Skiing Cannon Mountain
Tuesday, January 27th, 2026
Runs: 16
Distance: 10.86 miles
Elevation: 16,073 feet
Max Speed: 29.2 mph
Avg. Speed: 10.1 mph
Moving Time: 1hour, 9 minutes, 23 seconds
Total Time: 4 hours, 39 minutes, 3 seconds
Apres-Pow Day! I woke up super excited for what was in store at Cannon! I wouldn't be able to ski the whole day due to plans in the afternoon, but I was itching to make the most of the time I had! I am upset that I didn't get a screenshot of the snow report, but it did a nice job hyping up the day! I did get their end-of-day post, which I'll write at the bottom of this.
Runs 1-3
Run 1: Peabody Express Quad - Easy Link - Missing Link - Middle Ravine - Lower Ravine - Gremlin
[1.05 mi; 3:36; 1,381 ft; 29.2 mph max; 17.4 mph avg]
Run 2: Peabody Express Quad - Middle Cannon - Gremlin - Parkway
[1.10 mi; 5:27; 1,460 ft; 24.8 mph max; 12.1 mph avg]
Run 3: Peabody Express Quad - Big Link
[Not on Strava]
I drove by myself and planned to get to the lodge for 8:00am, but landed just after 9:00am due to some residual snow snowers and wildly slow drivers. Linnea and Andrew were going to join Sarah and I along with Sarah's Mom! Linnea and Andrew made it much earlier than we did, but I booted up quickly and we got our first run in once Sarah and Mom arrived. The three of us got a nice groomer run in down Easy Link, Missing Link, Middle Ravine, Lower Ravine, and Gremlin. The snow was NICE. I am always humbled by fresh corduroy because while it is easy to control speed and what not, I can REALLY tell when I am not carving correctly, and I was not, but fun was being had!
Run #2 was still just the three of us, even though Sarah and Mom were almost ready. Andrew spotted some mostly untouched stuff on Parkway, so we headed that way, and it was soft, delightful, and fun! Again, I did not ski my best, but I was having so much fun! It was also just fun to be skiing with these two again!
We saw Sarah and Mom on the lift on our way down, so we all agreed to meet up top for Run #3. We said our hellos, and took Big Link down to the Cannonball Quad to get to the tippy top for some bathroom, photos, and some runs before it gets skied off (which we were emotionally ready for based on past experiences on Cannon).
Runs 4-7
Run 4: Cannonball Quad - Upper Cannon - Big Link
[0.60 mi; 3:20; 1,010 ft; 19.1 mph max; 10.8 mph avg]
Run 5: Cannonball Quad - Profile
[0.48 mi; 3:10; 994 ft; 14.7 mph max; 9.0 mph avg]
Run 6: Cannonball Quad - Vista Way - Big Link
[0.60 mi; 4:44; 997 ft; 21.4 mph max; 7.6 mph avg]
Run 7: Cannonball Quad - Taft Slalom - Upper Hardscrabble - Middle Hardscrabble - MH Cut Thru - Red Ball
[1.60 mi; 12:13; 2,208 ft; 24.8 mph max; 7.9 mph avg]
Now that we were all together, we congregated up at the Tram house for a photo and bathroom break (the cinnamon rolls smelled AMAZING). It was cold and windy up there (no surprise), so after we did those chores we went down Upper Cannon, which was super fun and silly. Some hard pack, some ice, and lots of powder - kept things exciting! Andrew said it was like skiing out west - I was just having a blast! Run #5 was down Profile, which was similarly either windblown or deep. I forgot how steep Profile was! The deep stuff was so fun and silly to ski in, and definitely more of a workout than I was used to! I'd get a few good turns in and then fully forget how to ski, which made for many breaks and lots of fun.
Run #6 was per my request - Vista Way. It had been closed every other time I'd been to Cannon, and it was wonderful! The view was spectacular of Franconia Ridge and the skiing was, to no surprise, super fun!
Mom wanted to hit the Taft Slalom, which skied fast and firm, and they went on Hardscrabble for an adventure run. The good parts were GOOD. Upper Hardscrabble was pretty much all fun, big bumps. Middle Hardscrabble had the trickiest section where we had to think about dodging some ice flows, but again, still fun, and I did not feel like I was over my head at all (which was a little fear). Once we finished with the challenging sections we followed MH Cut Thru and Red Ball which were fun and ungroomed the whole way down.
Runs 8-9
Run 8: Fleitman Trail - Deer Run
[0.30 mi; 3:02; 157 ft; 20.7 mph max; 6.0 mph avg]
Run 9: Tuckerbrook Quad - Rabbit Path - Baron's Run
[0.40 mi; 1:49; 341 ft; 23.9 mph avg; 13.2 mph avg]
After our run down the Hardscrabbles, we went inside for a quick snack/lunch before making our voyage over to Mittersill. Only Mom had been over there before, so we were all pretty excited! Run #8 was from the Peabody Lodge across Fleitman Trail (a dreadful cat track) and then down Deer Run (we should have taken Brookside all the way down) to the Tuckerbrook Quad. From the top of Tuckerbrook, we followed Rabbit Path to Baron's Run, which had some fun, soft, mellow bumps, eventually landing us at the Mittersill Double!
Run 10-12
Run 10: Mittersill Double - Skyline - Ridge Run - Mittersill Lift Line - Dragons Drop
[0.81 mi; 5:39; 1,407 ft; 23.2 mph max; 8.6 mph avg]
Run 11: Mittersill Double - Cannonball - Dragons Drop
[0.79 mi; 5:44; 1,388 ft; 22.2 mph max; 8.3 mph avg]
Run 12: Mittersill Double - Baron's Run - Way Back - Raven Ridge - Huckerbrook
[0.92 mi; 5:56; 1,237 ft; 25.1 mph max; 9.3 mph avg]
Andrew and I rode up the double for Run #10 making endless jokes about being the best skier on the mountain, and we all had our sights set on a run labeled on the map as "Idiot's Delight." Naturally, we wanted a picture with the sign, but the sign was nowhere to be found! We found the entrance to Idiot's Delight and Candyland, but it looked more like it would be a gladed run instead of normal one, and personally I was not feeling THAT adventerous. We got a little intel from a local who skied by us, and all decided to continue to Ridge Run, which was mostly groomed and flat, and then the Mittersill Lift Line, which was narrower and bumpy and fun! Andrew followed the lift line all the way down while the rest of us went onto the lower stretch of Dragons Drop, which had the deepest snow we'd found all day. It was wildly fun to ski through and I had not a single clue of what I was doing, it was a blast!
Run #11 was down the narrow Cannonball, which had one scratchy spot near the end of it, and then down Dragons Drop the rest of the way, which was similarly delghtful. Run #12 brought us down Baron's Run, which was just a snowy playground! There were powder-covered whales on skier's left with the usual deep powder in the middle and right. We all had a field day in there. I continued my pattern of a few good turns followed by acting like I'd never skied before and we giggled the whole way down. We followed Way Back to get back to the main side, skated across Raven Ridge, and we hit a few boxes and "jumps" in the Huckerbrook park before hopping back on the Peabody Express.
Runs 13-16
Run 13: Peabody Express Quad - Bypass - Extension - Paulie's Folly
[0.91 mi; 6:48; 1,526 ft; 22.4 mph max; 8.3 mph avg]
Run 14: Zoomer Triple - Zoomer
[0.39 mi; 3:04; 689 ft; 24.2 mph max; 7.6 mph avg]
Run 15: Zoomer Triple - Rocket
[0.39 mi; 3:05; 689 ft; 25.4 mph max, 7.7 mph avg]
Run 16: Zoomer Triple - Lower Cannon
[0.50 mi; 1:42; 591 ft; 24.6 mph max; 17.5 mph avg]
I was in my last hour on the hill, and I wanted to make sure to get over to the front side of the mountain to hit those steeps with this snow before I left! Sarah ran in to use the bathroom, but I wanted to keep moving so the four of us got back on the Peabody Express and followed Bypass to Extension, which was mostly fun with some ice and rock scattered about, and then went down Paulie's Folly, which was a an absolute blast and a bit ridiculous for me to get down. It was steep, but the snow was so deep and bumpy I couldn't go fast if I tried - it was so much fun! Sarah caught up with us as the trail passed Zoomalanche.
Run #14 was down Zoomer, which had small bumps on the part that has man-made snow and usually groomed, and the ungroomed/natural side was equally a blast. It was possible to get some speed on the skier's left side, but the right side was so deep I would come to a screeching hault. Again, so much fun! A girl also dropped her phone from the lift during this run, screamed bloody murder, and then loudly lamented that it was the second time it had happened today.
Run #15 was down Rocket, so a little less steep than Zoomer, but still just an absolute blast. We were all feeling a little cooked at this point, and I was skiing absolutely horribly, but it was so much fun! Run #16 was my final run of the day down Lower Cannon - it was fun to end on a fast run! I said goodbye to my friends, they got a few more runs in, and it was back to reality soon after!
Mountain Report
"It's only cold if you're standing still." - Unknown
Good afternoon, Cannon skiers and riders. I hope you were here for it, because it was another banner day! The best part is it's not over, there is a chance for more snow showers this evening and throughout the night. Another possible system moves in come morning bringing a chance for more snow and flurries, start up your snow dances! Expect tomorrow's temps to be hovering around 0 up top and climbing the single digits throughout the day at the base. With the wind coming out of the NW at a moderate pace. It seems like we have another killer day on the forefront, Be here for it!
9 lifts will spin at 9:00am tommow. Groomers will be out over 43 trails pressing in the fast track. Expect conditions to be machine groomed with packed powder on the sides. Heads up: DJ's Tramline and Kinsman's glade close at 3:00pm and the Saddle closes at 3:30pm. Come on down and get your plans on the most open terrain in NH!
Snowmaking: With almost all of our terrain open and Mother Nature delivering some additional snow this week, our snowmakers are taking a temporary break.
Winch Operation: Taft Training Slope, Profile, Rock Garden, Avalanche, Zoomer, and Extension.
Parks: A pop-up park will be on Lower Gremlin with a couple of new rails added recently. The Huckerbrook Park will be open with 9 features. A future park on Tossup is now under construction, so look fo rmore fun features coming soon! Huckerbrook Under the Lights will run every Friday and Saturday from 4-6pm through February. The park crew put in extra hours to bring you an entirely new park on Huckerbrook, with more features, a more technical line and a guaranteed good time.
Racing: Training on Taft Training Slope
Patrol would like to remind everyone: DO NOT DUCK ROPES. They are there for an important reason: your safety! Hikers heading up Kinsman Ridge and planning to ski or ride down MUST have a valid Cannon season pass or lift ticket to access our trails.
Uphill: FULLY OPEN. The route is as follows: Lower Ravine > Middle Ravine > Upper Ravine > Taft Slalom > Summit.
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