ChileMass
Active member
Location: Cannon Mt., in fabulous Franconia Notch
Date: Sunday, March 20, 2005
Conditions: Blue skies until 130PM, 40*F base, 20*F summit. Light winds. Snow cover very good - the occasional icy patch, but softened up considerably by noon. Lots of soft stuff on the sides of trails, and lots of bumps.
Grabbed ole buddy Rob and headed north from Worcester County MA at approx 620AM. With a quick stop for coffee, we were on the lifts by 900AM sharp. Not a cloud in the sky to start, and nobody in the Peabody Express liftline. Right to the top, did a couple runs down Ravine and Middle Cannon to get our legs going. Fabulous views over to Lafayette, which had just a small updraft cloud hanging on until about 11AM. Took a run down Avalanche which had a center roadway groomed flat, and ripped down until my eyes teared up and my quads burned! Hoooo-wee!
Up the tram and down Taft Slalom to Hardscrabble. Lots of people in the woods - lots of dry, deep snow in there. Made laps on Peabody and Cannonball quads with about 10 people in line each run max. What a day!! Total blue skies, no crowds. As a guy said in the lodge - winter snow with spring sun.
Stopped for a quick mid-morning refreshment (Rob - "Is the bar open yet?" Me - "Well, it's 10:15 - let's go see.") It was HOT out already. With legs refreshed, we returned to the Front Four and conquered Zoomer, which is mighty steep indeed. Again, the groomers had smashed out a wide path, which made it skiable. Paulie's Folly, right next door, was a half-mile of 4-foot bumps. Only for the truly studly.
With lunch, what little crowd there was cleared out and we had the hill to ourselves. Saw a number of hikers heading over to Mittersill, which several locals claimed was deep and excellent. I'm guessing they will be skiing at Cannon for several more weeks. There's a LOT of snow still up there.
Anyway - a few more runs up the tram (bumps on Vista Way) and Peabody (had to do Avalanche again) and we were ready for lunch at 130PM. The bar area had burgers going and lots of friendly people hanging out, and after our second PM refreshment it was all over for the day. Plus, a layer of high cloud cover came in and took away the sun, so we had had the best part of the day anyhow.
A fantastic bluebird day at Cannon - !!! Pics in the gallery......
Date: Sunday, March 20, 2005
Conditions: Blue skies until 130PM, 40*F base, 20*F summit. Light winds. Snow cover very good - the occasional icy patch, but softened up considerably by noon. Lots of soft stuff on the sides of trails, and lots of bumps.
Grabbed ole buddy Rob and headed north from Worcester County MA at approx 620AM. With a quick stop for coffee, we were on the lifts by 900AM sharp. Not a cloud in the sky to start, and nobody in the Peabody Express liftline. Right to the top, did a couple runs down Ravine and Middle Cannon to get our legs going. Fabulous views over to Lafayette, which had just a small updraft cloud hanging on until about 11AM. Took a run down Avalanche which had a center roadway groomed flat, and ripped down until my eyes teared up and my quads burned! Hoooo-wee!
Up the tram and down Taft Slalom to Hardscrabble. Lots of people in the woods - lots of dry, deep snow in there. Made laps on Peabody and Cannonball quads with about 10 people in line each run max. What a day!! Total blue skies, no crowds. As a guy said in the lodge - winter snow with spring sun.
Stopped for a quick mid-morning refreshment (Rob - "Is the bar open yet?" Me - "Well, it's 10:15 - let's go see.") It was HOT out already. With legs refreshed, we returned to the Front Four and conquered Zoomer, which is mighty steep indeed. Again, the groomers had smashed out a wide path, which made it skiable. Paulie's Folly, right next door, was a half-mile of 4-foot bumps. Only for the truly studly.
With lunch, what little crowd there was cleared out and we had the hill to ourselves. Saw a number of hikers heading over to Mittersill, which several locals claimed was deep and excellent. I'm guessing they will be skiing at Cannon for several more weeks. There's a LOT of snow still up there.
Anyway - a few more runs up the tram (bumps on Vista Way) and Peabody (had to do Avalanche again) and we were ready for lunch at 130PM. The bar area had burgers going and lots of friendly people hanging out, and after our second PM refreshment it was all over for the day. Plus, a layer of high cloud cover came in and took away the sun, so we had had the best part of the day anyhow.
A fantastic bluebird day at Cannon - !!! Pics in the gallery......
