Cannon update (news article)

[powers]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23443503

Okay, I read it a day late but it looks like and end of an era. What I'm reading into this is more expensive tickets, less deals and a ruined Mittersill expirence. A T-bar from the saddle to the top of the hike??? Cannon has the best side country availible of any NH mountain and it's going to get flushed down the toilet.
The only way this expansion is going to work is if they let it be a natural ski area and keep the hike. The hike is a filter for Joey Bag o'Donuts and helps keep the unwashed masses to a minimum. I could see getting the bottom third of the actual ski area going so people that have owned properties for years can ski in and ski out like they used to.
Fire at will......

 

[skier90]

If they want to compete they have to add mittersill. One thing they need to do before anything else is to expand the lodge, smallest one ive ever been too. I can see the NH resident days going away, if that happens ill be pissed, at least its only 250 for me to get a pass this year.

 

[riverc0il]

Bald said the state is excited about the prospects of moving forward with a land swap with the federal government that would double the terrain at Cannon Mountain by incorporating the now-defunct Mittersill trails into the ski area.

Double? That is laughable. Maybe a 35% increase at best.

"But it's a question of looking at Cannon and seeing what capital investment needs there are and how a lift on Mittersill fits into the overall management plan," Bald said.

As skier90 suggested, expanding the base lodge area should certainly be a bigger capital investment than expansion. I have to believe that the decision to eliminate the cafe at the Tram must have increased skier/ride capacity at the Peabody Slopes. While discussing the issue with a local Cannon skier this past weekend, the notion that the state would pony up the money for the two lifts required to make the expansion and connection seems suspect.

The part about that article that indicates how much less revenue Cannon makes has some omissions such as the residents day and lower costs for NH residents and other such deals that make the mountain affordable. Cannon may generate less money than other comparable resorts but perhaps that is because it is not trying to gouge consumers but rather run an affordable mountain.

While it excels in operations efficiency, the Dartmouth-Tuck study concluded the state is investing far less in marketing and snowmaking and deferring maintenance.

I can not speak for deferring maintenance, but Cannon significantly stepped up its game on snowmaking and marketing this season. Let us not forget that Cannon often has to abide by people upstairs pulling financial strings. Maybe if mountain managers were given more lee way in decision making then those areas would continue to improve?

Adjacent to Cannon is the private and now defunct Mittersill Mountain ski area. About 100 acres at the summit of Mittersill is owned by the U.S. Forest Service and the surrounding land is owned by the state.

Was this sentence written as a joke? How can Mittersill be both private and USFS landed and the rest owned by the state? Does not compute!

It would include increasing snowmaking to allow 30 to 40 percent more output; a retrofit of the old Mittersill double chair; a 500-foot-long handle tow on Cannon's Taft trail to get skiers and riders up over the Mittersill saddle; more trail and lodge improvements; and the purchase of an additional grooming machine.

A retrofit of the old double chair? They must be joking. It would be cheaper to buy a new lift that thing is in such a sorry state of affairs. A handle tow up the Taft is pointless if a lift is going up to the top any ways. How are they going to handle the increased traffic down the Taft? Widen it?!?! Goodness. The only good thing about a Mittersill expansion is it will practically eliminate any one hiking up the saddle! Those are some very financially intensive plans... and Bald did not include money for creating the plan, clearing the trails, waterbaring the trails, putting snow making into Mittersill, etc. Show me da money, that is what I say. If Bald thinks the expansion to Mittersill will save Cannon from being leased, he is dreaming. Quite the opposite, with the amount of financial investment required, I would suspect NH would be even more interested in finding someone else to pay for the improvements. I am sure the expansion will require lift tickets start heading upwards approaching resort levels... $60 probably isn't high enough to pay for this type of infrastructure plan.

 

[SIKSKIER]

That's the first time I've heard of a lift to the top of the saddle.No f-in way should there be a lift there and in my opinion there never will.I live across the street from the main Mittersill building and have mixed feelings about the reopening.There is so much natural condition skiing here within a short hike.It would be sad to see it go all lift served.The propertys in the village would surely have a huge increase and I would basically have a ski in/ski out house so there's my rub.
Steve,I must agree that Mittersill would effectively increase skiable terrain by about 30%.As far as the ownership pie at Mittersill,the homes are all private.The bottom 3/4 of the mountain is State Park and the top 1/4 is National forest.
I have in my hand the land exchange report generated by the White Mt National Forest Pemmigewasset Ranger District's Sue Mathison which explains the plan for the swap and shows the parcels involved.Being a 35 year passholder to Cannon,I have been on both sides of the expansion issue.As of now I am all for it. Here's the link for the report :

http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/whi...ll_land_exchange/mittersill_scoping_color.pdf

 

[deadheadskier]

Looks like a Federal land swap will happen for the top portion of Mittersill

http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20081121-NEWS-811210453

 

[Johnskiismore]

Pertaining to the original article for this post, a lot of the information doesn't seem to add up.

 

[Justin10]

What does the "top portion" mean? Only part of it will be operated by Cannon and the rest will still be 'closed'?

 

[deadheadskier]

What does the "top portion" mean? Only part of it will be operated by Cannon and the rest will still be 'closed'?

Cannon is a 'State park'. The State owns the bottom 75% of Mittersil. The Top 25% is National Forrest land. The swap would give the State full control and the ability to develop it as they please outside of environmental hold ups.

 

[Justin10]

Ahh, thanks - now that makes sense. Still not sure I support the building of lifts there. I really like the idea of them maintaining the trails, but leaving in the short hike just to filter out the unwanted crowd.

 

[Smellytele]

Ahh, thanks - now that makes sense. Still not sure I support the building of lifts there. I really like the idea of them maintaining the trails, but leaving in the short hike just to filter out the unwanted crowd.

I am with ya but by maintaining you mean? Grooming? (please no) snow making? (I might be okay with this but then then would need to groom so) Brush cutting ?(some would be fine)

 

[Justin10]

I am with ya but by maintaining you mean? Grooming? (please no) snow making? (I might be okay with this but then then would need to groom so) Brush cutting ?(some would be fine)

By maintaining, I mean just keep the brush small enough so it can be skiied a little earlier in the season. Not necessarily trimming it so its a fairway, but there definitly is some sizeable brush that isnt needed there.

 

[riverc0il]

In other Cannon news, they open this Friday and still do not have their web site updated. Who is the marketing genius behind not having a new rumored web site up during the first snowfall that hits NH, the third or fourth to hit New England depending upon how you count them, and just days prior to opening for the season? My goodness.

 

[SIKSKIER]

Ah yes Steve,more of the government way of running things at my beloved Cannon.To speak to some of the other comments....During homecoming weekend 3 weeks ago mountain manager John DeVivo talked about what would happen if/when the swap is finalized.He said they would probably do limited selective grooming.I'm thinking mainly on runouts and the like.The next step would to get snowmaking and then a lift in place and that would probably not happen for 4-5 years.He was very specific about what would be installed for a lift.As part of the swap deal the lift has to be replaced by what was already there,namely a double.It must run in the same footprint.These are both good requirements in my opinion.As far as connecting the 2 mountains,they don't need to and I hope they never do put a lift over the saddle.Taft race trail could not support the traffic and I don't believe they would be allowed to clear any trees there anyway.The top of Mt Jackson is National forest until the swap is finalized and as far as I understand no new trails will be allowed to be cut as part of the agreement.The moutains already are connected at the bottom by using the newish Tuckerbrook lift you can traverse to the base of Mittersill now but I think they would try to cut a traverse a little higher.

 

[Justin10]

Aside from the land swap, the new website is finally up along with a new updated trail map which has the new beginner trail from the tuckerbrook lift to the top of the handle tow. The "new" glades are up on the map as well...

 

[riverc0il]

Thanks for the update, Justin10. Hope Cannon Mountain Ski Patrol is ready to have some fun next season. Unless they cleaned up and widened some of that stuff, I suspect many sliders are going to learn to respect glade skiing the hard way. Sure ain't open VT birch skiing fo' sho'.

In WTF Department:

"DJ's Tramline" WTF!?!??!?!
Zoomalanche???!?!?!!!?
Blueball !??!?!?!

Cannon has really gone nuts in renaming every single small pitch and stretch of so called trail. It has been frustrating seeing a mountain with integrity degrade into a run for the marketing numbers. The additional glades on the map is disappointing but it certainly could have been much worse.

At least Cannon finally has a respectable web site. Photo of the day for 12/3 is HOT!!! Only problem with the web site is the first page as a "lodging partners" left hand side bar but that side bar becomes a Nav on any other page. I know they want to push lodging, but I HATE inconsistency in Nav bars in web pages. Other than that.... good show!

 

[deadheadskier]

Cannon has really gone nuts in renaming every single small pitch and stretch of so called trail. It has been frustrating seeing a mountain with integrity degrade into a run for the marketing numbers.

When Stowe jumped the Shark and went from 48 to 116 trails, I fired off a disapproval email the moment I saw it. I always respected Stowe keeping it real with their trail count....wish everyone did.

 

[deadheadskier]

Like the website, dislike the zoomable trail map that seems a bit similar to Whiteface's.

I prefer something like Sunday River's Trail map for ease of use and readability.

 

[Johnskiismore]

Just looked at the Cannon Mountain trail map, I held my breath for a couple of the glades, but you can't win them all. Trail Map:

Cannon New Map

 

[MichaelJ]

I know Kinsman Glade's been there for a while, but which other glades are new? I see on the map Banshee, Snowmaker's, Turnpike, Mushroom, Go Green, Global Warning, Robin's Nest, and Parkway.

I also see that Tramline has been renamed DJ's Tramline...

 

[Justin10]

The new glades on the map for this year are Mushroom, Go Green, Global Warming, Snowmakers and Lost Boys. I'm unsure if the Turnpike Glade was on the map before or not, if it was, I've never skied it.