Category: Powder Day

2010-2011 Season, Cannon Mountain, December, Powder Day

Cannon: Six Runs in Six Hours

Fourth Tracks After Already Taken First Tracks

And you know what a title like that means!

The original plan called for skiing Mad River Glen on its opening day. But due to a skiing partner phoning in a trip report from Cannon on Thursday evening, an audible was called. Cannon had received twice as much snow as Mad River this past week without suffering from excessive tracking from turn earners.

Days after the snow had fallen, I was still able to claim first tracks on a variety of shots during every run. Even on the more popular slopes that were well tracked and packed, the snow was high quality dense loose powder with occasional pockets of untracked.

Untracked Chute

The dense snow was not bottomless due to a very minimal base layer. Ski base damage was a given on the more well traveled slopes. Untracked yielded the best results but an occasional rock could still be found more than a foot below the surface.

The soft woods were caked with snow. Lack of color in the trees combined with the mountain being in the clouds all day created challenging photography conditions; everything was various shades of white or grey. Whatever color was lacking from the landscape was more than made up for in copious amounts of boot deep untracked powder and excellent line choices. The pictures do not do the day justice.

Cannon is off to an above average start to the season. One more foot of dense snow on top of the current base will open up select tree skiing options and two more feet should put all options on the table.

Third Tracks on my Favorite Line in the East

2010-2011 Season, December, Powder Day, Smugglers Notch

Smuggs! Powder Day!

Upper Chilcoot at Smuggs

When you are still scoring boot deep untracked an hour after a leisurely lunch break, you know it’s been a very good day. If you were not at Smuggs today, you might want to stop reading at this point. But if you were one of the few killing it at Smuggs today, you’ll want to read on to relive the day that was.

The decision on Smuggs should have been a no brainer. But I had also been considering Cannon and Jay as options that were significantly closer; each with their own merits. But neither could claim the merit that made Smuggs the clear choice: a top to bottom lift pod opening up for the first time this season three days after the last snow storm.

Madonna I spun for the first time this season today to the tune of no lines excepting the first two rides. I rode single–on a Saturday, at Smuggs, on Mandonna I, on a powder day–many times. Yet the line for the Sterling Lift was out of control. What could cause such madness? The only open run from the Madonna summit was Upper Chilcoot–a total luge run–to Link (later joined by McPherson’s to Playground on natural). Without powder below it, Upper Chilcoot was a great reason for most skiers to wait in line for Sterling.

Riding the Madonna I Lift at Smuggs

For the rest of us, the day was a boot deep (and often deeper!) waterbar filled extravaganza. Patrol was displeased by what was happening and I earned a warning. But they soon relented and disappeared after having briefly guarded entrances and exits: powder to the people. The powder was stunningly delicious, soft but with support without being overly dense. Perfect cream cheese. Deep enough so that coverage and base damage were not issues though waterbar hoping was a skill in much demand.

Run after run, more tracks were laid down. But the untracked remained late into the day. And the tracked one time still skied exceptionally well. Today was a triumph after a difficult start and stop beginning to the season. Smuggs is only one big dump away from being fully online excepting glades and the steep stuff. Low angle glades still deserve caution.

Madonna from the Midway

Last Run Today at Smuggs, Still Boot Deep Untracked, Still Smiling

2010-2011 Season, Cannon Mountain, December, Earned Turns, Powder Day

Vertical Assistance at Cannon: 3 Runs in 4 Hours

Taft Slalom

Readers from last season may recall that I tend to have exceptionally good days at Cannon when my number of runs are equal to or less than the number of hours taken to complete them. Saturday was no different with three epic runs encompassing my limited window of four hours. Unlike some previous epic days, my route selection left something to be desired today.

With substantial untracked powder still awaiting plundering, today’s destination decision relied exclusively upon unopened terrain pods. Cannon and Smuggs were the only two options. Time constraints came down on the side of Cannon. So with the help of one high speed quad and two low speed quads, I got at it.

Since my top to bottom ascent earlier this week, the wind had taken its toll on the snow. Some spots were wind buffed while other spots had been picked clean to the grass. But the usual areas were filled in and promised bottomless turns.

Upper mountain tracks were a sublime combination of dense powder, creamy wind buff, and powder. I took Taft Slalom to Upper Hard twice which had to be the best ski run in New Hampshire on Saturday. Only a tiny amount of junk to avoid at the usual spot on Taft Slalom. Otherwise, this run was full on hard charging bottomless goodness. Nothing less than laugh out loud sensational powder skiing. I was dumbfounded to only see a half dozen other turn earners near the summit all morning.

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2010-2011 Season, Cannon Mountain, Dawn Patrol, December, Powder Day

Dawn Patrol: Cannon

Dawn Patrol at Cannon

There is only one way to ascend top to bottom at Cannon Mountain: The Tram. Some might prefer other modes of ascent that favor open spaces, fresh air, and elbow room (like the Peabody and Cannonball Quads). These options have their perks. But top to bottom at Cannon via the Tram is the only way to go! Why else would I have based my morning adventure from Tramside?

I debated lapping the Front Five but unfortunately the Zoomer Chair is not yet online. This is because Cannon has not yet blown enough base on Gary’s and Rocket. Personally, I am glad that Cannon Mountain is concerned about my safety and has roped off the Front Five trails until enough man made base has been laid down. The “blower pow” that recently fell is certainly not enough to warrant opening these unpruned trails. Amazingly, these trails were already tracked up by unreasonable fellows who care not for their bases.

Crowds were surprisingly non-existent. I felt like I had the entire mountain to myself, what a treat! As you can see, no other skiers were on the Peabody Chair as I was ascending. My perfect solitude and peacefulness was only interrupted by the incessant roar of snow making on Gary’s, Rocket, and Bypass. I was so glad to hear the guns roaring! Thankfully, Cannon is burying all of that nasty “blower powder” with an icy man made base.

Skin Track on Tramway

For my only run from the summit, I opted to ski Tramway. Despite my early start and the lack of crowds, some crazed lunatic had set in a lone track up what would have been a perfect untouched canvas. Unreal! Much to my chagrin, Cannon had not yet groomed Tramway! I had to deal with almost two feet of untracked powder with balls deep drifts. Worse yet, the powder snow was getting all up into my face and making visibility difficult. More unreality! I double ejected Superman style twice due to unseen waterbars and slammed frozen into a wall of waist deep drifted snow. The lack of attention to this trail by Cannon management is astounding.

I found much better skiing on Bypass. The powder had been buried under massive icy snowmaking whales. I delighted in sliding for dear life on these frozen mounds of McSludge. Far too soon, I reached the final pitch of Bypass where I encountered more wonderful snow making at the top of Paulie’s Extension! Thinking to avoid the spray from the snow gun, I stayed skier’s right. But I accidentally found myself on the other side of a safety rope on Paulie’s Extension. Oh no!

For sure my bases would be ruined here. But somehow they survived unscathed despite the powder being this “blower” variety that so many people that had not skied it were talking about. I wanted off of this cursed mountain as soon as possible, so I threw caution to the wind and really let the skis fly down this gauntlet of peril. I tried to ski into tracks that had been left from yesterday, but my skis kept hooking up into the untracked. I howled with rage.

Avalanche

My base area choice was severely miscalculated as none of the Front Five trails were open. Due to snow making operations on Gary’s and Rocket, options at this point were severely limited. I tried to find the entrance to one of my favorite trails at Cannon–Zoomalanche–but I turned right too soon and I found myself at the top of the steeply pitched Avalanche trail. My bases were doomed for sure!

Since the snow depth was just under a foot and a half, the waterbars were mercifully more visible than on Tramway. Again, my skis had a mind of their own and found untracked lines all over the trail despite the existence of so many other tracks. I hollered bloody murder about the unfairness of my plight. I could have skied groomers down to Peabody Base if I had only turned left into the snow gun at the bottom of Bypass.

Mercifully, this folly of an excursion was finally over and I gladly skied back to my car where I found the Tramside base area starting to come to life. I sped back to Plymouth with all due haste ensuring I arrived at work on time. I was so glad to be back behind my desk with the nightmare of this morning’s ill advised run behind me. It was like eating a live toad first thing in the morning!

2010-2011 Season, Earned Turns, Killington, October, Powder Day

Never Cut Your Loses: Killington

Steve on Royal Flush

The thought had been nagging me for the past few weeks: I was decidedly not ready for the season to start from a gear perspective. Nothing had been pulled out of the closet. An inventory had not yet been taken. New jackets still retained their store tags. My recently mounted new Dynafits had not been inspected for DIN setting accuracy nor tested so I could learn the features. Ready or not, the season starts now. Ready? Set. GO!

Killington or Mansfield? Reports had confirmed a foot of snow near the summit of Killington but I repeated my mantra not to bet against Mansfield. Besides, I hate the drive from Ashland to Killington even though it is twenty minutes shorter than Ashland to Stowe.

While I should usually not bet against Mansfield, I should also know by now that one in the hand is better than two in the bush. That you never get greedy when you know of a sure thing. You keep hammering the known quantity as long as it remains good because you might get skunked when you go in search of something better.

Sheets of rain blowing sideways greeted me at the Mansfield Gondola. The snow barely started near the base of the slopes and was very thin and spotty for a few hundred feet. The Front Four did not look in play from the parking lot. I suspected skiing was likely good up high but I resolved that I was not skinning in a drenching rain.

Rather than wait for the rain to stop, I opted to drive to Killington where I suspected they had top to bottom skiing, more snow, and no rain. I guess I never learn… But this was rather defaulting back to the known quantity when the greed did not pan out. Sure enough, I made the wrong decision when I left home but made the right decision in revising plans.

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