Skiing Cannon Mountain
Saturday, March 22nd, 2025
Runs: 19
Distance: 12.66 miles
Elevation: 16,638 feet
Max Speed: 26.8 mph
Avg. Speed: 11.1 mph
Moving Time: 1 hour, 5 minutes, 34 seconds
Total Time: 4 hours, 53 minutes, 22 seconds
Time for yet another weekend in the mountains! Sarah and I had a plan this weekend - ski on Saturday and hike on Sunday. The dream was to ski at Cannon Mountain and hike Carter Dome. The forecast looked great for skiing on Saturday, but questionable for hiking on Sunday (more on that later). We booked a room at The Lodge at Jackson Village in Jackson, NH for the night, and I scooped her up at 6:30am Saturday morning to head up! Naturally, we stopped for breakfast at Hooksett, and made it to Cannon around 9:00am. We were surprised to see the main lots were already full, but it made sense considering the two big events happening. We parked across the street, grabbed our gear, and headed over. I was able to redeem my Indy online and reload my RFID without checking the ticket booth, which was sweet, and Sarah got hers no problem. They even had a guy out front test-scanning RFIDs, which I thought was genius. We got booted up in the downstairs area of the Peabody Lodge, stuffed our bags in the cubbies outside, and were soon on the snow!
Mountain Report
Saturday Mar 22 at 7:21 a.m.
Good morning, Cannon! Today will be a busy day out on the hill with Mittersill seeing some race action on Baron's Run and the 20th anniversary of Bodefest, Olympian Bode Miller's adrenaline packed fundraising event. Details below. Mountain Ops and The Groomers (with 1-3" of help from Mother Nature) did a fantastic job of getting the hill back in shape for the weekend and for the moment, winter has returned! Check the mountain report for the most up-to-date trail and lift information.
Skies will be clear this morning wtih clouds and winds increasing this afternoon. There is a chance for some snow showers to develop as well. Temps will fall later tonight. Temps in the base area will be in the low to mid-thirties while the summit will be in the mid-twenties.
The Groomers were out on 51 trails overnight rolling our fresh snow into our snowpack. You can expect fast, firm, machine groomed, and packed powder conditions this morning. Please use caution out on the hill, there may still be some thin spots. Please do not duck ropes! If a trail is closed, it is for a good reason, seriously.
7 lifts are scheduled to spin today: The Tram, The Peabody Quad, The Cannoball Quad, The Tuckerbrook Quad, The Zoomer Triple, Eagle Cliff Triple, and Mittersill Double. All lifts are scheduled to spin at 8:30am except for The Tram which will have an 8:15am load and Eagle Cliff, which will load for the public at 9:45am after the start of BodeFest.
Toss-Up terrain park is closed for a little spring refurbishing. Huckerbrook Park and Parkway are open. The Park on the lower section of Gremlin has been dismantled in preparation for the Spring Events.
Runs 1-3
Run 1: Peabody Express Quad - Easy Link - Missing Link - Middle Ravine - Lower Ravine
[1.10 mi; 4:47; 1,348 ft; 26.8 mph max; 13.7 mph avg]
Run 2: Peabody Express Quad - Middle Cannon - Extension - Rocket
[0.78 mi; 4:31; 1,427 ft; 20.6 mph max; 10.4 mph avg]
Run 3: Zoomer Triple - Zoomalanche - Avalanche
[0.54 mi; 4:45; 623 ft; 23.3 mph max; 6.8 mph avg]
The day started just below freezing but was supposed to warm up to the upper 40s, which made proper layering an interesting endeavour. Our first run was up the Peabody Express Quadd and down Easy Link, Missing Link, Middle Ravine, and Lower Ravine. The trails were actually skiing nicely with only a few icy patches. I had my usual problem of not remembering how to ski for the first run, which I really do need to fix, but I slowly remembered throughout the day. We made our way back to the Peabody for a second run, but this time opting to scoot over to the Front 5 area. We followed Middle Cannon to Extension - the first new trail for me (I was PETRIFIED of this trail last year by just looking at how steep it was, I felt MUCH better about it this time!). It was steep with a few bumps, but nothing insane. From there, I wanted to hit Gary's, but it was closed for a race, so we went for Rocket instead, which was in good condition! The groomed half was a little scratchy, but the small bumps in the middle were wonderful.
We went up the Zoomer Triple for Run #3 and tackled Avalanche, which was a bit daunting at first glance, but the bumps kept me slow and in-control. There was one bare patch of grass, which was exciting, but it did not become a problem. We decided we'd check out the Tram after the run, which required some skating on sticky slush. There was also a sign that said "TRAM CLOSED," but it was very open.
Runs 4-6
Run 4: Tram - Tramway - Bypass - Extenion - Avalanche - Banshee Cut-Thru - Jasper's Hideaway
[1.32 mi; 8:20; 2,087 ft; 26.2 mph max; 9.5 mph avg]
Run 5: Tram - Upper Cannon - Middle Cannon - Rock Garden - Paulie's Folly - Zoomalanche - Avalanche - Banshee Cut-Thru - Banshee
[1.43 mi; 7:15; 2,034 ft; 26.7 mph max; 11.8 mph avg]
Run 6: Tram - Upper Cannon - Middle Cannon - Rock Garden - Lower Cannon
[1.22 mi; 5:22; 1,979 ft; 23.0 mph max; 12.9 mph avg]
We quickly became big fans of the Tram! We waited for maybe three minutes before it was time to load. The Tram here was bigger than the one at Jay, and the view as we ascended was stunning. Plus, we were WARM at this point, and we had a wonderful breeze with the cabin windows open. From the top, we took a photo (naturally) and then headed down Tramway, which skied wonderfully. The upper stretch of Bypass was the best snow we'd had all day, but the lower stretch was a dreadful ice skating rink. We hit the upper half of Avalanche, but then scooted over to Banshee Cut-Thru and ended on Jasper's Hideaway, which had the best snow we'd found all day. This was the moment I remembered how to properly ski - yay! Sarah even went off to the side and got some fresh powder, which she was absolutely stoked about.
Run #5 was back up the Tram to Upper Cannon, which was an absolute blast! Fast, winding, with minimal icy spots. I cruised down, just happy to be able to go faster without much worry, but I accidentally stopped at the bottom at an icy patch to wait for Sarah and she nearly took me out trying to stop - sorry! From there, we followed Middle Cannon to Rock Garden to Paulie's Folly, which was only open to the Zoomalanche junction, back to the Cut-Thru and then down Banshee, which was also in great condition (although with some brown snow).
We were loving how there was no line for the Tram and how we were able to get some high-vert laps, which is something not too common on the Indy New England mountains. We were COOKING (heat-wise) by Run #6, so we decided to follow Upper to Middle (to Rock Garden) to Lower Cannon and stop in the lodge for a snack and to shed some layers. The base area was super busy with all of the events, but thankfully the lifts weren't crowded at all!
Runs 7-11
Run 7: Brookside
[0.20 mi; 1:00; 150 ft]
Run 8: Tuckerbrook Quad - Rabbit Path
[0.34 mi; 1:20; 282 ft; 25.2 mph max; 15.3 mph avg]
Run 9: Tuckerbrook Quad - Turkey Trot
[0.31 mi; 1:12; 285 ft; 25.1 mph max; 14.9 mph avg]
Run 10: Tuckerbrook Quad - Moose Alley
[0.27 mi; 1:20; 282 ft; 25.0 mph max; 11.2 mph avg]
Run 11: Tuckerbrook Quad - Raven Ridge - Huckerbrook
[0.30 mi; 1:53; 154 ft; 18.8 mph max; 9.5 mph avg]
Our legs were a bit tired from the cautious skiing we've been doing (you know, trying to not accidentally go into a free-fall down a sheet of ice at times), so we decided to get some quieter runs in at the Tuckerbrook Area. Run #7 was from the lodge area, across a slushy skate, and down Brookside, which is just a lovely green run. Run #8 was down Rabbit Path and #9 was down Turkey Trot, both were EXCELLENT. Great snow, great turns, and so wonderfully quiet. We really wanted to sneak (not actually sneak) over to the Mittersill area, but there was a race all day and the only way to ski back was closed because of said race, so we'll save that for another day.
Moose Alley was #10 with some stickier snow, but still just super fun. We wanted to keep skiing across the area, but ski school had just arrived after this run, so we opted to head back to the main mountain after skating across Raven Ridge and skiing down Huckerbrook (we'll save the park side for later, there were ski school kids on the jumps).
Runs 12-15
Run 12: Peabody Express Quad - Easy Link
[0.10 mi; 1:30; 112 ft]
Run 13: Cannonall Quad - Profile
[0.46 mi; 2:47; 896 ft; 17.4 mph max; 9.9 mph avg]
Run 14: Cannonball Quad - Upper Ravine
[0.76 mi; 3:20; 899 ft; 21.1 mph max; 13.7 mph avg]
Run 15: Cannonball Quad - Taft Slalom - Upper Ravine - Spookie - Rock Garden - Mickey's Margin - Gary's
[1.70 mi; 8:02; 2,126 ft; 26.2 mph max; 12.7 mph avg]
Our next pod of runs were my last goal for the day - to get some laps off of the Cannonball Quad and specifically ski Profile, which was closed last time I was up. Run #12 was down Easy Link, which was not-so-easy because we had to dodge thousands of people (more like half a dozen, but they were going fast!), and #13 was down Profile which was... kind of brutal! Snow was nice up top but for the majority of the run was mostly skied off. I will say, though, I'm proud to have done it, and more so impressed with how my perception of "steep" has changed throughout the season. According to Strava, Profile is steeper than both The Jet and Haynes at Jay Peak, and I didn't get the "shit your pants" feeling at all on this run (minus some extended skids on ice).
Run #14 was a redemption run down Upper Ravine, which was just as fun as Upper Cannon and skied just as well. I love those two winding trails. Run #15 was a longer run, down the Taft Slalom, which was 50% exceptional and 50% Tokyo Drift. We continued onto Upper Ravine and then slightly uphill on Spookie (excellent name). We then continued onto Rock Garden, Mickey's Margin, and onto Gary's, which had just opened to the public! I wanted to hit Gary's because that was the only Front 5 run I did last year, and it was "shit your pants steep" in my mind last year. This year, it was completely fine! Didn't feel insanely steep/terrifying, and the soft snow was lovely.
Runs 16-19
Run 16: Zoomer Triple - Rocket
[0.38 mi; 2:37; 627 ft; 20.8 mph max; 8.7 mph avg]
Run 17: Zoomer Triple - Zoomalanche - Avalanche
[0.51 mi; 3:53; 633 ft; 23.6 mph max; 12.4 mph avg]
Run 18: Zoomer Triple - Lower Cannon - Brookside
[0.75 mi; 3:38; 679 ft; 23.3 mph max; 12.4 mph avg]
Run 19: Tuckerbrook Quad - Raven Ridge - Huckerbrook Park
[0.29 mi; 2:19; 174 ft; 17.5 mph max; 7.5 mph avg]
We were starting to wind down, not really because our legs were tired, but more so because we wanted to preserve energy for our hike tomorrow. Run #16 was a revisit to our good friend, Rocket, which was soft and fun! We stuck to the bumpier side since the snow was softer there, but it skied well. Avalanche was up next, which was more challenging, but still super fun. A lot of less-experienced people facing spring bumps on it now, which was exciting! Run #18 brought us back to Brookside, and we finished up with a run down the Huckerbrook Park, which had twin jumps the whole length - a super fun way to end!
We slowly wrapped up at the gift shop and then had a little picnic/apres at the car since the sun was shining. I even got a compliment by a passerby for bringing chairs and a table (he was jealous). We joked/flirted with getting a quick hike in up Artist Bluff, which we both wanted to, but I was feeling the nerves about tomorrow's hike and wanted to preserve energy as best as we could. Time to drive to Jackson!
