East Coast TR Dec 27-29 Cannon Mt. backcountry, NH
12/15/10
US elsewhere
3405
9
**Warning: East Coast TR**
I've had extremely good luck traveling back home (Franconia, NH) for the holidays over the past few years. For the 2nd time in the last 3 years, the North Country of NH has has gotten pummeled by storms just a couple of days after Christmas. This year the forecast was calling for 6-12" overnight, which I was quite happy with, but didn't expect it to cover up the roots, rocks, and shrubbery enough to venture off-piste. I went to bed at 11 on the 26th, not snowing yet, and woke at 6am on the 27th to 17" on the porch, and still dumping. In the end, the storm dumped 31" at Cannon in less than 24 hrs., which was more than enough to lap the lifts until it was chopped and then head for the road less traveled.
This is what ensued:
The view as the storm rolled in, Mt. Lafayette and Franconia Notch:
Making my way back to Seattle tomorrow, hoping to find more of the same, knock on wood.
Happy Holidays!
I've had extremely good luck traveling back home (Franconia, NH) for the holidays over the past few years. For the 2nd time in the last 3 years, the North Country of NH has has gotten pummeled by storms just a couple of days after Christmas. This year the forecast was calling for 6-12" overnight, which I was quite happy with, but didn't expect it to cover up the roots, rocks, and shrubbery enough to venture off-piste. I went to bed at 11 on the 26th, not snowing yet, and woke at 6am on the 27th to 17" on the porch, and still dumping. In the end, the storm dumped 31" at Cannon in less than 24 hrs., which was more than enough to lap the lifts until it was chopped and then head for the road less traveled.
This is what ensued:
The view as the storm rolled in, Mt. Lafayette and Franconia Notch:
Making my way back to Seattle tomorrow, hoping to find more of the same, knock on wood.
Happy Holidays!
Love it. Great to see some new England stoke. Don't think I've ever had those conditions at cannon. My former home Mt is just down the road frm cannon, Loon Mt.
Great photos.
My son inlaw and 2 of our sherpa in training grandsons( 11 and 8 years) were at Wildcat on Monday in the storm and returned on Tuesday to find a tree knocked out power to the mountain. They headed to Atitash where they were stranded on the chair for 30 minutes in the blizzard. They had a great time and were unsuccessful in convincing their mom that it was fun sitting on the chair and ripping down the powder trails. Ahhhhh, these 2 guys have the right genes. ;)
My son inlaw and 2 of our sherpa in training grandsons( 11 and 8 years) were at Wildcat on Monday in the storm and returned on Tuesday to find a tree knocked out power to the mountain. They headed to Atitash where they were stranded on the chair for 30 minutes in the blizzard. They had a great time and were unsuccessful in convincing their mom that it was fun sitting on the chair and ripping down the powder trails. Ahhhhh, these 2 guys have the right genes. ;)
nice work ryan! or is it pete? choking on that pow from the looks of it.
i lived in littleton as a wee lad and learned to ski at cannon. tons of great memories and still lots of family friends up there. can't wait to finally get back up there and show the area to my wife and little girl...
i lived in littleton as a wee lad and learned to ski at cannon. tons of great memories and still lots of family friends up there. can't wait to finally get back up there and show the area to my wife and little girl...
So awesome -- I skied midweek by myself at Cannon one day, when I was maybe 17. It was ridiculously cold -- had to come inside every couple of runs to warm up -- and I still have the Turtle Fur neck gaiter that I bought in the shop that day. Great TR, thanks.
That guy is head deep in powder. That's great!
The real reason I'm responding is to say that your picture of Mt. Lafayette is amazing.
One of my favorites that I've seen in a while.
The real reason I'm responding is to say that your picture of Mt. Lafayette is amazing.
One of my favorites that I've seen in a while.
Epic.
Looks "wicked" cold!
I was just telling a friend today about how the whole family of 5 would camp in the middle of winter out of a 16 ft trailer in Franconia. We used to ski Cannon and Mittersill all the time! Cannon is known for it's ice and boiler plate...not powder!
Lafayette is a great climb! Remember the the Greenleaf hut?
Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
I was just telling a friend today about how the whole family of 5 would camp in the middle of winter out of a 16 ft trailer in Franconia. We used to ski Cannon and Mittersill all the time! Cannon is known for it's ice and boiler plate...not powder!
Lafayette is a great climb! Remember the the Greenleaf hut?
Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
the Shire!
Cannon rules, my mom used to write us sick notes to get out of school when we were little and take us there, never saw it like that though! Legit
Cannon rules, my mom used to write us sick notes to get out of school when we were little and take us there, never saw it like that though! Legit
It was definitely wicked cold. The low clouds you can see below Lafayette are actually from snow guns blowing snow on Avalanche.
In the +/- 26 years that I've been skiing at Cannon (inconsistently for the last 7 because I've only been back for holidays), I don't remember a bigger day than this, it was incredible. Of course, I don't really remember all that much from the early years, and probably couldn't appreciate a big day like this because I was too young. My dad recalls some days similar to this at Cannon, but only very few. It's definitely a rare event to get 31" in one storm. Cannon usually gets the edge of Nor'easters and the leftovers of lake effect, however, Cannon caught the brunt of this storm, which seemed to track directly between Franconia Notch and the Presidentials, with Wildcat and Mt. Washington measuring huge totals as well.
Cannon has changed quite a bit since I was a kid, some for the good, some for the not so good. Most recently they finished a land-swap deal with the Nat'l Forest, so they've been able to incorporate Mittersill into their skiable acreage, only opening it when there's sufficient natural snow, and originally only accessible via a hike over the saddle from Taft on Cannon. However, they installed a new fixed-grip double this summer and fall, and expect it to open on Jan 1. Sometimes it's a hard pill to swallow, watching a prime backcountry area become lift-served and accessible to the masses, however Cannon acquiring Mittersill and installing the lift has helped marketing significantly. Seeing 5000+ people drawn to the area after that huge storm makes all the locals who rely on tourism for survival breathe a sigh of relief, my parents included. It's nice to go home and see a struggling local economy rejuvenated, even if only temporarily.
In the +/- 26 years that I've been skiing at Cannon (inconsistently for the last 7 because I've only been back for holidays), I don't remember a bigger day than this, it was incredible. Of course, I don't really remember all that much from the early years, and probably couldn't appreciate a big day like this because I was too young. My dad recalls some days similar to this at Cannon, but only very few. It's definitely a rare event to get 31" in one storm. Cannon usually gets the edge of Nor'easters and the leftovers of lake effect, however, Cannon caught the brunt of this storm, which seemed to track directly between Franconia Notch and the Presidentials, with Wildcat and Mt. Washington measuring huge totals as well.
Cannon has changed quite a bit since I was a kid, some for the good, some for the not so good. Most recently they finished a land-swap deal with the Nat'l Forest, so they've been able to incorporate Mittersill into their skiable acreage, only opening it when there's sufficient natural snow, and originally only accessible via a hike over the saddle from Taft on Cannon. However, they installed a new fixed-grip double this summer and fall, and expect it to open on Jan 1. Sometimes it's a hard pill to swallow, watching a prime backcountry area become lift-served and accessible to the masses, however Cannon acquiring Mittersill and installing the lift has helped marketing significantly. Seeing 5000+ people drawn to the area after that huge storm makes all the locals who rely on tourism for survival breathe a sigh of relief, my parents included. It's nice to go home and see a struggling local economy rejuvenated, even if only temporarily.
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