Cannon Mountain: February 11, 2006 (Trailboss' Report on AlpineZone Ski Day!!)

[thetrailboss]

Date(s) Skied: February 11, 2006

Resort or Ski Area: Cannon

Conditions: PP/MG/FG

Trip Report: We had been looking forward to this for months. There was a lot of talk, hoping, and even wondering if it was going to happen. Once again, Bob R brought us the sunshine and lots and lots of AZer's....the most we've had at a single outing ever

This is just my report on what I did today...I hope that more folks will tell their tales.

So here's mine. I had no problem talking seven friends into coming. One was not able to come at the last minute, but I was thrilled to have MJ, MR, T, J, and Ms. Trailboss up this AM and heading north on 91 to Cannon. The sunrise was beautiful...and the snowreport was encouraging:

Originally Posted by Cannon Snowreporter

What a beautiful way to start a day- you’ll just have to imagine driving up through the notch, with clear skies and the almost full moon over the mountain. It is probably warmer here than it is at your place this morning, so don't let the chill keep you at home. The only cloud is the one from the snowmakers, who have been working on middle cannon and the brookside slope. Thanks to their efforts, and a little help from mother nature, we will open 35 trails today with mostly groomed packed powder surfaces. Forecasts call for mostly clear skies today, with temperatures that should get close to 20. it sill be a busy day here at the mountain, with something happening for just about everyone-

And that was our trek up...91 over the heights with Moosilauke on the horizon. Mount Washington and the Presidentials in front of us and then the Franconia Range spread out below us as we drove over Sugar Hill--covered in snow.

We pulled in at 8:45 and it took a solid 45 mins for me to get my party settled, ticketed, clothed (one guy needed ski pants...Cannon Ski Shop did a great job helping out). Charlie and his friend, "E" were inside getting ready as well. We caught up with them before heading out. It was almost 9:30 by the time we stepped outside and literally ran into the entire AZ Crew--off the top of my head Bob R, Chilemass, Roark, Marc, Andy Zee and Significant Other, Terry, Jim G and son It was downright impressive. So literally, all 15 of us piled on the Peabody Express and headed up.

We divided up again--I showed my party the mountain because it was their first time to Cannon. So we headed down Middle Cannon to Rocket and to the Zoomer Triple. This was the side that Ms. TB was most interested in trying...she had stared at for years and had wanted to ski the "front five." No regrets. Gary's, Zoomer, Rocket, and Avalanche were all in great shape considering. Zoomer was good for a couple runs. We all zoomed around. Three of my party, the "Maryland Men's Snowboard Club" I guess you could say headed to the summit via the Tram. We took a few more spins before heading over.

The tram was packed and the girls loved the ride. First run off the top was Upper Cannon--mint. We headed down Upper Ravine--mint as well. Next run we caught up with the rest of our party and we descended a very icy and treacherous Skylight (which I had bragged about before... ). We took a spin down Tramway before meeting up with the AZ crew and taking a run down Tramway to Cannon Bypass all the way to the base for lunch.

Marc joined us downstairs while the more mature crowd sat at the bar and had a good lunch.

Afternoon with the AZ Crew

Since I had gotten my crew oriented to the mountain, I was able to hit the slopes with the AZ crew. We had a great time mingling, joking around, and yeah, skiing.

First run was down Cannon Bypass back to Rocket and the Zoomer Area. Charlie and "E" skied Zoomer and reported back that it was icy, but doable. We hit Rocket and Gary's a couple more times (finding some ice here and there, but good coverage) before I opened my mouth again saying how great Banshee looked.

"Let's do it," Charlie said with a grin leading us down to the short, narrow run. We stood on the upper headwall looking down to a small race course, lots of kids, and not much room The side of the trail was FG with some thin snow. Chilemass kicked in the nitro to get out of there and almost ended up on the Southbound lane of Interstate 93. He had us scared. But, in true form, he got up with a smile and an, "I'm OK!" before hiking back up from his crashsite.

We packed into the tram and headed up to the summit with the intent of doing one more run to the bottom. That turned into three good runs.

First run was down Upper Ravine--probably run of the day--and we hooted the entire way down. A loose snowboarder almost took out me and then Marc...(the snowboarder almost got a taste of my ski pole) After those evasive moves, it was smooth sailing. We boarded the Cannonball Express and then hit Tramway, which also was holding up well (OK, tie for run of the day ) before going for just ONE more run down an always entertaining Upper Cannon. We all flew over the rolls and turns--laughing and encouraging each other.

Standing at the top of Middle Ravine, we saw taht the race was still in progress, so we hit Middle Hardscrabble. White knuckles for much of the way for me--some ice and skidding here and there. There was some soft snow here and there. We spent ten minutes or so watching the racers.

At the bottom, some headed in while the rest of us went down to the Tuckerbrook area to take some cool-down runs and to show the Mittersill Trails/area to the crew. Quick runs down Turkey Trot and Bear Paw. But it was not over.

Marc, Terry, and I took another run down Middle Cannon. Terry and I pulled the plug, but Marc went to close (Marc? Marc, you OK? We missed you at Apres).

Apres was a good scene. All of my crew, AZer's, and some good tunes and prizes. Good brews.

Riverc0il came out of the 'Kingdom to see us. He was all smiles and ready to get back on the skis We had a great time talking before heading home.

So now my Burke hat has a Cannon Tram pin on it. Loving the place!

Special Thanks go to Zowi420 for the discount tix and making LOTS folks happy. Zowi, you've got a bus load of new Cannon fans needless to say after today!

Bob R gets props for taking the initiative and getting this thing going. He did a great job getting everyone on the slopes and directing things. I owe you a

And to Chilemass for making the trek at the last minute. Always great to ski with you, call me for a Burke tour sometime

The rest of the crew was great. Just like I had known them for years. Marc is a great guy...stand-up guy. Terry is a solid skier and talked about skiing Shawnee Peak and Sunday River. Solid skier and nice guy. Charlie...well, Charlie is always lots of fun and a great skier. His friend, "E," was fun to ski with as well. Hope to see her in here! Roark was digging the place and his new skis. Another solid NE skier. Andy and Mrs. Zee were friendly and had a great time. Hope to see the videos soon! Jim G and son were in action....he spent the PM with his youngest (3 1/2 years old) on the lower mountain. Great folks.

And my crew was fun as well. Ms. TB LOVED Cannon and the front five. "M" liked it as well and was blown away by the views. My friends from Maryland were just in awe all day...great views, great riding.

Some Choice Quotes From the Day

"Whoa!" "M" from Pennsylvania coming around the corner on Sugar Hill and seeing Cannon.

"That's one big mountain," the Maryland crew.

"I LOVE this place," M on first run.

"THIS is what I like...wide, steep, and groomed." Ms. TB.

"Lots of vert, lots of fun!" The MD Crew

"This is Skylight, my favorite trail...." TB's famous last words

"Wanna take the most interesting trail you will ever ski?" Me motioning to Upper Cannon.

"Trailboss...Bob here...got a seat on the deck in the sun, SUN! I don't see any of you...get up here." Voicemail left on TB's phone at lunchtime.

"Banshee looked good...at least it did this morning." Trailboss' other famous last words

"What a day!" All of us as we pulled out of Cannon at 5pm looking at the Alpenglow on Lafayette

[Greg]

Awesome! Sounds like another successful AZ outing! To think that these all started two seasons ago with me, ChileMass (and Rob) and skijay at the Beast to now seeing double digit numbers of folks meeting up!

[ChileMass]

Morning snow was definitely better than after lunch. We rocked on Profile, Avalanche, Rocket, Taft, etc. Great group, great day - not a cloud in the sky all day! My face is still on fire as I type this. Terrific to see old friends and meet new ones. Nice to meet you, Terry, Jim G and son(s), Andy Zee and wife, Zowi, Marc, and Charlie's skiing pal, Elyse. I'm gonna go way out on a limb here and guess that Elyse is probably the best skier Athens, GA has ever produced. At 4:10 I said goodbye to Marc as he was just coming in and I was leaving (after my 2nd beer, thank you), so he gets the "Hardest of the Hardcore" award for today. Thanks to Bob and Roark for the "pick-me-up" on the lift, too. Trailboss and crew looked like they were having a ball!!! And, there was an official riverc0il sighting at the bar!

I gotta give myself credit - that was the most spectacular wipeout I've done in a LONG time. Elyse estimated my flight at 25-30 yards, but I think she's overstating it. I was sick of fkg around on Banshee (which at 2PM was completely in the dark and scraped off), there was a big group lesson taking the entire left half of the trail, and I was at the back of our group. I decided to say "screw it - I'm out of here" and tuck the remainder of the trail to the tram. But - the "outrun" of the trail below the flat turned out to be an ungroomed field with 3" of snow on top of grass and rocks, and I hit the end of the road leading to the tram at about 30 mph. Instead of taking a hard right towards the tram, I flew off the trail and landed in a giant plume of snow. Fortunately, my buddies trailboss, roark and Bob R were there to help me out just when I needed them. Only my pride was bruised. I got up laughing, but that was pretty much the end for me. Another run and I was at the bar.

And for anyone who is considering joining an AZ ski outing - please realize that although Marc went to closing and beyond, Andy Zee, Bob and roark were passing out shots (Jim Beam, Jameson's, Jaeger) on the trail at 10:30 this AM. This is a fun group!! Thanks to everybody for a fun day!!!!

Andy - post that video, baby!!!!!!!

[ChileMass]

Originally Posted by Greg

Awesome! Sounds like another successful AZ outing! To think that these all started two seasons ago with me, ChileMass (and Rob) and skijay at the Beast to now seeing double digit numbers of folks meeting up!

Yes, this is an obvious butt-smooch, but we (Charlie, Bob, Trailboss, me) said several times today that we wished you were there. So how many diapers did you change today.......??

[Greg]

Originally Posted by ChileMass

Yes, this is an obvious butt-smooch, but we (Charlie, Bob, Trailboss, me) said several times today that we wished you were there. So how many diapers did you change today.......??

Ha! Half a dozen at least. I also offered to do double back to back feedings tonight. The diplomacy affords me a night of powder skiing tomorrow night at the local haunt!

[riverc0il]

sorry i didn't get to see charlie, jim, marc, et al. you guys were outta there before i showed up at quarter of four for some suds


glad everyone had a great day, it was beautiful out. coming in from 93 and passing through littleton, i got to scope out the presis in full blue bird glory, quite a sight. definitely don't get too many of those types of days at cannon. three more weeks!

[thetrailboss]

Well, I will say that there was not a or a face in my group at all....all were very, very with the place! "I'm so glad that this place is on our pass!" Was what I heard. The girls are planning a trip or two to Cannon on their spring break.

I definitely am planning on hitting it on my break in two weeks or so Burke/Cannon combo!

[Charlie Schuessler]

It was great to see BLUE SKY & SUNSHINE at Cannon... and as equally nice to greet Trail Boss & Ms. Trail Boss first thing...E & I started off by ourselves at first than ran into BobR's group after a few runs hooking up with JimG (I believe the G is for Gentleman Jim) until we hooked with his son at the Tram... The views were I N C R E D I B L E with Lafayette & Lincoln Mountains staring down at us…while gazing at the Franconia Ridge, I wondered if some of the AZ Hikers were up there… thoughts of snow-shoeing to Lonesome Lake were creeping into my thoughts…

It was my pleasure dinning with the mature group, while the kids went and ate downstairs, although we had room for 'em ; as well as my pleasure meeting Andy & Ms Zee (cool helmet camera!), Mark, TB's gang, re-aquatinting of course with Terry of Maine (any relation to Toothpaste Tom?) and daylight skiing with the AZ Racers BobR, ChileMass and Roark...you guys all look different in daylight

It's nice getting together like this, it is my honor to be able to ski with you all! And River, we'll be skiing together at Burke very shortly, heal up first though...

BTW, my favorite line of the day was zipping down Avalanche

[thetrailboss]

Originally Posted by Charlie Schuessler

It was my pleasure dinning with the mature group, while the kids went and ate downstairs, although we had room for 'em ;

Heard it was senior day at the bar

Nope, we were brownbagging it, so they would have frowned on us.

[andyzee]

Had a great time at this event, it was real nice to meet everyone. We just got in from Killington, and need to unwind, but figured I'd upload this pic. Can anyone pick out Marc?