Cannon Lover's Thread

[badinfluence]

Skiing between the fog and the clouds.

how was the mtn holding up? debating about making the trip up this weekend?

 

[thetrailboss]

Doesn't GMVS have their own building? I always see it filled with the racer families whenever I happen to ride the Inverness lift. I never really noticed this in the ME base lodge itself, but I also don't use it too frequently so I can't say you're wrong about it happening. But yes, I also hate that mentality of people that think they own the place and take over and spread out. That I'm completely fine with ski areas putting a stop to in the lodges.

GMVS does. It is all the visiting teams that use the lodge.

 

[thetrailboss]

I have had some ski moms tell me the seat were taken then I find another seat but never see anyone join them…

You apparently were not her type.

 

[thetrailboss]

to my (admittedly limited) knowledge, burke mountain academy is a real ski academy for serious skiers and they do produce world class racers.

and OMS, SMS, KMS, etc. are ski country clubs for children from connecticut

Oh boy. Game on. BMA was the first ski race school of its kind.

Burke Mountain is my hone and if it were not for BMA then Burke Mountain would have been NELSAPed a long time ago.

 

[snoseek]

So it looks like theyre shutting mittersill lifts on the midweek. I'm hoping as things fill in they go back to running 7 days over there. We already lost the tram midweek. yeah I know you can hike the saddle but sometimes when the snow is good I like to make laps over there and would hate to see that be a weekend/racer only kinda thing

 

[Smellytele]

how was the mtn holding up? debating about making the trip up this weekend?

Not holding up great. Easy and big link while never great we’re getting very thin. Especially big link. Thin spots appearing on the 2 upper mountain runs. Middle of the mountain thin in the normal spots.
Gary’s and rocket were good. Zoomer was okay except for the top of it.

So it looks like theyre shutting mittersill lifts on the midweek. I'm hoping as things fill in they go back to running 7 days over there. We already lost the tram midweek. yeah I know you can hike the saddle but sometimes when the snow is good I like to make laps over there and would hate to see that be a weekend/racer only kinda thing

They shut it down to preserve what snow was there. Not sure the double had even run yet this year only the tbar for racing.

 

[snoseek]

Ok fair enough they barely even got over there so thats understandable. I skied elsewhere this week so I've not really seen how things are going at Cannon.

 

[Duke61]

We may know each other. I know I spent many runs as a kid following mickey and marge or even paul trying to copy their turns. I was absent for many years though. You would probably know my dad. Cannon roots run deep.

Anyone remember dungaree pete? Now I'm on a nostalgia kick as well

Dungaree Pete, wow you are killing me!! A couple decades ago I was absent a bit, when I returned there was my college buddy running tram, my old weed dealer on another lift, without missing a beat their like, 'where have you been dude'
How about Mickey, always carried his ski's upside down....he was about 5'6" and those 200/205's always looked giant. I had an opportunity to ski with Paul Valar many times, he was getting old then (1980ish), I wish I had been old enough to understand the sheer enormity he and his wife brought to modern skiing, a real legend.

Since helmets we don't know anyone! I meet people regularly through work who are Cannon skiers, I've probably rode the lift with them.....yeah I'm the guy in the blue jacket and black pants!!!! Burn your boots off! (and yes I have that poster in a tube somewhere).

 

[BodeMiller1]

^^^
Temperature inversion? Awesome sauce

 

[thetrailboss]

So it looks like theyre shutting mittersill lifts on the midweek. I'm hoping as things fill in they go back to running 7 days over there. We already lost the tram midweek. yeah I know you can hike the saddle but sometimes when the snow is good I like to make laps over there and would hate to see that be a weekend/racer only kinda thing

Threecy/taxpayersforcannon flooded their inbox with complaints about wasting money running the chair. That’s why it’s closed.

 

[BodeMiller1]

Cannon does not hold snow well on the front five area. Sure, in a good or average snow year it's cold enough to ski well. What if they planted tree islands like at the top of Vista way? It's just too open and windswept from northern winds going through the notch.

As far as the tram. If you're going to start from scratch, why not blast out where the top house is going to be and move the rock to the top?

Never been to Europe, butt they use tunnels and those kinds of structures. It would save energy for heating, should last a very long time. The old man is down at this point. Devil's advocate: "If you blast up there you could bring down part of the Cliffs". Of course, there's always the protected birds.

Screw the bird and the rock climbers. Imagine the top looking like the K-1 lodge was picked up and "shoved" into the top of Cannon. Have a nice bar and a "coffee shop" Amsterdam Style. I often have a hard time getting stoned with the snow goblins, despite wind proof lighters and those kinds of accoutrements

There's a problem we have found.
A way to build around the problem, building tower foresight isn't anything at all...
Buy the sky and sell the sky and lift your arms up to the sky and tell the sky and tell the sky.
Don't fall on me.
Because it wouldn't be sky anymore...


Michael Stipe's thoughts on flying into Boston, Mass.​

 

[deadheadskier]

The Front Five maybe the worst designed trail pod in New England. That, Oz at Sunday River and Big Dipper at K are probably my 3 candidates for worst design screw ups.

Instead of 5 super wide runs off of Zoomer, they should have cut 8 narrower trails or just 5 narrow trails with more room for glades in between Such that the trails don't get so hammered with wind. Such a waste as the pitch is great there, but you're often stuck skiing wind scoured crap.

Planting trees islands on Avalanche and Paulie's sounds like a really good idea

 

[hardscrabble]

Avalanche is the only one that I'd leave wide. It's by far the best of the 5 for going stupid fast after a fresh groom. Agree with the rest of your assessment though.

Cutting Profile as wide as they did was a pretty big blunder, too. Should've left the Cannonball lift line as narrow as possible and instead designed a narrow natural run more or less following the slight gully that starts at the high looker's R of Profile and then gradually veers off into the woods. Although I imagine that revegetation up there would take a long time with how exposed it is.

 

[Abubob]

I often have a hard time getting stoned

 

[thetrailboss]

Never been to Europe, butt they use tunnels and those kinds of structures. It would save energy for heating, should last a very long time. The old man is down at this point. Devil's advocate: "If you blast up there you could bring down part of the Cliffs". Of course, there's always the protected birds.

I read that quickly and thought that you said "butt tunnels".

 

[thetrailboss]

The Front Five maybe the worst designed trail pod in New England. That, Oz at Sunday River and Big Dipper at K are probably my 3 candidates for worst design screw ups.

Instead of 5 super wide runs off of Zoomer, they should have cut 8 narrower trails or just 5 narrow trails with more room for glades in between Such that the trails don't get so hammered with wind. Such a waste as the pitch is great there, but you're often stuck skiing wind scoured crap.

Planting trees islands on Avalanche and Paulie's sounds like a really good idea

Avalanche is the only one that I'd leave wide. It's by far the best of the 5 for going stupid fast after a fresh groom. Agree with the rest of your assessment though.

Cutting Profile as wide as they did was a pretty big blunder, too. Should've left the Cannonball lift line as narrow as possible and instead designed a narrow natural run more or less following the slight gully that starts at the high looker's R of Profile and then gradually veers off into the woods. Although I imagine that revegetation up there would take a long time with how exposed it is.

IIRC these trails were cut/widened in the 1980's. To put things in perspective, the fad in those days was to make everything wide for snowmaking, grooming, and 'to make it feel like skiing out west'. Whatever that is. The narrow trails were out of style. So places cut wide trails such as CanAm "Supertrail" at Jay, White Heat at Sunday River ("the steepest longest widest trail in the east"), White Nitro at Sugarloaf, too many trails at Killington (Superstar, Outer Limits, Double Dipper/Canyon Quad area), and these runs at Cannon. The thought at the time was go wide because that is what was easier for operations and what they thought the market wanted to compete with out west. In reality they are way too wide, lack character, and are vulnerable to wind and weather.

Trails cut back in the day (1930's, 1940's, and 1950's) were planned and designed to be narrow to catch and keep snow, limit exposure, and to follow the contours of the mountain because they did not have the luxury of lots of money and technology to grade them extensively. Of course they never foresaw 500 horsepower Pisten Bully groomers, snowmaking, or hundreds of people skiing them in a single day.

 

[deadheadskier]

Spruce Peak at Stowe is another that was designed to have that Western Bowl skiing feel. It just doesn't work in the East.

 

[ceo]

IIRC these trails were cut/widened in the 1980's. To put things in perspective, the fad in those days was to make everything wide for snowmaking, grooming, and 'to make it feel like skiing out west'. Whatever that is. The narrow trails were out of style. So places cut wide trails such as CanAm "Supertrail" at Jay, White Heat at Sunday River ("the steepest longest widest trail in the east"), White Nitro at Sugarloaf, too many trails at Killington (Superstar, Outer Limits, Double Dipper/Canyon Quad area), and these runs at Cannon. The thought at the time was go wide because that is what was easier for operations and what they thought the market wanted to compete with out west. In reality they are way too wide, lack character, and are vulnerable to wind and weather.

The Front Five trails were laid out in the early 60s, and as far as I know have always been that wide (sure looks that way on this 1961 trail map, but Cannon's maps have always been horribly inaccurate). Completely agree on the 1980s trail widening trend; another victim was Tote Road at Sugarloaf, as well as Whiffletree (ex-Lower Ramdown).

 

[Abubob]

The Front Five trails were laid out in the early 60s, and as far as I know have always been that wide (sure looks that way on this 1961 trail map, but Cannon's maps have always been horribly inaccurate).

Map confirmed by this 1964 aerial photo found on historicaerials.com

 

[Duke61]

Great discussion, in my 50 years dozens of 'islands' have disappeared and trail boss knows his shit. Unfortunately we lost alot of 'tree cover' from wind etc with all this. The front 5 are just mis-managed the WORST trail on the mountain is Cannonball, oh I think they call it 'profile' now. If you had that scar on your face you'd get plastic surgery. Gross. I cried when that t-bar came down it could run in any wind we were stupid enough to ski in. It's not just Cannon, its what managers thought skiers wanted, but for you younger skiers, ALL the trails at cannon are about double wide of what they were 50 years ago. The reality is when upper cannon was 25' wide you paid attention, if you have 300yds (cannonball) to gather speed you really launch when things go south. Grooming stunk, sno making was marginal I don't know if it was better or worse experience than today but it certainly was hairier and if you were a frequent flier, you were certainly going to ruin your 'best skis' sooner or later.

The only trails that even give you a sense of 'old cannon' today are the ravines, and middle hardscrabble. Over my lifetime upper/middle ravine has doubled or tripled in places. Here's a weird one for you folks, I still look for rocks that have been blasted/re-graded and long gone, especially at Taft..... I haven't forgot hitting them !!!!