Christmas Eve flooded most New England Ski Areas with over an inch of rain. Flood warnings were set off throughout the region as snow melt and down pours combined into a skier’s worst nightmare. However, Cannon skiers were good this year as Santa delivered the abundant snowfall Christmas night. Rain changed over to snow and dumped a foot of fresh on the mostly bare slopes of Cannon! Friday skiers got a super powder day; those showing up Saturday had precious little time to pick through the remains of the spoils.

Saturday saw Cannon as busy as I have ever seen it. Busier than your average Super Bowl Sunday. All three lots were packed with cars and a shuttle bus transported skiers to and from the far away parking lots. Despite the crowds, most lifts were ski on most of the day. With a little knowledge of the mountain and its quirky patterns, one could completely avoid the crowds and still find patches of fresh snow.

(more…)

Where to begin? As I approached the Franconia Notch, all the sky was blue. The Franconia Ridge was as illustrious as I have ever seen it. The peaks of Mounts Flume, Liberty, Lincoln, and Lafayette were caked with brilliantly white snow against a back drop of the deepest blue.

Then enter the fog. As per usual, Grumpy Old Man Cannon had an ugly dark cloud sitting upon his shoulder, daring any to challenge it.

Driving north through the notch, I spied the Front Face trails of Cannon Mountain. Many powder turns had already been etched into the Front Five the day before from creative and eager skiers (Zoomer Triple was not turning, but still many turns were made! That is dedication!). However, much more of the powder had been left untouched than had already been tracked. I pulled of the Interstate at the Peabody Base Slopes exit eagerly anticipating the fine skiing to be had.

(more…)

If only everyday could begin like this day. I awoke at the Hiker’s Paradise, a hostel in Gorham, NH. After a short drive down the road, I pulled over to the shoulder of Route 16 to take a picture of Mount Madison and Mount Adams, the northern most peaks of the Presidential Range. Amazing. After a brief drive around the Presidential’s and into Franconia Notch, I entered the parking lot of Cannon Mountain with a wonderful view of its trails.

In the lodge, I met fellow NELSAP’er and SnowJournal’er MadRider. We quickly set off up the Peabody Express Quad. The wind was hollowing ferociously, as one can often expect at Cannon. We tracked down Middle Cannon on pleasantly groomed snow and made our way to the Front Face. Upon seeing Zoomer filled up with 4-6 inches of powder, MadRider’s face lit up like a kid in a candy store. For myself, I was an awful powder skier at the time. I was about to tell MadRider I was going to opt for the tamer Rocket, but he was already riding down the pow. So onward to Rocket I went, not expecting to find what I did.

(more…)