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Weather forecasts were predicting a decent size storm dropping lots of snow on New England Tuesday and Wednesday. With this in mind, I asked the boss for Thursday off hoping for a powder day. Cannon delivered with 7-11″ of light powder and an epic day of adventure. Quite possibly my best day on skis ever to date.

While driving up I-93, I was dismayed by the apparent lack of snow. The further north I drove, the less snow appeared on the road side. By the time I arrived in the White Mountains, no more than a few inches covered the ground. Amazingly, all that changed once I drove into the Franconia Notch. Arriving at Cannon, I noticed fresh snow covered everything and knew this was going to be an epic day. I giddily gathered up my gear and practically ran towards the Peabody Base Lodge.

Suffice to say, the Cannon Trail Report had not exaggerated even slightly reporting 7-11″ of new snow. It came in the form of light powder and continued to snow all day long. This is the stuff most skiers spend their entire lives dreaming about but rarely skiing. I would search Cannon and Mittersill all day for fresh untracked powdah, and found myself more often than not making tracks where there were none before me. Boot to knee deep in freshies all day.

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An awesome “Ball of Fire” sunrise evolved into bluebird skies in Massachusetts as I began my drive north to Cannon. The majestic morning gave way to snow coming down at a good clip four miles north of Loon when entering the Franconia Notch. Cannon picked up an average of two to three inches with surprise pockets up to but not exceeding boot deep. A small victory for snow deprived skiers during the normally very snowy month of march. But beggars can not be choosers.

Not expecting much from today’s outing, it actually turned out to be a great day with exceptional company. I skied with Porter and his brother and Chris and his friend. Low expectations set the stage for exceptional conditions.

The usual run Front Face runs began the morning with Rocket holding awesome snow but the bumps were scraped under the fluff. Avalanche was also fast and variable with the new snow. Bumps on skier’s left were beastly but manageable. Zoomer was sah-weet in the morning. I opted to play the trail by making very slow and controlled turns down the center. Would return to Zoome later in the afternoon to sample the bumps on skier’s right later.

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Saturday promised clear skies and temperatures in the 40s and 50s. Perfect Spring Skiing weather despite the fact that Spring Skiing should not begin for another month! Upon arriving at Cannon Mountain, I visited Guest Relations to claim a free ski ticket for maxing out my frequent skier card. The morning sunrise brought forth tremendous color leaving an electricity hanging in the air. Today was going to be a great day to be on skis regardless of how little snow fell during the month of February.

Feeling the need for speed and a proper warm up (for once!), I made my first runs on some groomers. Big fast GS turns were had down Middle Cannon to Paulie’s Extension followed by quick and nimble slalom turns down Avalanche. Groomer festivities were continued down the center of Zoomer which featured bumps on both sides of the groomed center.

After my legs were feeling up to task, I tracked down the bumps on Paulie’s Folly since bumps on Zoomer Lift Line and Avalanche looked sketchy, hard packed, uneven, and no fun. Paulie’s has in past years disappointed but this year I have enjoyed epic runs almost every day! This day was no different as I offered verbal praise and cries of joy to the natural snow gods. The snow was soft, pleasant, and edgable. The bumps offered supreme satisfaction. Sure there were some natural terrain features such as rock, dirt, and weeds. And my bases suffered when I let my guard down> But it was a great run that I repeated twice later in the day.

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A blustery start to the morning had Cannon Mountain on a wind hold. Chairs were being loaded onto the haul rope as I booted up and chairlift opened at 8:45 A.M. My sliding partner and I wasted no time in heading for the summit which was actually less breazy than the base!

Some minor powdah on skier’s left of Taft Slalom got the morning started proper. Natural snow adventure skiing was suspect and continuing to decrease in quality as the weeks tick by without additional snow. Rocks previously buried in snow were beginning to show and the snow conditions were generally just terrible. The new snow was blown off in most places leaving an old crusty hard pack. Baron’s featured some of the better natural snow on the mountain but still left much to be desired.

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A fresh coating of snow freshened things up significantly. Despite the increased coverage, the snow was an unusual high moisture content variety that was lower quality than the previous weekend. As per usual when New England receives some snow, the deep freeze descended over the region from Canada. It was a tram day for sure! Temperatures eventually warmed to ten degrees below zero before factoring in the wind chill. Later in the day, I would suffer through the coldest Cannonball Quad ride I can remember.

Per usual I began my morning on the Front Face. Bumps on right sides of Rocket and Zoomer Lift Line were hard packed and unforgiving but would get much better in the afternoon. Paulie’s was better skier’s right this week as skier’s left looked rather green by the evening. Avalanche had both skier’s right and left bumped with groomed snow down the middle similar to Zoomer. I enjoyed skier’s left better personally but neither was completely satisfying. Returning to these trails later in the day, I found some rocking bumps skier’s right on Zoomer and Zoomer Lift Line. These bumps had softened up and formed well with more skier traffic. Zoomer was great all over the place except where the side slippers were coming down center.

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This Superbowl Sunday was a primo day at Cannon. Since the New England Patriots were in the Superbowl, crowds tended to be minimal compared to standard Superbowl Weekends. Typical conditions and enjoyable skiing for December. Too bad it is February. Sweet turns were still to be had amongst the natural snow trails at Cannon. However, conditions leave a lot to be desired considering the time of the season.

After catching the second chair to turn for the general public, the lift stalled for about five minutes. Patrol was visually inspecting the tower that crests the ridge near the Middle Cannon intersection with Bypass. The tower contains a weather vane which created suspicion of high winds effecting operations. No worries though as we were moving again in short order.

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Day Two at dawned with much pain due to epic powder turns on Saturday. The soreness started at my back and went all the way through my hamstrings. For a moment, I debated going home and calling it a weekend. But thoughts of Taft Slalom and Upper/Middle Hard danced in my head. It was on.

For the morning, I slowly nursed my legs back into condition by sticking mostly to the groomers. I ducked into the bumps on Gary’s and Rocket which were rather nice for this time of year. Props to Cannon for letting the bumps build up on the side of these trails! Lower Cannon/Toss Up had sweet packed powder that warranted several runs! Rarely do I afford that distinction to a run classified as a green circle. With the front face closed, and my body warming to the task… I ventured up the tram for a final shot at the best snow on the mountain. The snow you gotta duck a rope to get to. For the third time, Taft Slalom provided awesome turns with some small bumps developing. And despite gradually thinning cover, Upper and Middle Hard delivered on the goods yet again.

I packed it in around noon time, deciding my body had taken a beating and needed me to relent. My bases are utterly destroyed as I mostly skied the natural snow trails all weekend; which although had a foot of powder, had no base whatsoever. These two days cap a December for the record books. With a fourth epic day of turns this month, all of which rivals some of my best days in February, I will happy pay the piper to repair my skis for the delight of earning those powdery turns. The turns ski dreams are made of.

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Christmas Eve flooded most New England Ski Areas with over an inch of rain. Flood warnings were set off throughout the region as snow melt and down pours combined into a skier’s worst nightmare. However, Cannon skiers were good this year as Santa delivered the abundant snowfall Christmas night. Rain changed over to snow and dumped a foot of fresh on the mostly bare slopes of Cannon! Friday skiers got a super powder day; those showing up Saturday had precious little time to pick through the remains of the spoils.

Saturday saw Cannon as busy as I have ever seen it. Busier than your average Super Bowl Sunday. All three lots were packed with cars and a shuttle bus transported skiers to and from the far away parking lots. Despite the crowds, most lifts were ski on most of the day. With a little knowledge of the mountain and its quirky patterns, one could completely avoid the crowds and still find patches of fresh snow.

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Where to begin? As I approached the Franconia Notch, all the sky was blue. The Franconia Ridge was as illustrious as I have ever seen it. The peaks of Mounts Flume, Liberty, Lincoln, and Lafayette were caked with brilliantly white snow against a back drop of the deepest blue.

Then enter the fog. As per usual, Grumpy Old Man Cannon had an ugly dark cloud sitting upon his shoulder, daring any to challenge it.

Driving north through the notch, I spied the Front Face trails of Cannon Mountain. Many powder turns had already been etched into the Front Five the day before from creative and eager skiers (Zoomer Triple was not turning, but still many turns were made! That is dedication!). However, much more of the powder had been left untouched than had already been tracked. I pulled of the Interstate at the Peabody Base Slopes exit eagerly anticipating the fine skiing to be had.

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The plan was originally made a week ago; before it snowed. The plan was to hike a lower elevation mountain with good views such as Mount Monadnock or the Welch-Dickey Loop in Waterville Valley. The southern facing trails on such mountains were completely snow free by the last day of March and I was itching to get a jump on hiking season. With most ski resorts reporting lots of bare ground, slushy snow, and low trail counts… I planned to hike instead. Little did I know that I would be hiking in ski boots up a well known saddle on the northern flank of Cannon to Mount Jackson instead.

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Despite recent disappointments with Cannon grooming almost all of their trails flat as a pancake, I could not resist the Two-Fer $40 on Valentine’s Day. There is nothing I would rather be doing on Valentine’s Day than skiing by myself! I am not being facetious, I mean that quite literally and seriously. But my opinions on Hallmark Holidays, their negative effects on mental health and general outlook on life, and binge Holiday consumption are really neither here nor there and do not pertain to this particular report. Feel free to email me; however, if you would like to discuss these topics in depth!

It was a freezing cold day at Cannon on Friday. Temperatures at the summit started at -20 F. Fortunately, the wind was manageable as I unloaded from the High Speed Quad and quickly ducked over to By-Pass. Quickly, I noticed that most trails were groomed to what some skiers might call “perfection.” However; unless I am in the mood for ripping GS turns, any grooming leaves much to be desired. I tracked down to the Front Face and ran laps skiers left to right starting on Gary’s. Gary’s and Rocket featured the so called perfect groom with occasional natural pockets on skiers’ right on Rocket. Not much consistency or fun to be had on those occasional natural snow areas.

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Super Bowl Sunday Two-Fer at Cannon Mountain. Whereas last year’s Super Bowl crowd was minimal this year people packed the parking lots. Two major differences exist between the two seasons. Last year was a horrible snow year and the New England Patriots were featured in the Super Bowl whereas this year has been a great snow year so far and the teams involved in the Super Bowl are of little interest to New Englanders. Despite the crowds, wait times for chair lifts never exceeded two to three minutes and the Tram was generally only a one or two Tram wait. Cannon’s staff did an excellent job filling every chair and directing traffic in the lift corals.

Conditions started off as a groomers paradise. Almost the entire mountain had been groomed and the morning snow was hard, fast, edgable, and mostly enjoyable. By 11 A.M., good quality snow required some searching. I found it on skiers’ right of Rocket in the form of soft and loose snow with occasional bumps.

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Plans for an über cold weekend included Cannon Mountain on Saturday and Burke on Sunday (discount Burke tickets provided by First Tracks!! Online Ski Magazine). For the evening in between, I made a rare stay at an inn. I choose the Dunroamin Inn located in Whitefield, NH and I give them VERY high marks. Recently purchased by an engaged couple from Rhode Island, the Inn was completely renovated and looks amazing. No expense was spared (except on the rates, very cheap!) in refurbishing this excellent getaway just up Route 3 from Cannon Mountain. I stayed in a small B & B style room. The Innkeeper, Phil, gave me a full tour of the Inn and showed me the other rooms available. Further; he gave me excellent dinner recommendations, directions, and made me feel very welcome. I was rather impressed with their standard double bed rooms. Considering the offer of a free Kayak rental, I will be back during the Summer during hiking season. This Inn carries my highest recommendation, so please consider the Dunroamin Inn if you are looking for lodging in the area.

Cannon was not as cold as predicted, but the morning runs still left some warmth to be desired. Snow was hard and fast in the morning which also left something to be desired. Up the Peabody Quad I went and tracked down my standard first run: Middle Cannon to Paulie’s Extension to the Front Five. Paulie’s Extension had huge frozen whales that have since been plowed that were not fun! I opted for Avalanche to the Banshee Slopes so I could access the Tram. It was a cold, so it was definitely a tram morning. Avalanche has really suffered from high skier traffic and not enough replenished snow. Normally one of my favorite runs, even first thing in the morning Avalanche was iffy. Headed over to Banshee slopes and opted for the delightfully narrow Banshee Lift Line. This often overlooked gem offered short quick turns on some natural fluff over hard pack. Some bumps here and there, just enough to jump off and have some fun.

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Long have I anxiously awaited my first opportunity to ski Mittersill. I have always heeded the Backcountry safety maxim: never ski alone. And I almost always ski solo. So I waited. However; on this trip to Cannon, I knew before I even pulled into the parking lot that this was to be the day. During my first trip up the Cannonball Quad, I noted several people making the hike up Mittersill. I knew I could find someone to partner up with and stay safe. It was time to pop my proverbially Mittersill Cherry… I was to be a Mittersill Virgin no more!

From the summit of Cannon, I tracked down the quickly deteriorating but still excellent bump lines of Taft Slalom. Gathering up all the momentum I could, I flew as far up the col between Cannon and Mittersill as possible before slowing to a stop. I clicked out of my skis, slung my skis over my shoulder, and began my maiden voyage up the snowy stairway to skiing heaven and snowy bliss.

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I am not even sure where to begin. How do I put into words the type of day I had at Cannon? Suffice to say, it was one of the top three skiing days in my life. I had what I consider to be my best and most memorable run ever. I have never smiled, laughed, whooped, yelled, giggled, and all out had such a fun six hours in my lifetime. It was pure bliss, euphoria, uncontrolled hysteria. I was a kid again, carefree and fun loving. I had a ball.

I began my day with my customary early wake up time of 5:30 A.M. for the two hour drive to Cannon. Roads were still a little slick and drivers had an attitude. Not a fun drive up. As I laid eyes on the notch, I got an awesome feeling. The whole notch was cloud free… except for Cannon. The top 750 vertical feet of Cannon were socked in. It was the proverbially cloud over the head of Angry Old Man Cannon that followed him where ever he goes. As I drove through the notch, and smiled at Cannon’s personification and stammered my favorite mountain saying “Cannon, you big grumpy old man you!”

I was the polar opposite of that grumpy old man, I was a giddy smiling little kid. The weekend storm had dumped over half a foot of fluff on the broad shoulders of Cannon Mountain, and I was about to hit the candy store.

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