Category: 2011-2012 Season

2011-2012 Season, Cannon Mountain, December

Cannon: Caution

Cannon Fan GunThe packed parking lot suggested conditions and crowds would be worse than two weeks ago. I was apprehensive about conditions and wondered how many runs it would take to drive me off the mountain. Surprisingly, the crowd was somewhat manageable after the first tracks frenzy and I found some bumps to keep me entertained through noontime.

Cannon added the Links to Spookie as an option but the combined traffic still needed to run the gauntlet down Gremlin. I was delighted to find loose snow on an enjoyable Big Link, a surprisingly treat (for once). A bump line setup on skier’s left of Gremlin which kept me entertained far longer than I had expected.

The trails were crowded, the conditions were scraped, and the troughs were thinly covered. But dancing in between the bumps on Spookie, I skied a line true and had a huge smile as a result. Even on an early season death ribbon, there is still fun to be had and quality turns to be made.

Cannon Base Area

Middle Cannon

Mount Lafayette from Middle Cannon

2011-2012 Season, Cannon Mountain, Earned Turns, November

A Tale of Two Cannons

Mount Lafayette from Avalanche

If the density of skiers at Cannon is any indicator, demand is seriously exceeding supply. Much like last year, Cannon opened with one crowded route via Middle Cannon to Gremlin. Unlike last year, Thanksgiving leftovers were still available for turn earning.

Despite bringing both alpine and touring setups, I concluded it would be a lift serviced day. I thought the natural snow would be manky given the warm temperature. So I boarded the Peabody Quad for a few runs down the gauntlet.

While riding the Quad, I looked around and reflected on how Cannon continues to be my mountain. I’ll ruminate in a future post about what factors induce love of particular mountains. I won’t be spoiling anything by stating the nuanced connection is both irrational and emotional.

(more…)

2011-2012 Season, November, Sunday River

Turns Sweet Turns: Sunday River

I hoped for a half dozen runs before the lines and downloading became overwhelming. Instead, I got a baker’s dozen before the lines and downloading became barely a minor annoyance. The guns were on and then they were off. The turns were good on variable man made blow with natural and skier induced terrain obstacles. Skier’s right on T2 was sweet and Upper Punch sucked the big one. Coming off a mammoth earned turn powder day last week, this wasn’t much to write about. But it was still turns sweet turns and I’ll be back for more next weekend if the natural hasn’t returned.

2011-2012 Season, Cannon Mountain, Earned Turns, October, Powder Day

Eyes Wide Open: Cannon

Zoomer Lift Line
Zoomer Lift Line

The past eighteen months have been brutal. On the cusp of greatness and actualization, work fell apart and I was overtaken by a deep malaise. Despite being awarded my company’s highest honor, I’ve never felt my shortcomings more keenly both personally and professionally. I awoke every morning without feeling alive. My consciousness disassociated from reality but yet I still saw it, a distinctive blur that I imagined myself reaching out and trying to grasp.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. It was never work but rather my work, an extension of myself. But I took that philosophy too far. I moved here partly because I viewed a job as a means to an end. But something went wrong, terribly wrong. And through the powder and face shots, my eyes opened wide and I felt alive again: knowing what went wrong and how to fix it.

(more…)

2011-2012 Season, Earned Turns, Killington, October, Powder Day

Beastly Skiing at the Beast

Skinning Under the Snowdon Quad

Today had all the makings of fantastic adventure: equipment failure, gear breakage, poor packing skills, lost helmet ear pads, and horrific skiing. Depending upon one’s outlook on life, it could have either been a comedy or a tragedy. Or both. My amusement while “skiing” (i.e. attempting and failing to link two turns) suggested comedy. But my frustration with trying to engage my Dynafits after falling (again) and associated broken brake suggested tragedy. I laughed, but I didn’t cry.

(more…)