While the trailing weekend of the President’s Day Holiday period is much less busy than the opening weekend, one can still expect holiday crowds. And one can also expect not to find discounts. And one can expect to have prepaid vouchers blacked out making. Thus making the decision making process two days after a micro-storm rather difficult. After much consideration, I picked Cannon over Balsams (amongst other options), despite Balsams being a mountain on my “to do list” for this season. My decision was sound leading to spectacular results.
After grabbing my ticket, I took the first tram and began what would be the first of five hourly runs. I opted for one of my favorite stashes that reliably has “day after the powder day” freshies. My expectations were mixed. Yet I found extensive amounts of untracked lines through six inches of fresh. “Where were the powder hounds yesterday?” I wondered aloud before tearing up what they had missed out on.
Next I decided that Kinsman Glade could use an inspection. It was listed as open on the trail report but was roped when I arrived. I used the trail report as my guide instead of the rope. The upper section of Kinsman Glade skied fabulously well with plenty of untracked lines to pick from. The middle section was sketchy to say the least! By the lower middle section, I was making cautious and deliberate survival turns carefully placed and occasionally well executed. Whereas when I entered the glade I had been thinking this was a sure repeat, by the time I was nearing the end, it couldn’t be done with soon enough. Rare is the day that I can report that a rope was up for good reason.
With most of New England seeing above freezing temperatures yesterday into a freeze last night as we enter a long holiday weekend, I decided that earning turns would be the best option. I suspected snow at lower elevations might be manky so I ruled out explorations of local backcountry glades. I turned my attention to the west side of Mount Washington as a quick and easy option to get out and make some turns today.
I was not the only one with this type of plan as the parking lot at Marshfield Station had about twenty cars parked when I arrived. I quickly booted up and started my ascent looker’s right of the train tracks on a well established skin track.
This was only my third day earning turns this year and I felt winded and out of shape before even reaching the Waumbek Tank. Snow depth was significant and I measured over 70cm in places using my pole. Coverage was exceptional with essentially edge to edge coverage minus elevated portions of the train tracks. Plenty of untracked snow remained. While it skied great, the consistency and depth of the snow was not good enough to merit a Powder Day designation.
After a short break at the Tank, I ventured on until reaching Jacob’s Ladder where I decided snow conditions did not merit further climbing above the tree line where weather exposure and visibility would be worse. Several other skiers were also there, some continuing on with plans for Ammo but most turned around at that point.
Skiing was not fun in the narrow pipeline right below Jacob’s Ladder but became increasingly more interesting below as things widened out. I opted to take skier’s left of the tracks which were not buried enough to allow easy crossing on skis once the decision had been made. Untracked lines were plentiful but conditions made for interesting turns and had me wanting for fatter boards.
On Sunday, we rolled the dice and bet against Cannon due to the wind forecast. While the result was wonderful yielding fourteen inches and a new discovery of a lesser known area, Mount Abram on Sunday would hardly qualify as epic. Based on trip reports and our clean up work this afternoon, I suspect most skiers at Cannon yesterday will rank January 3rd as their best day of the season when all is said and done. Suffice to say that this past Sunday at Cannon surely was a special day and we missed out.
Clean up operations commenced on Monday at Cannon and I was determined to find the left overs. And find them we did venturing forth into terrain likely never having previously been skiable this early in the season. In six hours we took six runs and worked excessively hard for four of them.
Our labor was rewarded with abundant two to three feet untracked powder shots that were frequently knee to thigh deep. During one epic descent, I took my first face shot of the season and ever so briefly entered the powder room.
After coming to a stunned stop shortly thereafter, I began laughing like a manic. Vigorously shaking the snow laden spruce tree behind me, I brought down copious amounts of snow on my head while yelling “powder room, baby, yea!!!”
Immensely satisfying. You only get a few of these every year. We missed the main dish but sometimes desert can be just as sweet if not as long lasting.
Monday evening I retired to the bedroom at approximately 10:00 P.M. Which is when the day dreams began. Visions of untracked powder dancing through my head for two hours during which sleep was entirely elusive. It was a secular snowy equivalent of Christmas Eve and I was an anxious child unable to sleep a wink.
It reminded me of my childhood on evenings just prior to family ski trips. Those were big occasions only under taken a few times each year. Friday nights were torture. It did not matter where we were going the next day. I could hardly sleep a wink in anticipation of the family ski trip. Not much has changed in twenty years. I am still that anxious kid that can’t hardly wait to hurry up and get to sleep so I can wake up the next morning and get to the mountain.
Cannon reported in with seven inches this morning. Much to the management’s credit, Cannon is often honest to a fault with snow total reporting and often errs on the side of caution and underestimates (especially when the snow is blowing). It may be, in fact, that Cannon did receive only seven inches of wind blown fluff. But it skied more like 8-12″. Suffice to say, it was more than enough to make skiing absolutely sensational.
I love this mountain. Cannon rarely fails to deliver. And when it over performs, it is damn good and like no where else. Even when I was a pass holder at Jay, I still considered Cannon my home mountain. When it is good at Cannon, it ain’t worth driving any where else in the east.
Laziness has crept into my skiing routine lately due to excessive fatigue and not enough sleep. I took Thursday and Friday off from skiing. With non-crystalline precipitation en route for Sunday, I managed to drag my sorry lazy ass out of bed and drive north to Cannon for what I expected to be lack luster skiing at best.
What I found was an extremely pleasant surprise. I found my way to the Zoomer Chair in the morning per my usual pattern when there is no fresh snow. I found Avalanche whaled on skier’s left and awkwardly bumped on skier’s right. Not bad but not what I was looking for. So next run, I took Zoomer Lift Line which was sublime! Blow in from Zoomer snow guns along with some natural combined for very soft natural-ish snow with occasional bumps and slightly thin cover without fear of base damage. Turns were silky smooth. I lapped Zoomer Lift a while before heading for the summit for further exploration.
While Rhode Island and southern Boston Metro was getting slammed with almost two feet of fresh, I decided to head to my home mountain for some non-powder skiing. After having considered a four hour round trip drive to the flatlands for powder, I declined the option based on the latest weather runs early Sunday morning.
These forecasts substantially decreased snow totals outside the I-495 belt leaving Wachsuett without much fresh. And with decreasing snow fall later in the morning, what little fell at WaWa would most likely be groomed flat by opening bell. That left one 300 vertical foot trail at Blue Hills that would be tracked out in two runs. Or, I could just drive to Cannon and enjoy a relaxing day of skiing close to home. I chose to stay local and am more than satisfied with my decision.
Despite no new natural snow in over a week, Cannon skied very well thanks to their snow making and grooming teams. These efforts were substantially beefed up when the new GM took over three years ago and continue to offer up a product far superior to the Cannon of old. Available terrain include The Links, Ravine, Cannon, Extension, and Spookie from the Peabody Quad, Gary’s, Mickey’s, and Rocket from the Zoomer Triple, and some beginner terrain in the Tuckerbrook Family area. Ravine was whaled up but no other snow making operations were apparent.
This past week has been nerve wracking. Where to go when it snows? The storm was complicated and many forecasters discussed the difficulties of pinning it down. Doubt was prevalent about the storm right up until the storm commenced. Prognosticators suggested Northern Vermont would get the jackpot with heavy up slope. But I have seen this pattern before. Watching the radar loop last night, I observed a huge gash on moisture attacking south western Maine before slamming into northern New Hampshire and changing over to snow. I had good vibes about Cannon. And those vibes were accurate.
As we drove north on I-93, I was stunned regarding the lack of snow along the highway. Thonton, Lincoln, Woodstock, entering the Notch, into the Notch. There was nothing on the ground at all. Not even a trace amount of washed away snow. Just as we passed the Flume, Ma Nature threw a switch and suddenly two inches appeared. Gradually increasing all the way to Cannon where we stepped out of the car to find a foot of snow at the base.
A skin track was set up the Banshee Slope and we hooked up with another skin track to ascend to the top of Avalanche and then onto Spookie and Upper Ravine. Snow on the mountain was more than a foot but less than two. Generally, most parts of the mountain had around 16″ with some drifts as deep as three feet. The Upper Mountain faired worse than the Lower Mountain due to high winds. The snow was severely wind buffed with half the trail deeply drifted and half the trail bare rock.
Nothing like a forecast for a big storm to bring the powder hounds out of the wood work. Especially considering how unseasonably dry and warm February has been, beginning with a late “January Thaw” which was followed by two dry weeks. Needless to say, I wanted in on first tracks during a weekend long storm and requested Thursday off from work.
Had I waited until Friday for my day off, I would have skied better snow and probably have survived the weekend injury free. Needless to say, I did not wait and paid a horrible price for my powder anxiety.
My backcountry days are normally limited to late season on Mount Washington. But three days after more than a foot of fresh covered much of New Hampshire, it was a sure bet that even the most secret of stashes at the resorts would have been hammered into submission. It was time to take to the backcountry for a rare mid-season powder day via earned turns.
If a 5 minute hike keeps 95% of the skiers away, then a 95 minute hike keeps greater all but less than 1% of skiers away. Despite that fact, the skin track was already set and we were grateful. Temperatures remained cold but comfortable all day with almost no wind except near the summit. Sunny blue skies rained supreme with occasional cloud cover every few hours.
Black Mountain! It has been a half dozen years since my last visit and I was LONG past due. Black is one of my favorite “smaller” sized mountains. Mostly a family paradise, Black Mountain in Jackson, NH has sensational character and charm (not to mention cheap lift tickets). Despite the general lack of pitch, Black has several short but awesome trails that ski exceptionally well on a powder day. Aside from my skiing partner and myself, I counted no more than a half dozen other powder hounds on the mountain. I skied untracked snow from open until I left at 12:30pm and for sure there will still be pockets of untracked snow left tomorrow.
Today was the first day the double was open to the summit. So I wasted no time in taking first of the season tracks on completely untouched Lostbo, Lostbo Glade, White Knuckle, and Carter Notch Glade. That involves three individual laps off the summit yielding three completely untracked first of the season runs. Boot to knee deep. KILLER!!! Three unadulterated face shots resulted from those first three runs. The cold smoke was blowing right over my shoulders and up into my face. SICK!!!
Nothing like ripping up two and a half hours of untracked pow before heading into work. I need to do this more often.
Cannon reported a two day total of 9-10″. This report seems accurate to me after accounting for wind effects. On the second day of the two day storm, it skied more like 7″. Though I certainly went 10″ deep in many places where no one skied yesterday.
Lots of trails were reserved and skied great. Some better than others. Minor base damage was had but no core shots. Over the saddle, definitely a lot less total snow compared to Cannon proper. Especially on the open slopes but secrets revealed plenty to make the sucky parts worth one run… but no more. Cannon lost almost all of their natural snow base on trials without snow making, so definitely not for the faint of heart. A dozen untracked runs in two and a half hours before work? Sweet!
The mountain looks great. Especially for early January. With good snowmaking temperatures to continue, Cannon should have all of their snow making trails online within the next two weeks even without any additional natural snow. For natural snow trails…. this storm isn’t going to cut it and by this weekend, it is not going to be worth it. As much as I love Cannon… you either go the day after the storm or you look else where.
The decision between Jay Peak and Cannon kept me up a little bit last night. Jay was going to get a few extra inches but Cannon is closer and has better terrain options when the snow is good. I settled on Cannon expecting to have to hunt for a small sampling of left overs from the storm. Instead, I got consistent untracked every run including a few boot deep shots. Not bad for three days after the storm!
Icelanticskier, L, and I met up in the lodge quite by accident, chance encounter style, and made our way to the summit after sampling some butter sweet wind blown powder skier’s left of Big Link. This was to be the theme of the day!
Where was everyone? Was the looming threat of late afternoon NCP preceded by more snow in the morning scaring every one away? Felt rather lonely being on the only populated chair on the Cannonball Quad early in the morning. But it made for refills along the edges all morning and a lack of competition for the untracked. Sweet!
We found varying amounts of wind blown untracked along the edges. Sometimes 2-4″ (Tramway), sometimes 4-6″ (Taft and Upper Cannon), and sometimes 6-8″ (Skylight). I thought I was going to have to search hard for some sloppy second left overs, but we just kept lapping the Cannonball Quad and finding delicious wind blown untracked on every trail. Skylight owned for the morning via skier’s left.
Another season comes to a close with the annual suffer fest to Tuckerman Ravine. This year finds the Ravine with more snow than usual with the Sluice patch extending nearly to the ravine floor for almost two hundred vertical feet per run. Snow conditions were a sensational spring corn quality and turns were buttery compared to the usual teeth rattling glacial ice.
En route to the Ravine on the Tuckerman Ravine Trail, I came within spitting distance of a large moose. While hiking up the trail, I noticed a group up ahead pull off to the side of the trail and started taking pictures where the Raymond Path splits from the Tuckerman Ravine Trail. I assumed I was about to pass some tourists taking pictures of a trail sign. But as I rounded the bend, I came up short and noticed the cow was walking straight down the Tuckerman Ravine Trail. I side stepped to the edge of the trail and let her pass.
Met up with Rog and his friend who were already making turns in the bowl. The usual crowd of stunned and surprised hikers gathered along the snow patch to watch us make our July turns. After taking six laps, I called it a day and called it a season.
The Author Skiing the Tuckerman Ravine Snow Patch on July 6th:
Opening weekend for the Mount Washington Auto Road is a special weekend when the East Snowfields are in play. After my first experience on the East Snowfields two years ago, I vowed to never miss an opportunity to ski the East Snowfields slacker style when the Auto Road opens.
Kingsley and I hooked up for a long planned trip to Mount Washington to lap the East Snowfields on Memorial Day Weekend. Sunday offered the best conditions with the added perk of being a TimeForTuckerman.com gathering date. I brought a cooler full of adult beverages and grilling meat though the gathering was already well stocked with both. Not many things better than lunch time burgers near the summit of New England’s highest peak on a blue bird day following four laps of the East Snowfields.
During the seven mile drive from Route 16 to the East Snowfields, Kingsley and I listened to a sensationally dramatic CD detailing the history of the Auto Road. We quickly geared up and headed over to the Snowfields where we met Austin just finishing up a climb back to the top. After some quick introductions and pleasantries, we got down to business carving huge turns down stellar baked untracked corn snow. The first run would be the best and it was very enjoyable. The snow on the snowfields was quickly cut up by over one hundred fellow slackers. The traffic combined with the high temperatures and baking snow made for mashed potato sloppy corn by the third run.
Kingsley and I ventured further afield to the southern end of the East Snowfields which offered less hammered snow and occasional untracked patches. We enjoyed turns in a barely covered rock garden before climbing back up to the gathering and grilling some meat. After beer and burgers, we took two more runs for a total of six laps and called it a day. Another sensational blue bird day on Mount Washington which marks the beginning of the end for the season.
Another sensational day on the rock pile. Due to a later start than planned, I paid the price as the lots were full by my arrival at PNVC around eight o’clock. Route 16 became a parking lot as cars angled into spots up and down the road. While gearing up at my car, I received a few odd comments from less knowledgable and experienced skiers regarding wearing shorts and putting on my boots. “You gonna hike up in those?”. Nah, I’m gonna skin up!
Snow conditions allowed for skinning from the Sherburne/Avalanche Brook Trail connection to a quarter mile up the Gulf of Slides Trail. Then I hiked for about 20 minutes and skinned the rest of the way with two or three portages. Much better coverage on the Gulf of Slides Ski Trail than I had expected. Though I will admit on the ski down, I really pushed the definition of skiable coverage to the breaking point. Avalanche damage where the first major gully crosses the Gulf of Slides Ski Trail is stunning. During the ascent, a heel blister issue began was of concern. The uncomfortability, and later pain, would get worse throughout the day but I didn’t let it stop me.
After gearing up above the First Aid Cache, I started with the Main Gully which had seen the most traffic so I figured I would hit it first. The gully was somewhat bumpy and choppy but a really great ski. Not quite mashed potatoes but beyond perfect corn. The Intuitiv Bigs have seen very little action lately but skied wonderfully today in the gullies. These skis are sensational for this type of skiing. After climbing back up the excellent boot pack lookers’ left in the Main Gully, I had a snack above the snow pack (which is creeping down quickly) and relaxed to a great view up and down Pinkham Notch. After my break, I hiked over to the next gully skiers’ left and dropped in to more sensational turns. My heel was really giving me problems at this point and skiing was somewhat uncomfortable. But the heck with pain, I had time to be sore when I got done skiing.
