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Cannon base area construction

thebigo

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Stopped by cannon yesterday, peabody side. Suprised to see multiple pieces of equipment being operated on a saturday; also the old rental shop door has been removed. The deck has been removed between the base lodges along with the siding. The deck in front of the lodge has been removed and the lumber stacked near the hsq. A foundation has been poured where the deck used to be and heavy excavation was occuring upslope from the lodge near the old tram car.

Looked like they are going to connect the two lodges in the area of the old deck and pour a new deck uphill from the lodge between the hsq and the top of brookside?

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deadheadskier

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can't wait to see it done. The lodge at Cannon is the pits. It's no where near sufficient for dealing with weekend crowds.
 

riverc0il

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I love the Peabody Lodge. But as DHS says, it is way too small for the weekend crowds. This must be the long awaited lodge expansion, perhaps? I can't wait to see what it looks like when it is completed. They have an awesome bar area but it is too crowded in their. The guest services building also could use a pushing out for us brown baggers.

Since the rental shop is boarded up, I assume they are doing something with that and ABOUT FRIGGIN TIME! My G/F gave skiing another shot last winter and we had a horrible time getting her rental equipment. Not enough room at all down there. I was SHOCKED to see what first timers have to go through to get gear. Also, not having the rental shop at snow level doesn't make sense. hopefully they bring the rental shop up to the second floor at snow level.

Linking the two buildings together instead of having to walk the bridge also makes a lot of sense but I don't know how they can make it happen with the river below. They could just have the second floor connected and the building built above the river a la MRG's ticket window, offices, and rental/repair shop.
 

SIKSKIER

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Here's the scoop guys

I also was at Cannon on Saturday and Sunday having spent the weekend next door at my Mittersill ski house.The new building in front of the kitchen will become the lounge.The whole area that was the lounge and/or cafeteria will revert back to the day lodge.The new foundation next to where the bridge was cut off will become the rental facility at ground level.I'm not sure what other changes are going where but the old lodge has many new walls in the place where the rentals were and the ski shop upstairs was.

Also in other news,I talked with the head of the patrol and he told me the state has approved the $4+ million for the new/used double lift for Mittersill.It is scheduled for the 2010/2011 season.
 

Highway Star

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Also in other news,I talked with the head of the patrol and he told me the state has approved the $4+ million for the new/used double lift for Mittersill.It is scheduled for the 2010/2011 season.

That's a little pricy for a double chair.....does that $ figure include some snowmaking and trail widening, or something else?
 

riverc0il

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I'm not sure what other changes are going where but the old lodge has many new walls in the place where the rentals were and the ski shop upstairs was.
Is it possible they are going to move the offices currently under the bar/cafe over to where the rental shop used to be to have all operations and sales under one roof? I can't imagine why else they would be putting walls up where the rental shack used to be. If it was going to be skier accessible brown bag area, it would be better left open.

Also in other news,I talked with the head of the patrol and he told me the state has approved the $4+ million for the new/used double lift for Mittersill.It is scheduled for the 2010/2011 season.
Bummer it is happening so fast. So this is everyone's last year to ski one of New England's unique slack country offerings before it becomes just another trail pod. I know, I know... they say they are going to leave it "wild" but I find that hard to believe. And Mittersill already gets hammered... with a lift and without snow making, the trails are going to be cut up beyond being worth while skiing. But on the bright side, other secrets will be left alone so still some good.

Any ways, if any one has been saying "someday" for Cannon, this is surely the year.
 

deadheadskier

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I'll be there on Superbowl Sunday. I wish they had regular resident deals on Sunday like Wildcat or Sunapee. The Tuesday and Thursday twofers are nice, but it's a rare event I can get a midweek day off these days, so tough for me to take advantage of it.


Am I correct in that the new double won't go 100% to the top and there will be certain runs that will still require coming over the top or a significant hike back up?
 

riverc0il

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The new double will be installed in the existing footprint of the original double, so the double will not go to the true summit. Aside from the Taft that dumps out at the existing double end station and the Tuckerbrook which goes off the backside of the mountain five miles around the other side of the hill, there are no other trails off the top so the placement is entirely logical though it was also legally mandated due to our good friend the bicknells thrush.
 

deadheadskier

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All spring/summer I've been torn between a Cannon pass and a Ragged pass. I say torn, but I've been 95% certain that I will be going for the Ragged pass. The difference in price is only $200, which is far from a deal breaker. The drive time difference though is 1h25m to Ragged vs 2h10m to Cannon.

45 minute drive time is nothing to me on an average day trip. It is a big difference on a typical Saturday when I'm just looking to get out 4 hours for some exercise. However, the whole Mittersill thing has me thinking I could miss out on something great if I don't spend a fair amount of time at Cannon this winter.

I so wish Cannon had a great Sunday Afternoon deal like Wildcat. The $42 that Cannon charges isn't terrible, but Wildcat's $25 deal or Sunapee's $32 deal is significantly better. Cannon charges $30 for NH residents on Wednesdays. It's a great deal, but I bet they'd generate equal if not more revenue by charging the same for a Sunday afternoon. It probably wouldn't canabalize the Wednesday deal either.

my 9 cents
 

riverc0il

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Cannon's pricing structure is a far cry from the incredible deal it once was. It charges on par with other comparable mountains whereas it used to be significantly cheaper than other comparable mountains such as Wildcat. Mid-week deals are where it is at and Cannon needs them because even with the deals, mid-week is darn quiet at Cannon unless it is a powder day or vacation week.

I completely disagree that Cannon would increase revenue by cutting NH Resident prices by 50% on Sunday. A lot of Cannon day traffic comes from non-pass holding SoNH. And a lot of NH families make the place a destination. Cannon is actually very fiscally responsible with its pricing and they don't have many deals at all except for their Tuesday through Thursday deals. As a tax payer, I can't find fault in their pricing structure but as a skier, I think it is a bit tough without many deals. Have my fingers crossed on the University discount coming through for me again this year.

I am really surprised to hear about the time distance difference between Cannon and Ragged. I thought it would have been closer to 35-40 minutes difference. For what it is worth, when I lived in MA, I considered Cannon my home mountain and only skied Ragged once because I thought the drive time was not enough of a consideration to ski what I considered a significantly inferior mountain. Though their trees are good on a powder day. But then again, as with everything else, I find Cannon's to be better. With Tuckerbrook area, Cannon even stepped up to Ragged as a family friendly mountain though I still think Ragged wins in that department.
 

deadheadskier

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According to Google Maps it's 111 miles to Cannon and 2:04 vs. 71 miles to Ragged and 1:27. So depending on who I get stuck behind on 4 it's a difference of 35-45 minutes. At the end of the day that's not a ton of time, but due to crowding and what not on a Saturday where I'll pretty much only be looking to ski from opening until noon, the extra time savings gets me home prior to 2, which is nice for having the rest of the day to spend with J.

still on the fence, but leaning Ragged for the time and $200 savings. I could grab 5 Sunday afternoons at Cannon with that or 8 at Wildcat.
 

Puck it

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I will be at Cannon alot this year. My wife got me a season pass this year. Mittersill will be a definite hit for me.
 

Edd

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California is about to close state parks and NH is expanding a ski area. Strange times.

I'm definitely pleased with the lodge expansion and that I skied Mittersill last year before they change the area. I'm strictly a weekday visitor to Cannon because of those NH resident deals and weekend crowds.
 

SIKSKIER

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Is it possible they are going to move the offices currently under the bar/cafe over to where the rental shop used to be to have all operations and sales under one roof? I can't imagine why else they would be putting walls up where the rental shack used to be. If it was going to be skier accessible brown bag area, it would be better left open.

Those marketing offices you refer to were not there last year.The downstairs brownbag area was expanded to include the whole bottom floor.I'm guessing that where these departments might be going into.



I'm definitely pleased with the lodge expansion and that I skied Mittersill last year before they change the area. I'm strictly a weekday visitor to Cannon because of those NH resident deals and weekend crowds.


Well compared to most major mountains Cannon can see more crowds on the weekday 2fer's than on a typical weekend.Being mostly a weekend warrier,that's why I have stayed true to Cannon for 35+ years.
 
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St. Bear

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still on the fence, but leaning Ragged for the time and $200 savings. I could grab 5 Sunday afternoons at Cannon with that or 8 at Wildcat.

I was going to go with a Ragged pass for all my time spent in NH, but decided to withhold and try to follow the discounts at different mountains.

My logic was that worst case scenerio, I could get a college ticket at Cannon for $45. Even if my per day $$ is higher, I'll take that if I can get bigger and better mountains for it.

I'm also glad that I was able to hit up Mittersill once last year (for the first time), and will definitely go back every time I ski Cannon next year.
 

snoseek

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Well compared to most major mountains Cannon can see more crowds on the weekday 2fer's than on a typical weekend.Being mostly a weekend warrier,that's why I have stayed true to Cannon for 35+ years.

Yeah there were lots of busy Tues/Thur even Sometimes Wednesday when they started that. Mondays and Fridays were always pretty mellow except for holidays. I miss skiing Cannon and the crazy warp speed that comes with it sometimes
 
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