Not much snow was expected during the holiday weekend. Cannon received half a foot during the past 48 hours. So, I opted for a tour up Tuckerbrook instead of visiting a busy ski area.

Highway traffic heading north was considerable. I was satisfied with my decision. My car was the fourth in the lot. By the time I returned, the lot would be full and cars would be parked down the road. Dozens of people were uphilling Tuckerbrook as I was descending.

Conditions down low were worse than expected with only an inch or two of fresh snow along the edges of the trail. The snow must have been localized and elevation dependent, as conditions didn’t get better until nearing the troll bridge (which still has yet to completely fill in).

Another pair of uphillers asked if was going to continue to the top of the Taft. I jokingly responded “sure, what are they going to do, kick us off the mountain?” Famous last words.

When we were all transitioning for the downhill, I was surprised to see ski patrol hiking up the saddle. Patrol asked where we came from and if we knew that the saddle was closed.

He was very nice and I don’t begrudge the messenger. But he made it known that we should not skin past the Tuckerbrook trail onto Cannon property.

Things have changed a lot at Cannon during the last dozen or so years. Management no longer values its loyal skier base. Die hard Cannon skiers quietly doing there thing and not making trouble are no longer appreciated.

I know mountains have liability concerns and fear law suits. But we are talking about skinning a hundred vertical feet from the top of Tuckerbrook to the top of Mount Jackson.

We weren’t skinning on Cannon proper. We were skinning the classic Tuckerbrook Ski Trail, just as it has been skied for over ninety years. Which is apparently no longer allowed.

The land swap was the worst thing that ever happened at Cannon. Things have gone downhill ever since.