The Rules:
Eight ski days in less than four weeks. That is almost half as many days as some of my recent season totals.
I had every excuse not to head up to Cannon today. The day started with temperatures barely in double digits paired with a stiff breeze. Without any new snow during the past few days, conditions would likely be firm and fast. Natural snow trails would almost certainly be lack luster.
In fact, natural snow trails were worse than lack luster. High winds and Saturday skier traffic had decimated most of the natural snow trails. Many trails were brutal hard pack “one and done’s”. But Vista Way skied nicely. And a it felt great to rail some arcs down Taft, Tramway, and Middle Cannon.
It was a good day. Even if conditions were lack luster, it was not a lack luster day of skiing.
Today was the busiest that I have ever seen Cannon. The crowded trifecta happened including a foot of new snow, excessive storm hype all week (including over forecasting expected totals), and a holiday vacation week. Additionally, the storm ended and the roads were cleared well before sunrise making an easy drive for metro area powder hounds to Cannon. The untracked went faster than I have ever seen it go at Cannon. According to someone I talked with on a chairlift, Cannon, Loon, and Bretton Woods were all turning cars away due to no remaining parking spaces.
The Freezer made its season debut today which also means today was the first day of lift service for the upper mountain on the tramside. Quite a crowd gathered at the Freezer for its opening. Eight inches of dense snow fell on top of a semi-crusty base. The snow from the previous storms had consolidated due to some moderating temperatures followed by another deep freeze. The result was a very nice powder day but not quite the epic opening that many skiers had expected.
Things got tracked out extremely fast since all the powder hounds were lapping the Freezer. I took that bait as well hitting JFK for a frenzied opening run followed by three runs through off map woods. But even the off map woods were being hammered. So I decided to go explore leftovers on Stateside via the Jet.
This was a smart move as the Jet had no line and no powder hounds. The Jet was open the day before when the snow started falling, so it should not have had the full 48 hour bounty of untracked snow. But sure enough, I made use of my knowledge of the mountain to find some startlingly good pockets of untouched snow. When everyone else zigs, you zag.
Despite Jay having ample snow to open 100% of its terrain, only the Jet spun today due to a variety of lift related issues. The tram had a cable issue and was undergoing repairs which took the Bonnie out of commission due to the overhanging cable. Adding insult to injury, the Freezer was awaiting an inspection before making its debut. Many people complained but they were looking a gift horse in the mouth. Today was not a day to complain that the lifts were down but rather to rejoice that only the Jet was spinning.