thesnowway.com – Page 70 – full of allusions

December 22, 2010December 22, 2010News

Reflections on Recent Deaths at Cannon

This past Sunday, a 31-year-old New Hampshire man with ties to Plymouth State University was riding a closed trail at Cannon Mountain and had an accident. That accident killed him. According to the Concord Monitor, Joshua Vigeant had a bachelors degree in Psychology, rode frequently, and had a huge passion for the outdoors and the mountains. With exception of not wearing a helmet and number of planks, the above description very likely could have been my own.

In the past two weeks, I have enjoyed three excellent powder days (two of which were at Cannon) due to skiing closed trails. The news strikes close to home but it won’t change my early season powder hunting modus operandi. What I have been reconsidering is my occasionally reckless and frequent habit of solo skiing off piste. In Joshua Vigeant’s case, his friend couldn’t save him. And neither could patrol. But the outcome is beside the point. Accidents happen and its best not to be skiing solo when disaster strikes.

I actually enjoy skiing with others vastly more than skiing solo (with occasional exception). Most of my best days most fondly remembered occur when I ski with others. Company to share the adventure with always makes a great day epic. But my last minute destination choices, lack of planning, scattered social network, lack of skiing friends nearby, and regional preferences make meeting up with others difficult. My introverted nature hinders joining other groups I might chance upon (if such other groups even are changed upon). I just need to make an effort to pick up the phone more often and share my excitement. I do too many other things right when going off the map to fail so poorly at the most basic and important aspect of safe off piste skiing.

December 18, 2010December 18, 20102010-2011 Season, December, Powder Day, Smugglers Notch

Smuggs! Powder Day!

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.

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.

December 11, 2010February 18, 20112010-2011 Season, Cannon Mountain, December, Earned Turns, Powder Day

Vertical Assistance at Cannon: 3 Runs in 4 Hours

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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December 8, 20102010-2011 Season, Cannon Mountain, Dawn Patrol, December, Powder Day

Dawn Patrol: 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.

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.

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!

November 27, 2010November 27, 20102010-2011 Season, Cannon Mountain, November

Opening Weekend at Cannon, WROD Style: Whoa!!!

I have done many things on skis that might be considered dangerous. Ducking ropes, solo skiing in the backcountry/sidecountry, suspect route selection, etc. But such ill advised exploits hardly compare to running the gauntlet opening weekend on the only open trail. Cannon’s lone route, comprised of Middle Cannon to Gremlin, was flooded with sliders. Surviving the WROD was more a matter of luck than technical prowess and staying alert.

Obstacles on the trails included three ski teams, a variety of lower level skiers, college yahoo straight liners, and the rest of the general skiing population. Trail density was highest when the Peabody Quad–a high speed detachable–was running full capacity, effectively dumping four skiers onto Middle Cannon every eight seconds. There simply was no break between skiers to get some space for turning.

My decision to ski with my new (to me) Volkl Six Stars was not helping matters. These skis are jaw dropping in high speed wide arcs. You can not put them on without feeling double dog dared to rip it edge to edge as fast as possible. Reigning them in is more difficult than stopping a runaway stage coach whose horses are galloping towards a cliff without a second thought. Whoa… whoa!!!

Reign in the big arcs I did but dancing along the sides of the trails was just as dangerous. Instead of skiing a human slalom course, I suddenly become a human gate for others. The best course of action was something in between the two extremes. Wait until you have a clear path, give it some gas, and then hit the breaks and wait for the alley to clear again.

The danger to fun ratio had decidedly tipped towards the dangerous side after five runs. I have all season to engage in dangerous skiing behavior. There was certainly no reason to risk life and limb on a WROD during Cannon’s opening weekend of the season.