Cannon Mt. - 4/14/03

[Lftgly]

At the end of another beautiful day in the North country, I couldn't resist a quick after-work run from the top of Cannon. I pulled into the parking lot to see Bmeadjr heading up. By the time I was changed and ready, he had a 15 minute head start on me. I was halfway up Middle Ravine when he came down, carving some nice turns. <BR> <BR>The wind was howling! The temps were still in the mid 50s, and the shadows were getting long, but I figured the snow wouldn't set up until well after dark. In spite of the wind, I continued up, inspired by the rising moon over Lafayette and the last rays of sunlight on Upper Ravine. <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/2179.jpg" ALT="Upper Ravine"> <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/2180.jpg" ALT="Upper Ravine at lower Skylight entrance"> <BR> <BR>An hour and fifteen minutes later, I was at the top of Taft as the sun set. <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/2181.jpg" ALT="Sunset over Taft Slalom"> <BR> <BR>I descended via Taft Slalom on skiers right, which was still soft from the late afternoon sun. There were a few thin spots above, but continuous cover all the way across at the ledges, where I skied down the middle (!) without a problem. Above the lunch rock on Taft, I cut sharp right onto Upper Ravine. There again, the skiers right was still an inch or two of cream cheese. I followed Bill's tracks down the right side of Middle Ravine, to Lower Ravine, and back to my car at Brookside. <BR> <BR>As I loaded my skis back in my car at Brookside, a minivan slowly drove up the hill towards me with their headlights on. As they got closer, I saw the hatchback was open, and something was sticking out the back. When the van pulled up beside me in the upper lot, four people with inner tubes hopped out the back. It turned out "Mom" was driving laps from the lower to upper parking lot, shuttling everyone on the tailgate. They were still at it when I left at 7:45PM.