Marginal conditions at Cannon Mountain on this January day. Nothing to write home about. This would be my last day of skiing while being employed during the 2000-2001 ski season, so I was to miss all the great skiing that would place the 2000-2001 in the annals of New England’s best seasons.
The UMass Lowell Ski Team held races at Loon on the weekend of January 29nd-30th. Due to skier rotation, I was only to race in the GS on Saturday. Thus, I had the day off from racing on Sunday to explore Loon. Loon has well earned it’s reputation as one of the most crowded resorts in New England. On Saturday, I nearly had a heart attack waiting twenty minutes in line for the Kancamagus High Speed Quad, minutes before I needed to prep for a race! Sadly, Loon’s proximity to the Boston Metro area and low priced season pass means the over crowding of Loon will continue.
This is disappointing, because Loon does offer up some fun Expert Terrain in it’s East Basin area. Trails such as Flume, Triple Trouble, and Angel Street are super runs and glades such as Mike’s Woods are amongst New Hampshire’s finest. However, with Loon’s tendency to be quite crowded, these slopes can get skied off very quickly. They are best enjoyed mid-week after a significant snow storm. But for a slightly longer drive, better options abound for mid-week powder days!
Fortunately for myself, on Sunday (my off racing day), a rain/ice storm had moved in creating abysmal skiing weather. Why you ask was this fortunate? Because it kept skiers away from the mountain! The warm weather and rain softened up the scraped and icy snow, making for some fine skiing conditions. I was actually quite happy to have the day off on a Slalom day any ways!
Serious skiers at Loon should avoid the Kancamagus High Speed Quad and Gondola at all costs. Trails off the chairs in the East Basin offer up the best trails on the mountain. Trails off the Quad and Gondola are almost exclusively blue square cruisers that attract the most skiers.
The weekend of January 22nd and 23rd brought the UMass Lowell Ski Team to Cannon Mountain in the Franconia Notch of New Hampshire for two days of racing. My performance in the Giant Slalom on the Rocket trail was excellent until I carried more speed than I could control and blew passed a gate resulting in a DNF. Cannon was to become my home mountain while I lived in northeastern Massachusetts and this weekend trip to Cannon laid the foundation for my strong inclination towards the mountain.
