Mittersill Photos (September 2010)

[threecy]

Mittersill Photos (September 2010) and Bloviating

Some updates on the Mittersill project:

- All of the old lift towers are down.
- The forms for the new lift tower footings have been built
- The Taft Trail has been widened and regraded above the old ski area
- Some minor blasting has taken place on the uphill section of the Taft Trail

Some photos:

Cannon Mountain Ski Area Expansions - NewEnglandSkiHistory.com



Cannon Mountain Alpine CCC Ski Trails - NewEnglandSkiHistory.com

 

[Puck it]

Are you talking about the section of the Taft trail after the saddlle? That was widened last year.

 

[threecy]

Are you talking about the section of the Taft trail after the saddlle? That was widened last year.

Further work has been done this year.

 

[Glenn]

Cool pics. It neat to see an old area being revived.

 

[SIKSKIER]

I hiked Mittersill on 9/4 and didn't see any new grading or blasting that wasn't there last year.Towers down is old news.The footing foundations are new.I'll be there again this weekend for an update from somebody that actually gets his info first hand.

 

[threecy]

I'll be there again this weekend for an update from somebody that actually gets his info first hand.

What do you mean by that?


By the way, here's a compare from similar angles of the minor blasting work:

I assume they're done with that section, but I did see some evidence of prepwork for future work on old lift footings.

 

[deadheadskier]

What would be the point of widening the Taft?

Won't the vast majority of folks be heading over there now via the Tuckerbrook area?

 

[threecy]

What would be the point of widening the Taft?

I'm not quite sure...I believe it was 2009 when they went through and cut out the smaller growth on the sides of the Taft Trail above the old double chair.

The blasting (jackhammering?) looks to have been sometime this year. The regrading of the Taft Trail looks to have been done very recently.

 

[deadheadskier]

Only had the pleasure of going up the saddle once. My only issue with it's width was I was attempting to carry as much speed as possible in from Cannon proper to make it as far up the Taft as possible before clicking out. Some folks didn't have the same idea and essentially started walking right near the bottom forcing me to stop. But that was much lower down from where your picture was taken.

 

[riverc0il]

Further work has been done this year.

uke:uke:uke:

They can have the damn chairlift but why in the world did they further widen the Taft!

Gah! Best trail in New England ruined. Very sad.

Not sure why they are blasting the saddle, either. I might join threecy on the anti-state spending now. :???:

 

[Johnskiismore]

uke:uke:uke:

They can have the damn chairlift but why in the world did they further widen the Taft!

Agree, boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

[riverc0il]

Agree, boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sikskier is begging to differ on the subject so I will reserve judgment pending someone can provide exact details regarding exactly what work has been done and to what extent.

 

[Johnskiismore]

Sikskier is begging to differ on the subject so I will reserve judgment pending someone can provide exact details regarding exactly what work has been done and to what extent.

Alright, we'll see. Been meaning to hike up there myself to see the.. umm... damage/progress

 

[threecy]

Sikskier is begging to differ on the subject so I will reserve judgment pending someone can provide exact details regarding exactly what work has been done and to what extent.

I don't have any other photos of the blasting (jackhammering?) section above the saddle from Sunday.

Here are some more photos, in order, going downhill:

Above the Tucker Brook Trail junction:

Below the Tucker Brook Trail junction, but above the chairlift:

In terms of some of the Mittersill trails to skier's left of the chairlift line, the clearing is generally one vehicle length wide. Here's the trail immediately to skier's left of the lift line, near the top:

 

[riverc0il]

I can't really tell much difference from those pictures. Could just be the 2D element though. I'll need to give it a look see personally. If they cleared out all the rocks and stumps and leveled out just dirt, that might be helpful in establishing a skiable base earlier than normal. Hopefully they didn't flatten too much though. I am more concerned about widening than anything else.

 

[threecy]

I can't really tell much difference from those pictures. Could just be the 2D element though. I'll need to give it a look see personally. If they cleared out all the rocks and stumps and leveled out just dirt, that might be helpful in establishing a skiable base earlier than normal. Hopefully they didn't flatten too much though. I am more concerned about widening than anything else.

The regrading has reduced the bowl shape on the trail, which I thought was neat. The new shaping will likely hold snow a bit better, though - that is, if they clean it up. Right now it's just mud, whereas they've hayed and seeded the lift line below it.

It's amazing what 6 inches of snow can do to the appearance of an area - I'm hoping it restores some of the backcountry feel. Until then, from Hardscrabble to the top of the chairlift feels much more like a regular ski trail. At least they're leaving Tucker Brook alone, though. By the looks of the woods near the Tucker Brook, some of the backcountry skiers are preparing to head that way this winter.

 

[Puck it]

It may be a little wider than last year, but hard to tell. I thought they were limited to what they could do above the top lift terminal.

 

[threecy]

I thought they were limited to what they could do above the top lift terminal.

In theory they're limited to the existing footprint they can use in the landswap portion (though I'm not sure if it's the original CCC footprint or the Mittersill-era footprint). In addition, they're limited as to when they can do work in the upper elevation's due to Bicknell's Thrush.

 

[Puck it]

In theory they're limited to the existing footprint they can use in the landswap portion (though I'm not sure if it's the original CCC footprint or the Mittersill-era footprint). In addition, they're limited as to when they can do work in the upper elevation's due to Bicknell's Thrush.

i loked at the pics again and the trail is as wide as it was last year. They have done nothing above the lift.

 

[threecy]

They have done nothing above the lift.

There was definitely work done above the lift in recent days or weeks. There was a noticeable difference between Oct. 2009 (the last time I was up there prior to the first 2009 snowfall) and Sept. 2010.

The good news is that some of the sapling stumps have been removed with that work. I kept getting snagged by those back in December before we had significant snowpack.