riverc0il
New member
left work early to partake in the afternoon festivities. 1:30 leave work time had me choosing between burke and cannon. i opted for cannon after checking burke out in the AM. burke had 5-6 at the base and i almost got stuck trying to get to mid-burke to sample snow fall up there. a LOT of downed trees on the access road to burke. cannon had moore steeps, more snow, and no run out. besides, i love the place. the stage was set.
skinned up banshee to avalanche in a pretty well used skin track (thanks to lftgly!). saw two boarders ripping it up on avalanche, awesome sight. i was pumped. i keep on skinning up the tram cut back until reaching the zoomer lift and started up middle cannon. around here, no more skin track was available and it was slow going until i found a snowboard track i could make switchbacks on (thanks to that person as well!). above the zoomer chair, things got considerably deeper with 1' pretty much everywhere as a minimum and i would estimate an average depth of 14". drifts had pilled up to two feet deep.
it was an amazing winter wonderland up there. i took some nice pics on the front face, but above the zoomer chair, it was completely socked in and everything was a beautiful white. a little extra wind started kicking in right about then, but less than expected. steady skinning up middle cannon and everything looked sweet.
i opted to attempt a summit via tramway. however, snow conditions above tower 2 deteriorated to wind blown (still a foot depth in most places, but not good for skiing). i suppose taft may have had better luck on the other side of the mountain? then again, the wind shift could have blasted both sides. in either case, about 100 verts above tower two the wind got furocious. amazingly loud over head, despite my finding a pocket near the trees that was earily still and calm. with snow conditions getting worse, winds picking up, temps going down, and being solo approaching the 5pm hour, i decided to give up on the last few hundred feet and save it for the weekend. switched to downhill mode and away i went.
despite having made turns on sunday, i somehow again forgot how to ski. i again suspect the ramp angle on the freerides due to the touring bindings and will be investigating shimming up the rear of the binder (any one else have this experience in regards to alpine boots fine but AT books putting you in the back seat?). likely the crappy snow conditions on upper mountain had me all over the place too. half way down mid cannonl, i turened it on and was in the zone. the snow was much more powdery despite being wet than the front face trails. epic powder turns were made down mid cannon, best i have ever skied that trail. i couldn't shut up, i was screaming and hollaring and yelling and whooping it up, lots of verbal praise to old man cannon. paulie's extension just got even better. EPIC turns on paulie's, as good as anything but the lightest of powder days. didn't bottom out with exception of once or twice on mid cannon, a few scratches and nothing more.
avalanche was a bit of a let down to finish out on. had a hard time adjusting from the nice wet pow above to the cement like wet snow on avalanche. i finally made the transition about halfway down and finished out strong after dumping four times :lol:
great afternoon. the front face was well tracked but mid-mountain was open game. mid-mountain is the way to go as temps are below freezing up there and will likely hold the snow well. i suspect the hards might be the untouched jackpot at cannon if the rocks are well covered. in hind sight, i should have yo-yo the mid part of mid cannon onto extension a few times instead of attempting a summit. but who knew i wouldn't find jack up there? had to go for it. a phenomenal october day on skis. i doubt i'll ski snow of that quality again until january to be completely honest.
pics and a short vid
to come!
skinned up banshee to avalanche in a pretty well used skin track (thanks to lftgly!). saw two boarders ripping it up on avalanche, awesome sight. i was pumped. i keep on skinning up the tram cut back until reaching the zoomer lift and started up middle cannon. around here, no more skin track was available and it was slow going until i found a snowboard track i could make switchbacks on (thanks to that person as well!). above the zoomer chair, things got considerably deeper with 1' pretty much everywhere as a minimum and i would estimate an average depth of 14". drifts had pilled up to two feet deep.
it was an amazing winter wonderland up there. i took some nice pics on the front face, but above the zoomer chair, it was completely socked in and everything was a beautiful white. a little extra wind started kicking in right about then, but less than expected. steady skinning up middle cannon and everything looked sweet.
i opted to attempt a summit via tramway. however, snow conditions above tower 2 deteriorated to wind blown (still a foot depth in most places, but not good for skiing). i suppose taft may have had better luck on the other side of the mountain? then again, the wind shift could have blasted both sides. in either case, about 100 verts above tower two the wind got furocious. amazingly loud over head, despite my finding a pocket near the trees that was earily still and calm. with snow conditions getting worse, winds picking up, temps going down, and being solo approaching the 5pm hour, i decided to give up on the last few hundred feet and save it for the weekend. switched to downhill mode and away i went.
despite having made turns on sunday, i somehow again forgot how to ski. i again suspect the ramp angle on the freerides due to the touring bindings and will be investigating shimming up the rear of the binder (any one else have this experience in regards to alpine boots fine but AT books putting you in the back seat?). likely the crappy snow conditions on upper mountain had me all over the place too. half way down mid cannonl, i turened it on and was in the zone. the snow was much more powdery despite being wet than the front face trails. epic powder turns were made down mid cannon, best i have ever skied that trail. i couldn't shut up, i was screaming and hollaring and yelling and whooping it up, lots of verbal praise to old man cannon. paulie's extension just got even better. EPIC turns on paulie's, as good as anything but the lightest of powder days. didn't bottom out with exception of once or twice on mid cannon, a few scratches and nothing more.
avalanche was a bit of a let down to finish out on. had a hard time adjusting from the nice wet pow above to the cement like wet snow on avalanche. i finally made the transition about halfway down and finished out strong after dumping four times :lol:
great afternoon. the front face was well tracked but mid-mountain was open game. mid-mountain is the way to go as temps are below freezing up there and will likely hold the snow well. i suspect the hards might be the untouched jackpot at cannon if the rocks are well covered. in hind sight, i should have yo-yo the mid part of mid cannon onto extension a few times instead of attempting a summit. but who knew i wouldn't find jack up there? had to go for it. a phenomenal october day on skis. i doubt i'll ski snow of that quality again until january to be completely honest.
pics and a short vid
to come!
