Manarea: Cannon 1/10

What a weekend.

I finally feel like the ski season is really going. First few days on snow were good but we hadn't really gotten in any days that had me feeling whupped at the end of the day due to lots of pow slashing. This weekend we finally got that day in and now I can't wait to get some more snow coming into New England so we can keep this ball rolling.

Saturday was very cold on the mountain, frostbite warnings and all, but it was a blue bird day with lots of sun, which is rare at Cannon so it made the day enjoyable. We were able to navigate around some of the ice and find decent snow in spots.

You don't often get a view of Lafayette like this, so we stopped to take it in.

But the real story of the weekend was Sunday. We had been hearing rumors all day Saturday of a storm system coming our way but most of us had heard it was supposed to stay south with the North Country maybe getting an inch or two. We planned on getting up early to see what was coming down and then make plans accordingly. I woke up at 6am to scope things out and found 3-4 on the ground with snow coming down hard.

Driveway cleared and ready to go while the rest of Ashland sleeps

I rallied the troops and we were able to get on the road by 7am and on mountain by 7:45. Which in hindsight is pretty amazing because the Echo was getting first tracks on I-93 thanks to the state presumably cutting back on plowing due to our 'fiscal crisis'.

We were in the first half dozen on the scene

We got first chair and immediately headed for the front five. This run was probably one of the best I have had in years as far as on trail open powder fields go. Usually we have to hug the sides of trails to find the good snow...but this time you could take huge sweeping GS turns in the middle of the trail and be cruising through 6-7 inches of powder, it was amazing. We chose Avalanche on the front and we chose wisely. The steepness made the snow feel even deeper.

We then proceeded to run laps all over the mountain. Regroups were short, we didn't want to waste any time. We ducked a rope off the top to ski Taft heading down to Upper and Middle Hard...some of the best runs of the day. Jomo and I got the seasons first taste of the Tube. Top 1/3 needs more snow but the middle and bottom were very fun. We also got into Lost Boys a new glade off Upper Cannon which was really interesting, but it needed a tiny bit more snow.

First run at Mittersill has been notched as well and the conditions there were also really good, and we didnt get over there until later in the day. I suppose technically it could use one more dump of 6-8 to be really set, but things were fine to get down without doing any damage to gear and we were even able to find some really good stashes.

The day was indeed epic, and I am sure I will be feeling that epicness in my lower back tomorrow morning...but I am also sure that it was completely worth it.

I think Jomo and Bill have some pics of actual riding, I will post them when I get them.