Category: Cannon Mountain

2024-2025 Season, Cannon Mountain, Earned Turns, February, Powder Day

Tuckerbrook

Due to being on call for work, I needed to stay close to home. I opted for an early skin and ski of Tuckerbrook.

It was disappointing not going to Jay (given their exceptional snowfall numbers during the past week). But Jay didn’t receive any more overnight snowfall than Cannon, so I was not missing much.

Below the nordic junction, the trail is still quite thin. Occasional rock is still exposed. But above the junction, the trail is well covered (especially the upper half).

Tuckerbrook is filled in but not that deep. Occasional tree tops are still poking through the snow. The troll bridge has many rocky topographical hurdles. The L&L pitch is still lacking base and is absolutely not recommended.

Overall, it was a pleasant skin and ski.

2024-2025 Season, Cannon Mountain, December, Earned Turns, Powder Day

Discretion

Coverage was excellent for early December (better than last year around the same time). Skinning and skiing the 13-turns was probably ill-advised, given the lack of base consolidation. But I knew what I was in for by continuing up the troll bridge.

I almost made it to the Taft Trail. But I decided to turn around near the top of the 13-turns when spruce trap risk became apparent. Risk of a catastrophic trap was low. But when skiing solo, discretion is often the better part of adventure.

2024-2025 Season, Cannon Mountain, Earned Turns, November, Powder Day

Iterate

With each successive iteration, the process becomes easier while maintaining resilience becomes less so. Excitement and novelty no longer generate inspiration. Routine and process provide the fuel; diesel instead of dynamite.

Each successive run improved upon the last. Avalanche, Paulie’s, Zoomer. A half-foot of supportive fluff was layered upon a half-foot of condensed base. Totally rippable, if not for the waterbars.

The turns were like the perfectly filled pillow, soft and supportive, holding you up when needed, but still letting you sink in when drifting into dreamland.

2023-2024 Season, Cannon Mountain, Earned Turns, February, White Mountain BC

Tuckerbrook: Blue Bird

Lincoln & Lafayette

The forecast promised an amazing blue bird day in the mountains. With new snow sticking to the trees, it was guaranteed to be a brilliant day in the outdoors. The air was cold and crisp, and the views of views of the Franconia Ridge and Kinsmans were fabulous.

Kinsmans

The morning temperature was extremely cold. Skinning is always a great choice for these days as it is easy to stay warm. The lower mountain snow pack was much improved since my last skin earlier this year. But access to the ski trail was still quite thin and would require careful skiing during the exit.

Cannon

The skin was uneventful, the views amazing, and the skiing acceptable. The snow pack is still quite thin for the first week of February. However, at least the trail is now well covered (at least, above the nordic trail junction).

Tuckerbrook

2023-2024 Season, Cannon Mountain, December, Earned Turns, Powder Day

Tuckerbrook

Tuckerbrook title=

When was the last time I skinned Tuckerbrook? I cannot recall, but my last skin of the trail was well over a dozen years ago. I last skied the trail (in its entirety, at least) almost a dozen years ago. But that was via a car spot. Since the 13 Turns are lift accessible sidecountry, I rarely think about skinning and skiing the entire trail.

The time and conditions were just right today to do so. I did not feel like doing another trip to Jay (which I just did the day before) and I felt like earning turns. I realized lower elevations would have poor conditions and the 13 Turns would likely be sporty. But that was all part of the adventure.

Tuckerbrook

The skin in to the junction was thin, icy, and rocky. Above the junction, snow coverage was solid. Lots of undulations, open drainage, and foliage to avoid until 2500′ when the snow pack was consistent across the trail. The skin track stopped at the Troll Bridge, which featured some navigational challenges.

Breaking trail up the 13 Turns was brutal. I am familiar with its think spruce coverage under the snow. I was mindful of possible spruce traps and evaluating coverage and hazards. The snow depth was not enough to cause alarm, but getting caught in one would be frustrating and annoying.

13 Turns

I finally hit the Taft Race Trail and finished skinning to the summit of Mount Jackson. The ski down to the 13 Turns was a nice and gentle warmup. I was surprised at how good the 13 Turns skied given the challenging skin up! It likely was the first ski descent of the 13 Turns this season.

The Troll Bridge was easier to ski down than to skin up. Skiing down the gentle turns of Tuckerbrook ranged from fantastic up high to survival down low. Well worth the effort!. I managed to “ski” back to my car without hiking. But below the junction, in many places it would have been faster to have hiked than “skied”.