Cannon Lover's Thread

hardscrabble · Jan 9, 2023

Duke61 said:
the entire middle mountain of the links and rock garden are now like a bad facelift.

Nailed it. The narrower original runs there were before my time, but multiple times I've caught myself zoning out and staring at the newer widened runs for too long and feeling almost disoriented. Like, "damn, some of these trails really don't agree with the actual shape of the mountain here." Middle Ravine might be the world's widest traverse if you think about it (but who am I kidding, it's still pretty fun on an empty day without too much headwind). And Rock Garden/Upper Gremlin, while retaining some semblance of natural fall lines, feel like a series of intersections rather than individual trails. All positioned at the mouth of a natural wind tunnel. Sel Hannah himself was even quoted as calling the location of the ski area "ludicrous" in 1991 (as per the Tucker Brook chapter of David Goodman's book).

ceo · Jan 11, 2023

You know, I didn't actually know they'd renamed that stretch of Cannon below Spookie "Rock Garden". (Years ago I heard that name given to the end of Goat Path just before it reached Middle Cannon.) They rearranged that area some years before Peabody Quad went in, IIRC Middle Cannon used to drop down across the end of Spookie (under where the quad is now) and they rerouted it onto Bypass. And what are now Upper Gremlin and Rock Garden were both signed Lower Cannon. (The new name means the Cannon trail is no longer contiguous, which bothers me.)

Duke61 · Jan 11, 2023

ceo said:
You know, I didn't actually know they'd renamed that stretch of Cannon below Spookie "Rock Garden". (Years ago I heard that name given to the end of Goat Path just before it reached Middle Cannon.) They rearranged that area some years before Peabody Quad went in, IIRC Middle Cannon used to drop down across the end of Spookie (under where the quad is now) and they rerouted it onto Bypass. And what are now Upper Gremlin and Rock Garden were both signed Lower Cannon. (The new name means the Cannon trail is no longer contiguous, which bothers me.)

Spot on....where the heck did 'upper gremlin' come from outer space? About fifteen years ago marketing decided we needed to be bigger, overnight we went from 28 trails to 97......same mountain, lots of new names, 'magically' turned the woods into another 22 'trails' (cough)......

In 'this week at cannon' some decent skiing if you like being in the snow guns. snow report has been claiming taft and ravine will open any moment for days, apparently folks on the ground didn't get the message.

snoseek · Jan 11, 2023

Skiing is great today they are plastering the Peabody side with snow. Why on earth are they still blasting upper ravine still and why is it not open is beyond me
Mitt getting blasted as well although it doesn't look like anything above the tbar. Are they actively avoiding it because they don't want to run that side midweek this year or just not had the chance to move up? They are blowing stuff super thick before moving on it seems. I liked last years game plan better tbh.

Does anyone think if this tram gets replaced that will go back to 7 days like it used to? It really bums me out that I'll never get to make laps on that. It's a great way to get warmed up in the morning or avoid weather

BodeMiller1 · Jan 11, 2023

Duke61 said:
No matter the decade, day or conditions, every time I've come off extension onto that off camber plate of snow onto avalanche I pucker a bit. I think your supposed to by design.

A long time ago in lands outside of New Hampshire people were building ski areas. After WW II a bunch of deranged vets came back from the war and build the first ski areas around here. These guys were nuts, the 10th Mountaineerers... Meow, Meow, meow

Then came the next wave. Cannon had fared well; butt know The Killington and Sunday Rivers were coming in with better infrastructure.

Avalanche is a wall from a by gone glacial error. Yep, you're right, it has the scarry factor. There are no fall areas on the trail if the conditions are not right. And the conditions are never right.

We've all seen the front when more than half is dirt and grass, butt skiers pick their way down.

Automatic for the People

Duke61 · Jan 11, 2023

snoseek said:
Skiing is great today they are plastering the Peabody side with snow. Why on earth are they still blasting upper ravine still and why is it not open is beyond me
Mitt getting blasted as well although it doesn't look like anything above the tbar. Are they actively avoiding it because they don't want to run that side midweek this year or just not had the chance to move up? They are blowing stuff super thick before moving on it seems. I liked last years game plan better tbh.

Does anyone think if this tram gets replaced that will go back to 7 days like it used to? It really bums me out that I'll never get to make laps on that. It's a great way to get warmed up in the morning or avoid weather

I love cannon & most things today are significantly better than 25 years ago, that said I do think rather than 'serve skiers' Cannon has re-defined its mission to get that new tram & pretend to roll with the the other folks, while offering skiers less and less.....I doubt a 'new' tram will ever run 7 days during ski season & we can probably expect another 15 trail names to appear in the next few years as an illusion we are keeping up. I know its a TOUGH season to date, but if you look at acreage open, Cannon is pitiful, with about 25% what loon/wv/attitash/BW etc have open.
Skiing is apparently profitable (ask VAIL) but I think it takes some risk and access to capital and the State of NH legislature only invest in Cannon about every 25 years when they absolutely have too. Management has a 'hang onto what we have' attitude rather than a 'where is the opportunity to do better' attitude. Lets pray Friday is snow and not a windy washout.

urungus · Jan 11, 2023

Duke61 said:
Spot on....where the heck did 'upper gremlin' come from outer space? About fifteen years ago marketing decided we needed to be bigger, overnight we went from 28 trails to 97......same mountain, lots of new names, 'magically' turned the woods into another 22 'trails' (cough)......

Banshee, Gremlin, Spookie, and Jasper were named after the Tabby cats that have roamed the Tram Station throughout its history. https://www.thesnowway.com/2011/09/21/a-history-of-cannon-mountain-by-meghan-mccarthy-mcphaul

Duke61 · Jan 11, 2023

BodeMiller1 said:
A long time ago in lands outside of New Hampshire people were building ski areas. After WW II a bunch of deranged vets came back from the war and build the first ski areas around here. These guys were nuts, the 10th Mountaineerers... Meow, Meow, meow

Then came the next wave. Cannon had fared well; butt know The Killington and Sunday Rivers were coming in with better infrastructure.

Avalanche is a wall from a by gone glacial error. Yep, you're right, it has the scarry factor. There are no fall areas on the trail if the conditions are not right. And the conditions are never right.

We've all seen the front when more than half is dirt and grass, butt skiers pick their way down.

Automatic for the People

I met Sel Hannah a couple times years ago, I wish (like skiing with Paul Valar) I had realized then I was with Giants who created modern skiing.

snoseek · Jan 11, 2023

Duke61 said:
I love cannon & most things today are significantly better than 25 years ago, that said I do think rather than 'serve skiers' Cannon has re-defined its mission to get that new tram & pretend to roll with the the other folks, while offering skiers less and less.....I doubt a 'new' tram will ever run 7 days during ski season & we can probably expect another 15 trail names to appear in the next few years as an illusion we are keeping up. I know its a TOUGH season to date, but if you look at acreage open, Cannon is pitiful, with about 25% what loon/wv/attitash/BW etc have open.
Skiing is apparently profitable (ask VAIL) but I think it takes some risk and access to capital and the State of NH legislature only invest in Cannon about every 25 years when they absolutely have too. Management has a 'hang onto what we have' attitude rather than a 'where is the opportunity to do better' attitude. Lets pray Friday is snow and not a windy washout.

I skied attitash yesterday and it was good but the skiing is better at cannon right now and way more snow being made.

The save for the weekend thing pisses me off though.

Duke61 · Jan 11, 2023

urungus said:
Banshee, Gremlin, Spookie, and Jasper were named after the Tabby cats that have roamed the Tram Station throughout its history. https://www.thesnowway.com/2011/09/21/a-history-of-cannon-mountain-by-meghan-mccarthy-mcphaul

Wow, I didn't know that!! Thanks for sharing....

snoseek · Jan 11, 2023

I remember an orange cat he was my homie

Duke61 · Jan 11, 2023

snoseek said:
I skied attitash yesterday and it was good but the skiing is better at cannon right now and way more snow being made.

The save for the weekend thing pisses me off though.

Thanks for the update, good info.....as f or the 'weekend thing' I agree. I expect cannon to blow some whales and leave them for 3-4 weeks to insure they can plow them out for school vacation, after that you won't see a gun or groomer until next fall, got to control costs you know......

snoseek · Jan 11, 2023

Duke61 said:
Thanks for the update, good info.....as f or the 'weekend thing' I agree. I expect cannon to blow some whales and leave them for 3-4 weeks to insure they can plow them out for school vacation, after that you won't see a gun or groomer until next fall, got to control costs you know......

They do shut snowmaking early. Usually its not an issue but this year it will be.

I've been envious of what loon has done this year. I know loon is custom made for Boston but goddammit they run the best mtn ops on nh hands down. I a m-w skier so crowding is not a concern. I may try it out next year. I miss the ski93 pass.

Duke61 · Jan 11, 2023

snoseek said:
They do shut snowmaking early. Usually its not an issue but this year it will be.

Tough year, I'm thankful to ski another year & thankful for Cannon today and the memories of years past.....

KustyTheKlown · Jan 11, 2023

BodeMiller1 said:
There are no fall areas on the trail if the conditions are not right. And the conditions are never right.

nothing on piste at an eastern ski area is a 'no fall area'

KustyTheKlown · Jan 11, 2023

snoseek said:
They do shut snowmaking early. Usually its not an issue but this year it will be.

I've been envious of what loon has done this year. I know loon is custom made for Boston but goddammit they run the best mtn ops on nh hands down. I a m-w skier so crowding is not a concern. I may try it out next year. I miss the ski93 pass.

the amount of terrain and the quality of the man-made at loon last weekend was downright impressive. and that they are able to do it under 3000 elevation

badinfluence · Jan 11, 2023

snoseek said:
They do shut snowmaking early. Usually its not an issue but this year it will be.

I've been envious of what loon has done this year. I know loon is custom made for Boston but goddammit they run the best mtn ops on nh hands down. I a m-w skier so crowding is not a concern. I may try it out next year. I miss the ski93 pass.

I have a pass at cannon but skied loon yesterday with my ikon pass. What a difference in condtions. Very impressed with loon and the quality of the conditions. Much better than what i skied at cannon on sunday. It was my first time skiing loon in 20 years. I am going to try it on a Saturday coming up to see if its a viable future option.

Another issue this season is Cannon dropping junior development in mid december so families couldn't make other plans. This was a big kick in the teeth for people that utilize the program. They offered us discounted lessons but the system crashed on the day to book and I lost all my spots for my boys. The grooming this year has been subpar too. I understand the difficulties with the weather and staff but something has gotta give.

But the bloody marys are still killer!!

ceo · Jan 11, 2023

I've always assumed Jasper got out one day and they found him on the skiers-right Banshee slope, so they named it Jasper's Hideaway. (The Banshee slopes didn't previously have names, even when the T-bar was still there.)

thetrailboss · Jan 11, 2023

KustyTheKlown said:
nothing on piste at an eastern ski area is a 'no fall area'

This.

thetrailboss · Jan 11, 2023

badinfluence said:
I have a pass at cannon but skied loon yesterday with my ikon pass. What a difference in condtions. Very impressed with loon and the quality of the conditions. Much better than what i skied at cannon on sunday. It was my first time skiing loon in 20 years. I am going to try it on a Saturday coming up to see if its a viable future option.

Another issue this season is Cannon dropping junior development in mid december so families couldn't make other plans. This was a big kick in the teeth for people that utilize the program. They offered us discounted lessons but the system crashed on the day to book and I lost all my spots for my boys. The grooming this year has been subpar too. I understand the difficulties with the weather and staff but something has gotta give.

But the bloody marys are still killer!!

To be fair, comparing Loon to Cannon is apples to oranges. Loon has long been a destination resort with deep pockets (Booth Creek and now Boyne). Boyne has invested significantly in snowmaking and lifts. Look at the Boyne resorts (Loon, Sunday River, Sugarloaf) this season and compare them with others and I think you will see a marked difference in terms of the amount of open terrain. Cannon is a state run ski area that is subject to state budget processes, limits, and politics. It is more of a "public utility" than a glamorous resort. They've come a long ways since the 1990's though. But it is not really a fair comparison.

As to the junior racing, that sucks. They've invested (and allowed FSC and others) in expanding the terrain for racing and pretty much gave the programs Mittersill. The weather just sucks. Look at Burke right now.

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