I have 2 days to use at Cannon on my Indy Pass and it will be my first visit. I'll most likely go as a day trip from Boston. I'll wait until the school vacation weeks are over and go in March - I'm usually off on Mondays and like to ski then because of fewer crowds, but they also have a
Women's Clinic Saturday mornings that will still be running the first 2 weeks in March, so considering that as well. Suggestions for intermediate trails? Weather/conditions to wait for? Know anything about the Women's Clinic? ....
I should mention that I might have psyched myself out about Cannon.
Ohhhh Cannon. I worked there for 8 years. Park at the Peabody Lodge, off exit 34C off I-93.
Probably you should avoid the main lift in front of the lodge for your first turns of the day. I don't know your level of skiing, but if you are tentative at all on ice, you'll want to wait on that lift. The Eaglecliff lift is much friendlier, but they don't run it on weekdays. If you go on a weekend, you'll love that lift. It accesses the front five, which you see from the highway as you go through Franconia Notch.
The Tuckerbrook area is a good place to start. Ski down the trail you see on your right as you exit the Peabody Lodge. There are two lifts along that trail. On weekdays they may not have the first running, so go to the second lift. At the top you have possibilities in both exit directions. These are short trails. They are great for warm-ups. Some of them can be rather challenging for short distances, of course depending on your level of experience.
Now you're warmed up and ready for the main lift. As you ride it up, you go from the climate at the bottom into alpine temps. There's a notable change. As you exit, you have three ways to go. At first, avoid going rider's left. Instead, hang a sharp right and go down under the lift. Watch for traffic. This gets a ton of traffic so by 10:00 or 11:00 it's a polished sheet of ice. As you exit it, you're at a huge intersection with multiple ways to go. Stop and regroup. Look at a trail map. You can head over to the the front five, or down the middle of the mountain sort of under the lift. Play with these options.
Ride the lift again, this time heading down towards the summit chair. Refer to the trail map to see how to get down there. Big Link can be bumped up and/or icy in the middle and traffic can be harrowing. Try to avoid it. Head over to Easy Link. It will take you down to a huge field of snow, with multiple options. First time there, head down to the lodge via Middle Ravine on your right. Hang close to the wall if you feel the gulp factor. When the trail splits go to your right and keep heading down to the lodge.
Once you get to the front five, the one nearest the exit you took, Gary's, is the lowest pitch. Take it. Then work your way across them. Rocket is very steep at first, but then levels out to a nice steepish run. Zoomer is flattish at the top, then steep and icy past the crowds on the lift, then shallow at the bottom. Paulie's is narrower and a bit twisty, but it's out of sight of the lift if that makes you feel better. Avalanche is the steepest of the five, but it's very wide and has no double fall line. For each of these, head to the Zoomer lift when you get to the bottom and ride back up for repeats.
That leaves the summit Cannonball lift, the Tram (works on weekends), and the double at Mittersill. The Tram is accessed from Avalanche; head right when you get to the bottom and cruise over to the building. Remove skis, go inside, wait in line. It takes you to the summit, to access the same trails as the summit Cannonball lift.
With all that said, if you can catch the women's group on a Saturday, then by all means do it. The downside is the crowds. They do polish those trails shiny. I know that Cannon can be intimidating. The views from the summit are awesome; if you go up there to ski, and if you are OK with mild bumps, I highly remommend Vista Way. Tram Way is the easiest way down, but its entry is always icy and narrow. It gets better after that.
People like Upper Ravine. I never liked it because of people bombing it out of control, coming up on me from behind. I stayed off Upper Ravine and Upper Cannon when I worked there because of those skiers. The trails however are lovely, just lovely. Watch your back.
