Cannonball
New member
I almost shouldn't write this report because a few AZ Cannon regulars are already pissed about missing it. But I want to relive it so here goes. But first a recap of the few days prior.
Cannon on Friday 3/2 was surprisingly good. We had a solid group of solid skiers and riders including Puck it and Prophet0426. Kinsman was a highlight with surprising coverage and stashes.
Cannon on Saturday 3/3 was a disaster. Insane south winds kept it closed. The buffeting mixed with some light mixed precip completely changed the game for....
Cannon on Sunday 3/4. They were smart to groom the place wall to wall. Everything in the woods was a dried paste from the day before. I took 3 runs then bailed. Decided to get some work done and possibly head back to MA. The work took longer than I expected and it was snowing a bit so I stayed the night. When I went to bed I had no intention of riding on Monday.
3/5. The dog woke me up at 6:15. I checked Cannon's page on my phone while still lying in bed. "POWDER DAY! Our slopes picked up 7-10 inches of new snow last night...". WHAT?!? HOW!?! I looked out the window and saw a dusting on my truck. I was skeptical but inspired. I jumped out of bed and jumped right on my computer to get some work done. With that wrapped up I blasted up to Cannon, getting there at 8:59 as the first tram was loading.
Two weeks ago a storm rolled in that was well forecasted and happened to land on a Saturday. That created a Clusterf**** in the tram. An unexpected snowfall on a Monday was just the opposite. The tram was about half full. At the top everyone literally RAN out of the tram. And this is how the day went from there.....
Vistaway: If I had step-in bindings I would have been the first one down. Instead 3 skiers were quick enough to get ahead of me. The four of us made first tracks in 10+" of super light heavenly pow!!! The pasted, groomed surface from the day before made the powder all the better as there was nothing underneath to trip you up. Heaven! I passed one skier and that left 2 slightly ahead of me and kicking up a blizzard from their twin tip rockers. One of them banked hard and ducked the rope on Kinsman without a pause. The other banked hard and ducked the rope on Tramline. I had considered both of those options. But now I had 1,500' of vertical with nothing but untracked POW in front of me. I couldn't resist. Bypass, Paulie's Extension, Upper Avalanche, Banshee Glade. AMAZING face shots on every turn. The lower mountain had 6-7' vs the 10+" up top. So I decided the top was the place to be. Back up the tram. Only about 10 people on board this time.
Upper Cannon: A few tracks but it wasn't hard to pick a line that never crossed another track. So sweet, but my real objective was Lost Boys. And there it was, completely untouched (for now). Sorry for crap phone pic, and this was one of the only times the camera came out at all.
Skylight, Taft, Profile, Go Green, Global Warming: UpDownUpDown. Everything just plain PERFECT. All of the tree slots were completely filled in and SO soft. Did pull out the camera again here:
Time for Kinsman: Vistaway was now tracked up but still so fun. I was planning to enter Kinsman solo but another rider was hanging at the entrance. He'd never been in before and was looking for a partner. So we went. Pillow drops, face shots, untracked lines, just orgasmic. He and I ended up sticking together all day and I was happy for it. A powder day is best enjoyed with others. Especially others who rip, and this kid was killing it throughout. Next up...
Tramline: My first time for the season. And what a day to pick. I chose, what I call Tramline/Powerline....the tiny slot skiers right of the main line that nobody seems to hit. And it hadn't been. It's barely wide enough for a turn and the snow loaded branches were hanging about 4' off the trail. The only option was straightlining and tight little turns. Absolute WHITE ROOM. I had to stop every 100' or so just to breath and see what was coming up. We eventually popped over to Tramline proper to catch the last few cliff drops. I'm not much of a jumper but my new partner was launching every single hit huge and with style.
Kinsman again, Tramline again, Kinsman again (with River Bed). Fresh shots every time.
By 12:30 we hiked to the top of Mittersill and dropped back in towards Cannon into Fisher Cat. Holy ULLR!! I hadn't been in here all season. I was shocked to find tree well holes that are easily 8-10' deep near the entrance. Onward and downward. Maybe 2 people had been in here by this point. It was untracked pillow lines all the way down. Smooth as silk. I didn't start to feel the granite underneath until the last 100' of vert before the ice fall and river bed. Even the river bed run out was completely filled in, which was a welcome surprise.
My partner split for some lunch at this point. I opted for 2 more:
Paulies Extension, Avalanche, Banshee Lift Line. WHAT!! 1pm and fresh tracks down lift line?!?!
Then Kinsman again to close it out. Still fresh lines top to bottom. I wanted to keep it going so bad. But that was 5 hours without a break and my legs just weren't ready for more. Beer, nap, put a cap on a perfect day.
It's amazing how one day can be salvation in an entire season. Next?
Cannon on Friday 3/2 was surprisingly good. We had a solid group of solid skiers and riders including Puck it and Prophet0426. Kinsman was a highlight with surprising coverage and stashes.
Cannon on Saturday 3/3 was a disaster. Insane south winds kept it closed. The buffeting mixed with some light mixed precip completely changed the game for....
Cannon on Sunday 3/4. They were smart to groom the place wall to wall. Everything in the woods was a dried paste from the day before. I took 3 runs then bailed. Decided to get some work done and possibly head back to MA. The work took longer than I expected and it was snowing a bit so I stayed the night. When I went to bed I had no intention of riding on Monday.
3/5. The dog woke me up at 6:15. I checked Cannon's page on my phone while still lying in bed. "POWDER DAY! Our slopes picked up 7-10 inches of new snow last night...". WHAT?!? HOW!?! I looked out the window and saw a dusting on my truck. I was skeptical but inspired. I jumped out of bed and jumped right on my computer to get some work done. With that wrapped up I blasted up to Cannon, getting there at 8:59 as the first tram was loading.
Two weeks ago a storm rolled in that was well forecasted and happened to land on a Saturday. That created a Clusterf**** in the tram. An unexpected snowfall on a Monday was just the opposite. The tram was about half full. At the top everyone literally RAN out of the tram. And this is how the day went from there.....
Vistaway: If I had step-in bindings I would have been the first one down. Instead 3 skiers were quick enough to get ahead of me. The four of us made first tracks in 10+" of super light heavenly pow!!! The pasted, groomed surface from the day before made the powder all the better as there was nothing underneath to trip you up. Heaven! I passed one skier and that left 2 slightly ahead of me and kicking up a blizzard from their twin tip rockers. One of them banked hard and ducked the rope on Kinsman without a pause. The other banked hard and ducked the rope on Tramline. I had considered both of those options. But now I had 1,500' of vertical with nothing but untracked POW in front of me. I couldn't resist. Bypass, Paulie's Extension, Upper Avalanche, Banshee Glade. AMAZING face shots on every turn. The lower mountain had 6-7' vs the 10+" up top. So I decided the top was the place to be. Back up the tram. Only about 10 people on board this time.
Upper Cannon: A few tracks but it wasn't hard to pick a line that never crossed another track. So sweet, but my real objective was Lost Boys. And there it was, completely untouched (for now). Sorry for crap phone pic, and this was one of the only times the camera came out at all.
Skylight, Taft, Profile, Go Green, Global Warming: UpDownUpDown. Everything just plain PERFECT. All of the tree slots were completely filled in and SO soft. Did pull out the camera again here:
Time for Kinsman: Vistaway was now tracked up but still so fun. I was planning to enter Kinsman solo but another rider was hanging at the entrance. He'd never been in before and was looking for a partner. So we went. Pillow drops, face shots, untracked lines, just orgasmic. He and I ended up sticking together all day and I was happy for it. A powder day is best enjoyed with others. Especially others who rip, and this kid was killing it throughout. Next up...
Tramline: My first time for the season. And what a day to pick. I chose, what I call Tramline/Powerline....the tiny slot skiers right of the main line that nobody seems to hit. And it hadn't been. It's barely wide enough for a turn and the snow loaded branches were hanging about 4' off the trail. The only option was straightlining and tight little turns. Absolute WHITE ROOM. I had to stop every 100' or so just to breath and see what was coming up. We eventually popped over to Tramline proper to catch the last few cliff drops. I'm not much of a jumper but my new partner was launching every single hit huge and with style.
Kinsman again, Tramline again, Kinsman again (with River Bed). Fresh shots every time.
By 12:30 we hiked to the top of Mittersill and dropped back in towards Cannon into Fisher Cat. Holy ULLR!! I hadn't been in here all season. I was shocked to find tree well holes that are easily 8-10' deep near the entrance. Onward and downward. Maybe 2 people had been in here by this point. It was untracked pillow lines all the way down. Smooth as silk. I didn't start to feel the granite underneath until the last 100' of vert before the ice fall and river bed. Even the river bed run out was completely filled in, which was a welcome surprise.
My partner split for some lunch at this point. I opted for 2 more:
Paulies Extension, Avalanche, Banshee Lift Line. WHAT!! 1pm and fresh tracks down lift line?!?!
Then Kinsman again to close it out. Still fresh lines top to bottom. I wanted to keep it going so bad. But that was 5 hours without a break and my legs just weren't ready for more. Beer, nap, put a cap on a perfect day.
It's amazing how one day can be salvation in an entire season. Next?
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