Category: 2001-2002 Season

2001-2002 Season, Cannon Mountain, February

Cannon Mountain, NH

Cannon once again offered up Two-Fers for the popular Super Bowl Sunday lift tickets. It was impossible for me to resist a day at Cannon for only $22. With the pre-game festivities not scheduled to begin on TV until 6 P.M., a full day of skiing was to be had; and not a second of the Super Bowl was to be missed.

The night before, I set my alarms a little earlier than usual because I needed to stop for gas and money. After getting to bed rather early (9 P.M.), I found myself tossing and turning for hours; unable to sleep a wink. Maybe it was the Pats in the Super Bowl, maybe it was anticipation of skiing Cannon, maybe I was trying to sleep after being awake less than nine hours… who knows! In any case, I abandoned sleeping around 3:30 A.M. and finished preparations.

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2001-2002 Season, Articles, Burke, January, Powder Day

The Burke Mountain Experience

Willoughby Quad
Willoughby Quad

Getting There

Many great things have been said about Burke; and the mountain has been on my list of places to visit since it’s re-opening. After several years of poor management and closings, Burke re-opened last season and remains one of Vermont’s best kept secrets.

I woke up early on Saturday morning around 4:50 A.M and quickly grabbed a bite to eat, packed the car, and had the wheels rolling by 5:20 A.M. The darkness at this early time seemed greater than normal even considering the time of the year. Gloomy clouds were promising socked in peaks and they delivered on their promise.

Having never driven to the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, I opted to drive through the Franconia Notch on I-93 in New Hampshire instead of taking I-89. I believed this would be the faster and more interesting route and this proved to be a sound assumption. Although most of the peaks were socked in the clouds, I-93 through the Franconia Notch still remains one of my favorite drives even when the weather does not cooperate. Franconia Notch had a localized snow storm that made driving on the Parkway interesting. But the storm relented as I passed Cannon, as I looked longingly at Avalanche, Paulie’s Folly, and Zoomer.

Total mileage to Burke Mountain via this route from the New Hampshire boarder was 170 miles and took just under three hours. Upon reaching Burke Mountain, I by-passed the lower mountain Base Lodge and headed to the Mid-Burke Lodge which allowed quick access to the better terrain. The Lodge was populated with racers from both the Burke Mountain Academy and The New England Masters circuit along along with some locals.

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2001-2002 Season, Cannon Mountain, December

Cannon Mountain, NH

Cannonball Quad

The forecast depicted today as possibly the coldest day of the 2001-2002 winter so far. Given recent abnormally warm temperatures, this was not saying much. But given Cannon’s well earned reputation for fearsome winds and cold temperatures, I was prepared for the worst Cannon had to offer.

Much to my surprise and relief, the weather was not bad at all and quite pleasant at times! Winds were at their worst on the Peabody Express Quad. Winds seemed to only effect the north facing slopes of the lower mountain. Winds and temperatures were actually pleasant on the Cannonball Quad and the upper mountain trails which normally show Cannon at its worst.

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2001-2002 Season, December, Killington

Killington, VT

After a warm and snow less start to the system, few ski areas had many trails open by mid-December. Thus, I opted to ski at the snow making capital of New England to maximize available of open terrain. This was my first visit to Killington and was unimpressed with the crowds, rudeness, bland terrain, and lack of character.