Waterville,Cannon,Bretton,Gunstock 3/8-3/13

We hit New Hampshire last week for our annual Northeast ski trip. Driving across New York in a veritable monsoon on Saturday had me a little worried about the conditions. After our arrival in Lincoln NH Sunday the forecast made me feel a lot better.

We woke up Monday to a steady snowfall and a forecast of 3 to 6". We intended on hitting Cannon, but the owner of the hotel told us there were 40 mph winds there. He suggested Waterville instead. The forecast called for more snow to the south anyway. And he said it would be less windy at WV.

We got there about 9:30 and had a great day. The powder had covered the frozen surface nicely. It wasn't a light powder but it did the job. We had never been there before and it was cool exploring the moutain. I liked Oblivion and Ciao, and found some unskiied powder on Utter Abandon later in the day. The highlight of ther day was off the High Country lift around 2:30 in the afternoon. Not many people were skiing up there and the snow wasn't as chopped up. Express and Tree Line had a rope across them. I couldn't help my self and I ducked it twice. Something I've done only one other time. The lure of the freshies was just too much. And both runs were awesome. About 8 inches of untouched powder.

We hadn't really intended to hit WV but it turned out to be well worth it.http://forums.alpinezone.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=1066


Tuesday was our Cannon day. Winds were light wtih partly sunny skies, with clouds hanging in the valleys. It made for an awesome sight from the top. We hit the groomers with everything being nice and soft. Except for Middle Hardscrabble, it was very icy. Maybe they shouldn't have groomed it. I loved the Ravines, Upper Cannon and Vista Way.

Later in the day I decided to hike over to Mittersill, something I had never done. Met up with a couple of guys from Long Island on the hike up. They had never been over there either. I knew that we should keep to the skiers right on the way down to get back to Cannon. Some other guys told me that was the most open run, almost like a mantained slope. Plenty of people had been over there and it was somewhat bumped up. But there was some nice powder her and there. It was quite an experience. I've been reading about it for a few years and finally did it!

Overall it was a helluva day at Cannon. That mountain is just awesome, and you always get the best pics there.
http://forums.alpinezone.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=1067

Wednesday was a rainout. I'll ski in the rain if I already have a ticket, but couldn't bring myself to buy one while it was raining.

Thursday it got cold and windy. We wanted to hit Burke but went to Bretton Woods hoping their grooming would make for a better day. We had always heard BW was very gentle. It was but we found the trails to be very interesting. We really like Bode's Run, Watertank, Two Miles Home and Herb's secret. And of course the view of Mt. Washington and the Presidential Range was unbelievable. The conditions were kind of hard and scratchy, but very skiiable. BW went from off the radar to a definite return. We need to go back and hit the glades, they are about our speed.

http://forums.alpinezone.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=1069

Friday was Gunstock day, we scored $13 lift tickets from Liftopia and couldn't pass them up. What a cool mountain Gunstock is.The view from the top was awesome. We could see all the mountain ranges we skied earlier in the week. With Mt. Washington sticking up like a sore thumb. And we could even see Moosilaukee(sp?) and Ragged from the top. We liked Redhat,Gunpowder,Shotgun, and Gunsmoke just to name a few.Oh yeah Recoil was cool also. Gunstock is on the return list also.

http://forums.alpinezone.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=1070

We had a chance to drive around a little, going thruogh Crawford Notch and checking out most of the Kanc Highway. On the way home we took Rt. 9 from Concord to Keene to Brattleboro to Bennington. What a beauttiful ride. The scenery in the area is spectactular.

We stayed at Woodwards Resort in N. Lincoln. They sell tickets to Cannon and WV for $35, and BW for $ 48. We styill have 2 nights left on our room pass that we can't use,Sun.-Thurs. only, if anyone wants them PM me. I'll be glad to mail them to you. Good til April 30 I think.

awesome report..Cannon is a place I've always wanted to hit..you're hard to the core drive from Ohio to NH..how long did the drive take??

Nice report, glad you had a good trip!

GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

awesome report..Cannon is a place I've always wanted to hit..you're hard to the core drive from Ohio to NH..how long did the drive take??

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It's about 14 or 15 hours to Lincoln. We normally drive to Albany and spend the night, then finish up the next day. This year we got tired of driving in the rain so we stopped at Syracuse 2 hours short of Albany.
I rode the lift at Cannon with a guy who also lives in the Columbus area, what are the chances? He has a place up there and he drives it straight trhough. Now that's hard to the core!!

the pic in your gallery of the defunct area is Snow Mtn i believe. Not sure when it crapped out, but it was operating when i went to waterville on a high school trip.

nice pics btw, glad you got some powder on the front end of your journey.

^My info might be incorrect or outdated, but when I was there in 2006 I heard from a few people that they still use it on Saturday nights midseason.

Nice report and thanks for the Cannon pics, I was there that day and kicking myself for not having my good camera. Glad you enjoyed your trip!

So, I'm wondering what's worse, the hard core dive from OH to NH or getting really bored with Holliday Valley?

For those who'll ask: " What's Holliday Valley" - it's what passes for big skiing excitement in Western New York. It's actually not that bad, small vertical, but some trails actually have a bit of a pitch to it. And of course, the place benefits from being in the Lake Erie snow belt.

Bumpsis said:

So, I'm wondering what's worse, the hard core dive from OH to NH or getting really bored with Holliday Valley?

For those who'll ask: " What's Holliday Valley" - it's what passes for big skiing excitement in Western New York. It's actually not that bad, small vertical, but some trails actually have a bit of a pitch to it. And of course, the place benefits from being in the Lake Erie snow belt.

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I'd have to say the drive is worse, though it doesn't bother me that much.
We actually haven't been to Holiday Valley for a few years. Our skiing has been pretty limited lately. We do make sure we get our week long trip to the Northeast every year though. I'm praying that Laurel Mountain PA will reopen again next year, then we'll have someplace to get excited about.