Cannon, MT., NH - 5/12/01

[Lftgly]

Last skied Cannon top to bottom, with only a 55 foot walk on Upper Ravine, ten days ago, 5/02. A month of above normal temps has taken it's toll. <BR> <BR>Saturday, 5/12, I hiked up Avalanche, where lots of snow can be seen from I93 <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/1134.jpg" ALT="AVALANCHE"> From there, hiked up Middle Ravine to Upper Ravine. The middle mountain was essentially bare. Just below the Cannonball Quad, the 1st good patch of snow began, and then patches of good snow almost connected from the Cannonball Quad up Ravine past the bottom of Skylight to the bottom corner of Upper Ravine. <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/1135.jpg" ALT="RAVINE"> There was nothing left worth skiing on Ravine above that corner. A small patch still clings to the bottom run out of Taft across from The Rock, but it's only a 100' long. There's still snow in the dense woods on the summit, but nothing on the open trails or glades. Tagged the summit, then hiked back down to the snow on Profile, which is still visible from town. <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/1136.jpg" ALT="CANNON"> The top and bottom of three patches were short and sweet. The waterbars terminating each patch were too big to jump, requiring sidestepping down the grass to get to the next. The middle patch was just over 200' vert., from just below tower 7 down to tower 5, and was worth hiking back up to do it again. <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/1137.jpg" ALT="PROFILE"> At the end of the last patch, snow in the woods beckoned, but trees quickly became to dense to ski. Hiking down a short distance, the snow-covered old work road through the woods from Profile to Big Link surprised me, allowing a detour on skis, then another short walk across the trail to the snow on Big Link. <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/1138.jpg" ALT="BIGLINK"> Below Big Link, walking was required between a decent patche of snow at the Cannonball Quad, and another on Ravine just below it. From there, I hiked across Spooky, and down Paulies Extension, where a 100' strip of snow still stuck above Killy's Corner. Then down Avalanche, where there were three short patches of snow above the last, good one. After all that hiking, it turned out this last 300' vertical at the bottom of Avalanche was the longest left on the mountain. <BR> <BR>Today, weather permitting, the Mothers Day Slalom will be held on it!