I briefly considered Jay. Two years ago, that would have been the play. Jay received a bit more accumulation and offered plenty of “reserved” untracked. But I wanted to hike and ski, not ride lifts and duck ropes. Over the years, Cannon’s Front Five has consistently provided some of the best early season powder skiing. Fall storms always seem to over deliver at Cannon. And, after all these years, it’s still home.

The lack of cars was surprising. I followed the usual skin track up Banshee to an almost untouched Avalanche. First turns of the season were sublime. It never gets old. Snow depth was just enough (8-10″), but I occasionally bottomed out onto slick fast grass. It is a shame Cannon blows snow on Avi, the natural skis so well. I went back up for first tracks down Paulie’s and Zoomer. Neither compared to turns down Avi, but both were enjoyable runs.