully populated browser cache. Loading the trail map takes another 5-10 seconds, and the direct PDF link is further buried within that. There are better ways of providing access to critical information. Not to disparage the developers, but my experience is that you should beware of allowing your flash designers to implement your entire site. Flash should be used sparingly to enhance a site, but not as the sole presentation layer. It breaks many of the fundamental assumptions of the Internet.
Don’t get me wrong, the site works fine and I still check it every couple days and get the information I need, but I hate the fact that it’s wrapped in a heavy layer of crap. Your SEO rankings must have suffered alot too, because all your relevant keywords are buried in an un-indexable format, swf.
I see no real reason why the current incarnation of the map is any better than a high resolution JPG and a table of trail statuses. You should be showcasing your beautiful James Niehues artwork, not spending your money creating opacity sliders to hide it.
The fact that the trail status starts off covering the entire map and that every trail at first glance appears to be of difficulty … um … “dotted orange” is a major UI faux-pas in my opinion.
As the previous trail map “experiment” seems to have been misguided from the beginning, I urge you to take control of your development cycle and return the site to a more functional, but less flash intensive state. It will save you money, improve your search rankings and make users happier at the same time.
Once again, just my 2 honest cents, I’ve been thinking this for a while and felt like I had to get it off my chest. Take it or leave it.
I’m in search of info. for the Randonee race. Can anyone describe the general route…such as what trails you skin up, ski down and location of the checkpoints. I’m just trying to get a handle on how difficult this adventure would be as I’m a newbie to tele.
Thanks 2FlashHeavy, I have been having the same thoughts and been trying to figure out how to provide my feedback. I’m no software developer, but I am a heavy internet user. The new site with the 5-10 second load time is ridiculous and must be one of the slowest loading websites in the industry. It’s like we have gone backwards. I spend time every day checking my favorite resorts websites for conditions and deals, including Jay, Stowe, Whistler, Vail, Kirkwood, and several others. Jay’s is by far the slowest and sometimes it annoys me so much that I cancel the damn “loading” screen. I don’t have the patience to even try to make it to the trail map. Sorry, call me impatient, but if you are in the business of selling your resort on your website, you need to make the important information quick and easily accessable. THis latest version of the website is far from it.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Jay and love the NEK. I grew up there and visit as often as I can and do everything I can to support the resort and the area. But come on guys, you can do better than this!
As far as trail maps go, I love the Okemo interactice map the best out of all the VT resorts. It is quick and shows the whole mountain, what’s open, what’s groomed, etc.
I wish Jaypeak would model after that one.
I haven’t been able to see the trail map all year. If you can’t figure out how to make it visible, you should put up a standard map up along side it. LAME. 2FlashHeavy is RIGHT ON. Calm down with the flash and put a site that works together! You’re trying way too hard here.
yeah, it’s definitely been a challenge. Problem, from where I sit, is that for every person that complains, I get an e-mail from someone that loves it. Definitely a tough one for me. That being said, we have about half a dozen to a dozen optimization procedures that we’re going to roll out over the next few days that should help. Stay tuned and thanks for chiming in.
can access the trail map from the blog, but that’s it. agree with the above comments on the long loading time and overall effectiveness of the new site. or lack thereof…
The link from the main page to “updated trail map” does not work. It does work from the blog page post….http://www.jaypeakresort.com/#/skiing_riding/the_mountain/trail_maps/
Should be a simple fix.
Here’s another vote for “can we please have a website built on web standards, not Flash.” Flash is so slow and aggravating, with its nested scroll-bars, twitchy controls, etc. Publishing a high-res JPEG or even just a PDF would be so much simpler for you, and so much more user-friendly. As a previous poster said, Flash has its uses, but it should NOT be used for the entire website. It’s a usability nightmare.
The PDF that you currently link to appears to be incomplete. There are a bunch of items marked with letters in white circles/squares, but there’s no key to tell you what those letters stand for. And there’s no date on the map in the PDF, so how do we know if it’s current? Is it from this season or last season?
I just noticed that you have full moon and quarter moon backwards on the map. It also only shows half moon open on the map but the others are open too. And in the full trail list none of them are open. Seems like quite a few problems for just moonwalk but I do like the layout of the new map I would just like things cleaned up a little and maybe something kinda like the glade guide for other trails. I heard someone at the top last Sunday that was suggesting taxi because it looked steep on the map on the wall.
Huh - add me to the list of people that can see the map from the blog, but not from the main site. Curious, and great observation from Scott.
Hi Steve,
I understand that for every complaint you get a compliment, but that’s really not so good. You should be shooting for mostly compliments and few complaints. Today the website took well over a minute to load for me. Probably partially because I am viewing from work. Started with 50% loaded as it always does, then slowly up to 66%, I gave up watching for a while and checked out Wildcat and Stowe snow reports, came back after a minute and we were up to 94%. Finally the damn thing finished. Sometimes it never does and I have to restart. Please, just give me a quickly accessable ski and weather report without bugs so I can figure out which mountain got the most snow and decide where I’m going to go. That’s all I ask for. I understand the site has some great innovative features for displaying information, but if you can’t access it because of compatability/software versions, or crashes from bugs and flash glitches, or it takes too damn long to load, then what good is it? It makes me wonder how many people have been searching for that perfect Vermont vacation and bagged on Jay Peak because they couldn’t get the damn website to open on their computer, maybe because they were on dial-up, or had an old version of flash, or maybe they don’t have flash, or they have their security settings too high, or the other myriad of reasons you have made your site unusable or undesirable for some of your potential customers.
Hey all,
I’m moving up Thursday through Sunday, and everything looks good as temps have been favorable recently aka (All Snow). Steve, you seem to be the expert on the blog page, and not to criticize but I think, if possible, the forum setup might be easier to track for you, and navigate for the users (like me) to have the groups such as skiing and riding not in a date format. In other words, I could click on skiing and riding as a general tab, then maybe it is broken down into subcategories, as opposed to the specific dates. Other than that I find it informative, innovative, and sometimes comical. Additionally, I have no problems loading the site. Not from home, a friends house, my apt. at school, etc. Not once has it not loaded for me. Last but not least thank you for the honest conditions. And right now, huge pow dumps aside, the conds. are primo.
Slowness Update: Looks like some changes were made to the site as of 1/27. It is loading quicker and the loading counter that starts at 50% has been replaced by just a regular logo. Are things actually faster or is it just my perception?
In any case a step in the right direction. Maybe we can have our cake AND eat it when it comes to functionality and all these fancy flash features.
Also I hope you don’t mind my unabashed feedback about the slowness of the site Steve. It is my deep love for Jay Peak and high standards for excellence that drive me. Cheers!
Steve’s out for a couple of days so a quick reply on his behalf…
You’re right, the site is loading faster. We’ve been working with our design firm to optimize some of the features and how content rolls in so you can access the homepage and all the important info faster. Good to hear you’re noticing a difference.
The loading time appears quicker simply because certain elements like the page background are deferred. Overall loading time is still the same. Glad the hotel-key loading screen is gone. All in all though, despite the improvements, there is still far too much flash. Doubt that’s going to change anytime soon, but for next season, I would suggest a complete refactor of the jaypeakresort.com codebase. It is no longer a website, it’s a flash application. It’s time for a return to the basic principles and best practices of the web. Once again, just my 2 cents, still love Jay and this won’t change anything
Just wanted to know if other people were still having issues seeing the trail map? I can’t see it in either Firefox or IE. Both are fully updated, but there are some flash restrictions at work. Any way to get a non-Flash version up?
Thanks!
Matt
Still can’t see this map. (10 months) Maybe I can find an old PDF version online somewhere. Isn’t this upposed to be “just” a trail map. It’s not rocket surgery.
rtibbs4
Do you want to send me an email directly (khewitt@jaypeakresort.com) and let me know what’s happening when you try to load the map? I’m working on a slightly slower mobile connection but I’m able to see it (takes a few seconds to come up though). We can post a PDF on the site but most people are usually looking for open/closed trails and so the interactive map is more useful.
So far I have not made it to Jay once this year. Want to know why? Because I can’t access their website from work, so I can never check the conditions. At least i’m glad i’m not the only one. Lets have a website that everyone can view!