Cannon Tramline Trail- 3/15/2004

Date(s) Skied: Wednesday, March 15, 2005. 9 AM - 2:30 PM

Resort or Ski Area: Cannon Mountain,Franconia, New Hampshire

Conditions: Foggy top half of mountain, Light snow, breezy

Trip Report:
Went to Cannon on March 15th 2005 with the sole purpose of snowboarding Tramline. Before you read the review, here is what to expect. 1. It is easier to ski tramline than board it (couple tiny rocky sections a board can't get thru. no big deal). 2. There could be hidden rocks anywhere under the snow ( I heard them scraping under my board a few times)this was especially nerve racking because I blazed the first trail of the day. 3. Keep up your speed and try to keep going forward. ( I only could feel the rocks when I tried to traverse the trail. It is better to keep moving down the mountain and stay on top of the snow and unexpected rocks). 4. I read a reviewer say " If you need to side step, you should not be on the trail. (thats bull, If you have the guts to go down do whatever it takes) 5. I guess there was a little more cover a few days ago but where is the challenge / risk in going down all powder? NOW ON TO THE REVIEW: I have waited a few years to finally get my chance to do tramline as it is never open year after year. I am always seeking the biggest challenge and before this, the Face Chutes at Jay Peak and the Old Gondi Line at Wildcat were the best I had found. That was until I hit Tramline. Tramline, is by far, the greatest New England trail I have ever boarded. This was a dream come true and exceeded all my expectations and dreams of what this trail would be like. The snow cover was as good as it probably gets and from what I could see I blazed the first tracks down. When you enter the Tramline, you have to navigate a pretty hairy. narrow path thru birch trees just to get to the real entrance. Stay in control and you will love it. Once out of the woods you are standing at the top edge of tramline. It is immense and intimidating and I was alone, Just Me, Tramline, and the spectators watching from the Tram that is going right over you head. This was the showdown I always wanted. The first piece is fairly easy to navigate, lots of bumps but tons of snow. I traversed immediatley over to the left side and pounded through the powder and hard pack until the next section, from there, I went right, because on a board the next little section on the left is almost impassable (rocks). Its pretty hairy and you have to stay in control to navigate thru the rock mazes. Once you get out of that, you have really earned it and your pretty sweaty. I'm not going to lie and say it was easy but if you stay in control, you wont get hurt and will have a blast. The Lower 3rd of Tramline is where you really get rewarded. Nothing but big terrian and tons of snow. By the time you get to the bottom your drained and the euphoria is second to none. I ended up doing this run 8 times. After 4 in a row, I tried the hardscrabbles for 1 run but it doesn't compare. I went back and did 4 more runs on Tramline. From what I could see / hear on the tram, Myself and only a couple of other people skied Tramline on this day. Each run I did was a solo. Although I kept thinking someone was following me because of the constant sound of "little avalanches" behind me all the time". The last run of the day, I followed a skier into tramline. I stayed behind him until the Tramline opening. He stopped to comtemplate, I just started down. Every now and then I would stop and look up to see the skier but eventually he was so far behind I lost sight of him. 15 minutes later I saw him at the bottom and he said that it was the sickest trail and how tough it was. Seeing that Tramline is easier for a skier I felt like the king of the world having done it 8 times. To make it even better, the skier was a Cannon Ski Patrol guy. I had to laugh because each time I took the tram, everyone has comments on Tramline as you look at it beneath,. "no one can do that" "snowboards can never make it down" "too many rocks" "too steep". I can tell you one thing. Tramline looks way worse when viewed from the tram. When you are on the trail it is steep and there are rocks but it looks more intimidating from the tram.

[riverc0il]

4. I read a reviewer say " If you need to side step, you should not be on the trail. (thats bull, If you have the guts to go down do whatever it takes)

that was me and i stand by my statement. tramline is a lot easier than most people would think it is. it's by no means the hardest trail i've been on, it would make my top ten though but not near the top. part of my reasoning for people not side slipping is they close this glorious trail because too many people side slip all the snow off. on a groomed steep run this is no problem, a groomer goes down the run at night and repairs the damage. but with tramline, it only takes a few people scraping all the snow off to ruin it for everyone. that said, if you're side sliping and can not make hop turns, you are definitely in way over your head and have no business on tramline. period. tramline is not about guts, it's about control. if you are side sliping tramline, you don't have the control to make a precision turn and stop that may be required to save your neck if you get in trouble. that's my two sense and we can just agree to disagree.

regarding tram conversation, it's usually people that talk the least that know the most. don't be "that guy" on the tram. i just nod and smile when other people make comments.

[goldsbar]

Not trying to take anything away from you as I've never seen this trail. But, if this is a marked ski trail - especially in the NE - I wonder how hard it can really be. I've seen a couple of marked double blacks at Whistler that had mandatory air (most of them do there) that could have potential for tragedy if you messed up. Falls on most of the marked doubles at Jackson Hole would just result in a nasty tumble. Those are supposedly two of the most challenging "destination" ski areas in N America. I never really see anything like that in the East on marked trails. Sure, there's some gnarly stuff - especially at places like MRG. But, the marked trails are generally something the average black diamond skier can handle.

That being said, I've never seen this trail (or the ski are for that matter)...

[JimG.]

Originally Posted by goldsbar

That being said, I've never seen this trail (or the ski are for that matter)...

RivercOil has posted some shots in this forum...trail looks like a blast and I wish I was close enough to Cannon to check it out. I'll have to plan a trip up that way next season.

I don't compare East coast and West coast trail markings. Mandatory air is ALOT easier in western snow conditions. Eastern conditions add alot of difficulty to many of the trails here.

what is mandatory air? There are no rules to this sport, no judges, no right and wrong and especially no one to tell you how you should make it down a trail. When you come to a point in this sport where you think you can make the rules or discourage someone from trying to push themselves to the next level, it's time to hang it up or do some self reflection and think back to when you were starting out and took on challenges that seemed impossible but in the end, you did it and got the confidence to go to the next level. I have seen the pristine pictures of tramline that were posted and I would hazard to say that with that amount of snow, it is a tough Blue diamond. The day I went, it was a true Black diamond, still great cover but way more challenging. For people who want to discriminate, judge, put rules on nature, and discourage others, there are hundreds of golf clubs that would welcome you with open arms

[JimG.]

Originally Posted by seano

what is mandatory air? There are no rules to this sport, no judges, no right and wrong and especially no one to tell you how you should make it down a trail.

There are a few runs in the east and many out west that require you to make a leap of faith to get onto the run...Corbett's Coulior in Jackson Hole is a famous example that comes to mind. The waterfall section of Paradise at MRG is another when snow is scarce.

Not trying to judge you or tell you how to get down a run. The only thing that matters is whether you have fun or not.

Sounds like you had fun...cool !

[dmc]

Originally Posted by seano

what is mandatory air?

Better then "Oh SH*T" air...

[marcski]

I've never skied Cannon, it is high on the list.

How does Tramline compare to redline at magic?

Can't comment on that comparison. Never been to Magic. I pretty much stick to Sugarbush, Jay Peak, Wildcat, Cannon , and Mount Snow. My favorite most challenging runs: Sugarbush = Rumble & Exterminator.. Mount Snow = Ripcord..Wildcat = Old Gondi Line..Jay Peak = Face Chutes & Powerline...Cannon = Tramline

[riverc0il]

mandatory air as in you can't get down the run without taking a huck off something. though the tramline boulder section filled in recently so that it's no longer a mandatory air.

i agree people need to push themselves... within reason. to suggest that any one with enough guts should ski any trail they want is ludicrous. that is akin to saying even a first timer should take a wack at tramline. why not? they got the guts right? that's how you develop in the sport? getting in over your head? no, there is a line to draw somewhere and you need certain skills to make it down certain runs without endangering yourself or others, or completely ruining the snow pack. i normally just roll my eyes when someone hacks down a bump run doing wedge turns. whatever, you don't learn bumps when you're wedging and how it could be fun is beyond me. but certain terrain dictates a certain skill set. there is no firm line drawn, but certainly there is one or else you are advocating from any level skier to slide down any run without regard for their own safety and that of others.

not sure how you can rate gondi line at wildcat up with those other trails. it's really not a difficult trail at all.

regarding red line, red line top to bottom is a more demanding trail over all. the crux moves on tramline are more difficult than say the cliff at magic which can generally be avoided except in lean snow conditions. however, the top and bottom 1/3 of tramline is not difficult by any stretch of the imagination, whereas redline is pretty hairy top to bottom overall. i thought about this comparison before. honestly, the first time i did red line i was a lot more nurvous than the first time i did tramline, fwiw. though after being down them both, i can't say they inspire any nurvous feelings after that first time down each.