Cannon 12/8/06

[Edd]

Stood in line for the lift behind about 20 people before it started. Temps were in single digits with a bit of wind but not bad. People were excited because it was opening day, it was free, and there was about a foot of fresh snow and it was still coming down! Despite that, guns were blasting all over the place. Yesterday I skied Sunday River and we had beers out on the Foggy Goggle deck in just our shirts with blue skies and blazing sun. Weird season.

So the only chair open worth talking about was the Peabody Express and the only route down was Big link to Middle Ravine to Lower Ravine. I didn't mind because I was skiing on fresh. A few folks were ducking ropes because there was good coverage on a number of closed trails; I really wanted to but I restrained myself. Visibility wasn't great because of all the snow so you needed to be a bit careful.

Went to the pub for a couple of drinks and watched all the regulars say hi to each other. This was my first time at Cannon and I thought the place had a great atmosphere. Went back out at around 11:30 and the snow had stopped and the sun was peeking through. Visibility was 100% better and you could rip through the powder. It wasn't super deep but there was little scratch to be found.

Skied until I was pooped and saw a repair shop sign over a door at the lodge. I needed a tune so I skied right up to the door and walked in. Tune was finished in 20 minutes for 20 bucks. It was done when I was changed and ready to go. This place rocks! It's somewhere in between Wildcat and Jay Peak in terms of the base lodge atmosphere and the look of the terrain. I can't wait until it's fully open.

 

[Joshua B]

Great report. It's awesome to hear your excitement over discovering Cannon. Did you notice if guns were running on the upper half of the mountain?

 

[Edd]

I noticed no guns on the upper half but it sure it look white up there. I saw a few people throughout the day hiking up a ways and skiing down.

 

[hrstrat57]

nice report!

 

[riverc0il]

nice report, and nice discovery of a great mountain. still one of my favorites in new england, especially when the snow is good. the repair shop is great, eh? i always brought my boards in there when i was a regular. great laid back attitude at cannon but folks get pumped up for the natural stuff.

Great report. It's awesome to hear your excitement over discovering Cannon. Did you notice if guns were running on the upper half of the mountain?

i remember seeing upper cannon white before the snow started flying. i suspect folks hiking up to upper cannon had some incredible pow snow on a nice base. if i didn't have a pass to jay... heh!

 

[FridayHiker]

Did you notice if guns were running on the upper half of the mountain?

I didn't see guns up top, either, though I can only speak for the afternoon. Most seemed to be concentrated on Gremlin and maybe Middle/Lower Cannon.

 

[skibum9995]

Edd - Glad you enjoyed Cannon. You'll like it even better next time you go with more terrain open.

There had been no snowmaking on Upper Cannon since about 2 weeks ago, but from what I could see the cover looked decent. The upper mountain won't open until Upper Cannon and Upper Ravine are ready to go. It looks like Middle/Lower Cannon and Gremlin will be open tomorrow, or Sunday at the latest.