S
seano
Guest
Date(s) Skied: Wednesday, March 15, 2005. 9 AM - 2:30 PM
Resort or Ski Area: Cannon Mountain,Franconia, New Hampshire
Conditions: Foggy top half of mountain, Light snow, breezy
Trip Report:
Went to Cannon on March 15th 2005 with the sole purpose of snowboarding Tramline. Before you read the review, here is what to expect. 1. It is easier to ski tramline than board it (couple tiny rocky sections a board can't get thru. no big deal). 2. There could be hidden rocks anywhere under the snow ( I heard them scraping under my board a few times)this was especially nerve racking because I blazed the first trail of the day. 3. Keep up your speed and try to keep going forward. ( I only could feel the rocks when I tried to traverse the trail. It is better to keep moving down the mountain and stay on top of the snow and unexpected rocks). 4. I read a reviewer say " If you need to side step, you should not be on the trail. (thats bull, If you have the guts to go down do whatever it takes) 5. I guess there was a little more cover a few days ago but where is the challenge / risk in going down all powder? NOW ON TO THE REVIEW: I have waited a few years to finally get my chance to do tramline as it is never open year after year. I am always seeking the biggest challenge and before this, the Face Chutes at Jay Peak and the Old Gondi Line at Wildcat were the best I had found. That was until I hit Tramline. Tramline, is by far, the greatest New England trail I have ever boarded. This was a dream come true and exceeded all my expectations and dreams of what this trail would be like. The snow cover was as good as it probably gets and from what I could see I blazed the first tracks down. When you enter the Tramline, you have to navigate a pretty hairy. narrow path thru birch trees just to get to the real entrance. Stay in control and you will love it. Once out of the woods you are standing at the top edge of tramline. It is immense and intimidating and I was alone, Just Me, Tramline, and the spectators watching from the Tram that is going right over you head. This was the showdown I always wanted. The first piece is fairly easy to navigate, lots of bumps but tons of snow. I traversed immediatley over to the left side and pounded through the powder and hard pack until the next section, from there, I went right, because on a board the next little section on the left is almost impassable (rocks). Its pretty hairy and you have to stay in control to navigate thru the rock mazes. Once you get out of that, you have really earned it and your pretty sweaty. I'm not going to lie and say it was easy but if you stay in control, you wont get hurt and will have a blast. The Lower 3rd of Tramline is where you really get rewarded. Nothing but big terrian and tons of snow. By the time you get to the bottom your drained and the euphoria is second to none. I ended up doing this run 8 times. After 4 in a row, I tried the hardscrabbles for 1 run but it doesn't compare. I went back and did 4 more runs on Tramline. From what I could see / hear on the tram, Myself and only a couple of other people skied Tramline on this day. Each run I did was a solo. Although I kept thinking someone was following me because of the constant sound of "little avalanches" behind me all the time". The last run of the day, I followed a skier into tramline. I stayed behind him until the Tramline opening. He stopped to comtemplate, I just started down. Every now and then I would stop and look up to see the skier but eventually he was so far behind I lost sight of him. 15 minutes later I saw him at the bottom and he said that it was the sickest trail and how tough it was. Seeing that Tramline is easier for a skier I felt like the king of the world having done it 8 times. To make it even better, the skier was a Cannon Ski Patrol guy. I had to laugh because each time I took the tram, everyone has comments on Tramline as you look at it beneath,. "no one can do that" "snowboards can never make it down" "too many rocks" "too steep". I can tell you one thing. Tramline looks way worse when viewed from the tram. When you are on the trail it is steep and there are rocks but it looks more intimidating from the tram.
Resort or Ski Area: Cannon Mountain,Franconia, New Hampshire
Conditions: Foggy top half of mountain, Light snow, breezy
Trip Report:
Went to Cannon on March 15th 2005 with the sole purpose of snowboarding Tramline. Before you read the review, here is what to expect. 1. It is easier to ski tramline than board it (couple tiny rocky sections a board can't get thru. no big deal). 2. There could be hidden rocks anywhere under the snow ( I heard them scraping under my board a few times)this was especially nerve racking because I blazed the first trail of the day. 3. Keep up your speed and try to keep going forward. ( I only could feel the rocks when I tried to traverse the trail. It is better to keep moving down the mountain and stay on top of the snow and unexpected rocks). 4. I read a reviewer say " If you need to side step, you should not be on the trail. (thats bull, If you have the guts to go down do whatever it takes) 5. I guess there was a little more cover a few days ago but where is the challenge / risk in going down all powder? NOW ON TO THE REVIEW: I have waited a few years to finally get my chance to do tramline as it is never open year after year. I am always seeking the biggest challenge and before this, the Face Chutes at Jay Peak and the Old Gondi Line at Wildcat were the best I had found. That was until I hit Tramline. Tramline, is by far, the greatest New England trail I have ever boarded. This was a dream come true and exceeded all my expectations and dreams of what this trail would be like. The snow cover was as good as it probably gets and from what I could see I blazed the first tracks down. When you enter the Tramline, you have to navigate a pretty hairy. narrow path thru birch trees just to get to the real entrance. Stay in control and you will love it. Once out of the woods you are standing at the top edge of tramline. It is immense and intimidating and I was alone, Just Me, Tramline, and the spectators watching from the Tram that is going right over you head. This was the showdown I always wanted. The first piece is fairly easy to navigate, lots of bumps but tons of snow. I traversed immediatley over to the left side and pounded through the powder and hard pack until the next section, from there, I went right, because on a board the next little section on the left is almost impassable (rocks). Its pretty hairy and you have to stay in control to navigate thru the rock mazes. Once you get out of that, you have really earned it and your pretty sweaty. I'm not going to lie and say it was easy but if you stay in control, you wont get hurt and will have a blast. The Lower 3rd of Tramline is where you really get rewarded. Nothing but big terrian and tons of snow. By the time you get to the bottom your drained and the euphoria is second to none. I ended up doing this run 8 times. After 4 in a row, I tried the hardscrabbles for 1 run but it doesn't compare. I went back and did 4 more runs on Tramline. From what I could see / hear on the tram, Myself and only a couple of other people skied Tramline on this day. Each run I did was a solo. Although I kept thinking someone was following me because of the constant sound of "little avalanches" behind me all the time". The last run of the day, I followed a skier into tramline. I stayed behind him until the Tramline opening. He stopped to comtemplate, I just started down. Every now and then I would stop and look up to see the skier but eventually he was so far behind I lost sight of him. 15 minutes later I saw him at the bottom and he said that it was the sickest trail and how tough it was. Seeing that Tramline is easier for a skier I felt like the king of the world having done it 8 times. To make it even better, the skier was a Cannon Ski Patrol guy. I had to laugh because each time I took the tram, everyone has comments on Tramline as you look at it beneath,. "no one can do that" "snowboards can never make it down" "too many rocks" "too steep". I can tell you one thing. Tramline looks way worse when viewed from the tram. When you are on the trail it is steep and there are rocks but it looks more intimidating from the tram.
