2003-2004 Season, Cannon Mountain, March, Powder Day

Cannon Mountain, NH

Mittersill Powder

Weather forecasts were predicting a storm on Tuesday and Wednesday. Hoping for a powder day, I asked my boss for Thursday off. Cannon delivered with almost a foot of light powder and an epic day of adventure. Quite possibly my best day on skis to date.

While driving up I-93, I was dismayed by the apparent lack of snow. The further north I drove, the less snow was on the road side. By the time I arrived in the White Mountains, no more than a few inches covered the ground. Amazingly, all that changed once I drove into Franconia Notch. Fresh snow covered everything–this was going to be an epic day. I giddily gathered up my gear and practically ran towards the Peabody Base Lodge.

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2003-2004 Season, Cannon Mountain, March, Powder Day

Cannon Mountain, NH

An awesome “Ball of Fire” sunrise evolved into bluebird skies in Massachusetts as I began my drive north to Cannon. The majestic morning gave way to snow coming down at a good clip four miles north of Loon when entering the Franconia Notch. Cannon picked up an average of two to three inches with surprise pockets up to but not exceeding boot deep. A small victory for snow deprived skiers during the normally very snowy month of march. But beggars can not be choosers.

Not expecting much from today’s outing, it actually turned out to be a great day with exceptional company. I skied with Porter and his brother and Chris and his friend. Low expectations set the stage for exceptional conditions.

The usual run Front Face runs began the morning with Rocket holding awesome snow but the bumps were scraped under the fluff. Avalanche was also fast and variable with the new snow. Bumps on skier’s left were beastly but manageable. Zoomer was sah-weet in the morning. I opted to play the trail by making very slow and controlled turns down the center. Would return to Zoome later in the afternoon to sample the bumps on skier’s right later.

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2003-2004 Season, Cannon Mountain, February

Cannon Mountain, NH

Mount Lafayette from Paulie's

Saturday promised clear skies and temperatures in the 40s and 50s. Perfect Spring Skiing weather despite the fact that Spring Skiing should not begin for another month! Upon arriving at Cannon Mountain, I visited Guest Relations to claim a free ski ticket for maxing out my frequent skier card. The morning sunrise brought forth tremendous color leaving an electricity hanging in the air. Today was going to be a great day to be on skis regardless of how little snow fell during the month of February.

Feeling the need for speed and a proper warm up (for once!), I made my first runs on some groomers. Big fast GS turns were had down Middle Cannon to Paulie’s Extension followed by quick and nimble slalom turns down Avalanche. Groomer festivities were continued down the center of Zoomer which featured bumps on both sides of the groomed center.

After my legs were feeling up to task, I tracked down the bumps on Paulie’s Folly since bumps on Zoomer Lift Line and Avalanche looked sketchy, hard packed, uneven, and no fun. Paulie’s has in past years disappointed but this year I have enjoyed epic runs almost every day! This day was no different as I offered verbal praise and cries of joy to the natural snow gods. The snow was soft, pleasant, and edgable. The bumps offered supreme satisfaction. Sure there were some natural terrain features such as rock, dirt, and weeds. And my bases suffered when I let my guard down> But it was a great run that I repeated twice later in the day.

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2003-2004 Season, Cannon Mountain, February

Cannon Mountain, NH

A blustery start to the morning had Cannon Mountain on a wind hold. Chairs were being loaded onto the haul rope as I booted up and chairlift opened at 8:45 A.M. My sliding partner and I wasted no time in heading for the summit which was actually less breazy than the base!

Some minor powdah on skier’s left of Taft Slalom got the morning started proper. Natural snow adventure skiing was suspect and continuing to decrease in quality as the weeks tick by without additional snow. Rocks previously buried in snow were beginning to show and the snow conditions were generally just terrible. The new snow was blown off in most places leaving an old crusty hard pack. Baron’s featured some of the better natural snow on the mountain but still left much to be desired.

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2003-2004 Season, February, Magic Mountain

Magic Mountain, VT

A late start this morning resulted in first turns being delayed until 10:30 A.M. One of my ski buddies volunteers on the Magic Mountain Ski Patrol. The Patrol needed an assist with camera operations during their rescue clinic, so my buddy arranged for me to receive a comp in exchange for camera duties. Most folks are unaware that these volunteers put in many hours of training every year for what they hope will never happen. Be sure to thank your patrolers for their hard work and dedication.

The morning was cold and the snow fairly unforgiving. Warm up runs were taken on Talisman and Trick. Both were groomed and getting skied off quick down the center. Next run I took Twilight Zone which had sensational snow and bumps except at the end of the trail which was thin and rocky. While Magic’s base is respectable, the mountain needs more snow.

Sorcerer was the Run of the Day, but I only had time to ski it once, unfortunately. Soft and edgable packed powder bumps exposed to the sun. Very nice! I later assisted in sweep by taking Broomstick which was a little thin and not much fun to Lucifer. The latter featured scraped bumps in the center and occasional untouched crunchy powder on skier’s far right. Red Line and Master Magician were both open but very thinly covered and looking rather firm and unpleasant.

Only took seven runs today due to assisting with patrol but they were quality runs all things considered.