We’ve crossed the border into new territory.
Today we entered New Hampshire. Live Free or Die, Baby. And even though we don’t need passports, I’m glad we have GPS. The White Mountains are terra incognito to me. And I’ve never been to Cannon.
Lord knows why not. I love ski history, and this place reeks with it. Cannon is one of the country’s oldest ski areas, celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. The first aerial tramway in North America was installed at Cannon in 1938. Heck, the New England Ski Museum is located at the base of the mountain.
This is also Bode Miller’s home turf. He grew up skiing here, and as we all know, he’s no slouch. Each year he hosts BodeFest to benefit The Turtle Ridge Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting innovative and progressive environmental initiatives and youth athletic opportunities throughout the US. This year BodeFest takes place on April 6.
Stats:
Vertical Drop; 2,180 (the longest in NH)
Total trail mileage: 23 miles
Longest run: 2.3 miles
Ski area acreage: 264
Snowmaking: 97% on Cannon
Annual snowfall: 160 inches
Highest ski area summit in NH: 4,080′
Interesting fact: Mount Cannon was home to the Old Man in the Mountain, a rock formation that appeared to be a jagged profile of a face, and the symbol of New Hampshire. Unfortunately, it collapsed in a rock slide in 2003.
Cannon is spread across two mountains: Cannon and Mittersall, which were combined into a single area in 1983. Mittersall wasn’t open today, but really, we didn’t mind. Cannon is a blast. There are lots of winding groomers that start from the top of the mountain. Fav of the day: Upper Ravine, a twisty trail that actually caused us to whoop with delight. Even better, the weather finally cooperated. At last it wasn’t crazy cold. And it snowed. All day. I think we’re due.
Some pics from the day. No, we didn’t see Bode (sigh). But a great day, nonetheless.
Here’s the tram coming into the tram house at the bottom:
Docking in the tram house at the summit:
Extra Safari bonus: A visit to the New England Ski Museum at the end of the day.
We got to see Bode’s medals:
And lots of skis from long ago. Look at the size of these things!
If you love ski history, it’s definitely worth a visit.
From here, we go to Bretton Woods. It’s dumping snow. Tomorrow is going to be a great day.