2011-2012 Season, Cannon Mountain, February, Middle Hard the Hard Way, NE Ski Blogger Summit

NSBS Day 1: Embracing Your Nature at Cannon

Harvey at Cannon

Over the years, I have questioned what exactly makes me love Cannon above all other ski areas. Today, the mountain presented us with all the reasons to dislike Cannon: cold temperatures, high winds, extensive hard pack, ice patches on natural trails, (very) thin coverage, and only 4-8″ in the past 72 hours compared to two to three feet (plus) in Northern Vermont.

These are the very reasons I love the mountain so much. Nothing is easy at Cannon, you get what you are given and you have to do something with it. You get out of the mountain what you put into it. The challenges and short comings make you a better skier, and they remind you when you’ve gotten a little too soft.

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2011-2012 Season, February, Mad River Glen, Powder Day

MRG: Boot to Knee Deep is Boot to Knee Deep

Harvey Scoring Powder on Cat Bowl

During a season in which one inch became the new one foot and six inches became the new boot deep, it was nice to finally get pinched into wakefulness: today book to knee deep was boot to knee deep.

Harvey hatched a plan to ski Mad River Glen en route to points further north. I couldn’t help but throw in despite knowing that meant committing to seven days of skiing in a row. Harvey’s passion and enthusiasm for skiing is infectious. To play tour guide during Harvey’s first trip to Mad River Glen was an honor I couldn’t pass up. And Harvey brings good luck with him to Vermont, both times we have hooked up in Vermont were surprise powder days.

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2011-2012 Season, Cannon Mountain, February, Powder Day

Cannon: 6″ is the New Boot Deep

Cannon Trees

Fifteen minutes before first tram is almost always enough. But today, almost double that margin was only good for the second car. And I wasn’t even close to the first car when the doors slammed shut. Before the first car even loaded, the line snaked four times and then went out the front door. The powder frenzy was on in a bad way. All this for 4-8″ of fresh: only a minor under the radar storm during a good year.

My plan of attack was ruined. With seventy people unloading at the summit while I was boarding the 8:25 tram at the base, I was way behind. By the time I skied down to Bypass, the Peabody Quad had already been unloading. I engaged the frenzied charge to the Front Five where us Johny Come Latelies found very little untracked remaining. After wasting a run down Avalanche, I hit Banshee Slopes twice before heading to the summit and taking a hike.

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2011-2012 Season, February, Owl's Head

Owl’s Head

Green Chair and Lake Memphremagog

“Oh Shit,” I thought. Approaching the Canadian boarder, I had just glanced down at my speedometer–which lacks an inside arc denoting km/hour. Fearing Quebec might have a “welcome party” similar to that of North Troy, I readied my phone’s conversion app. I was clearly out of my comfort zone; and that was a very good thing.

Comfort zones are easy to dial in. We not only rely on them but embrace them, perhaps a bit too much. We calmly function on assumption and understanding rather than over analyzing trivial details. Comfort zones help us function properly in society. But they also dull the senses and reduce awareness. Avoiding novel experiences robs us of new perspectives, exciting discoveries, and diverse experiences.

Anticipation floods me when I visit a ski area for the first time. By definition, you only get a novel experience once. Though we might routinely chase re-occurrence, you can never again see it for the first time except through someone else’s eyes. So we either accept monotony or pursue the novel experience; never content to accept sameness and repetition without deviation.

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2011-2012 Season, February, Jay Peak

Jay: 1″ is the new 1′

SBR on Green Beret

Not tagging today as a powder day was a difficult but honest decision. This is a testament to both how poor the season has been and how great the skiing was today. Jay received one inch, which seems to have become the new foot. But drifts were much deeper, blown in snow was abundant, and untracked snow could be found all day long. I have never had more fun skiing a supposed one inch of new snow.

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