Plans for an uber 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 for the night. 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 is completely renovated and looks amazing. No expense was spared (except on the rates, very cheap!) in refurbishing the 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 VERY 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, please consider it if you are looking for lodging in the area.
Okay, enough with the plugs... onto the skiing! Cannon was not as cold as predicted, but the A.M. runs still left some warmth to be desired. Snow was hard and fast in the morning, also leaving something to be desired. Up the Quad I went and tracked down my standard first run: Middle Cannon to Paulies Extension to the Front Five. Paulies Extension had huge frozen whales that have since been plowed, not fun! Opted for Avalanche to the Banshee Slopes so I could access the Tram. It was a cold one, so it was definitely a tram morning. Avalanche has really suffered from high skier traffic and not enough replenished snow this season so far. Normally one of my favorite runs, even first thing in the morning Avalanche was if'y. 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.
From the summit, I tracked down Taft Slalom trying to find loose powder on the edges. Upper Hard was down right nasty with uneven frozen bumps and five foot visibility. No, I mean that literally with no exaggeration. I could not see the trees and edge of the trail until I could almost touch them. Very dangerous and not too fun. Up the Cannonball Quad and made HUGE GS turns down Profile. Again, descending into the fog I had limited visibility, but I still felt confident making fast big turns on the wide trail. Again, back up the Cannonball Quad and opted to visit the less foggy side of the mountain making tracks down Vista Way, By Pass, Middle Cannon, and onto the Front Five.
Zoomer was groomed, so I proceeded to carve up big GS turns through the steeps. Paulies had decent bump lines and moderate sized bumps. Avalanche was scratchy from the get-go and proceeded to get worse as the day went on. Rocket provided amply room and pitch for big carved GS turns. I proceeded to run laps on Zoomer Lift Line which offered the best snow and bumps on the mountain. The snow started getting skied off in places, and rocks and other such thin cover obstacles gradually were exposed. But still, time and time again much fun was to be had (that is, when I was not popping out of my bindings--which I have since adjusted--for no good reason). I got tired of humiliating myself under the lift line by having binding release issues which caused much laughter from above. I proceeded to Peabody Lodge for lunch.
Post lunch, I had Mittersill on the mind. Took the Eagle Cliff Triple over to Garys for some quick slalom style turns, then a bump run on the edge of Zoomer before gaining the summit via the Tram. Found many like minded souls making the hike over to Mittersill. I caught my breath at the summit and took a few pictures before clicking in and venturing down the historic Taft Trail. Bumps were more packed down and bigger than the previous week, but still delightful and fun. After pausing at the old Double Unloading Station, I opted for Barrons for my first Mittersill run of the day. Again, not as epic as the previous week, but delightful. Still some loose snow and powder here and there with more thin cover becoming exposed.
Returned later in the day for a run down the old lift line. I found three other skiers with similar thoughts, so we buddied up for the run. Snow at the top of the run was the best snow I skied all day. Nice loose soft powder on top of packed with light fluffy bumps. Make your own lines and hop around on the snow. When the pitch started getting steeper, things got more hairy but still fun. The steepest and narrowest part of the lift line had dreadful snow and thin cover with big, hard, irregular bumps from slip sliding. However, this was worth dealing with for the turns made up top. Turned right through the trees at the old T-Bar unload station to access the traverse that leads back to Barrons Run. I returned to this trail later in the day; I probably should not have as my legs were tired and I was starting to fatigue.
Excellent day overall with Mittersill and Zoomer Lift Line providing the best snow, bumps, and options. Cannon still has excellent cover with all trails but the Tramline open; but really needs another dump bad to freshen up snow conditions.
Panoramic of the Upper Trails at Cannon
Panoramic of the Kinsman Ridge
