Sunday Morning I awoke just prior to my 5:30 AM alarm clock going off.  For some reason, getting up on a Ski Day is always so much easier than getting up any other day.  Only problem with getting up this morning, was that I forgot to set my clock forward an hour!  Yep, that damn Spring Ahead thing caught me off guard, and as a result, I was an hour late getting the wheels rolling.  No biggie...  for my last day of Skiing for the 2001-2002 Season, I was taking it easy and savoring every moment.

  
Zoomer Looking Particularly Worn Out

Had the wheels rolling around 7 AM (which would have been 6 AM if I had left on time!) and made the base lodge promptly at 9 AM, half an hour after the first lifts turned.  Approaching the Front Face of Cannon, I was greeted by what would normally be a disturbing site...  but instead made me giddy with anticipation!  The Front Face was beyond thin cover.  From the Franconia Notch Parkway, 20 foot long patches of dirt were visible.  For some odd reason, I was really looking forward to skiing these rapidly deteriorating trails.

For First Tracks, I hit the High Speed Quad, and planned to spend the AM on the Front Face.  To get warmed up, I tracked down Middle Cannon to Paulie's Extension to Gary's, as I planned to track the Front Face from right to left.  Gary's was wonderful, softening up under the morning sun.  I made quick Slalom style turns and realized just how well suited the trail really was for the Slalom races it holds.  Next, I tracked down Rocket finding some SWEET ASS soft loose powder on the right side of the trail (which I repeated again for my third run).  Again, it amazes me how perfect Rocket is for it's Giant Slalom courses.

 
A Ride Up Zoomer Triple Details The Carnage On Zoomer

With my legs properly warmed up, I made the Folly of actually trying Paulie's Folly.  Normally one of my favorite runs, Paulie's was plagued near the top with some dirt and grass patches.  However, the truly miserable part of skiing Paulie's was that the snow was rock hard.  While it wasn't excessively icy or scraped, the hard snow made for a miserable trip down Paulie's.  I opted to return to the Front Face later once things had softened up, and made my way to the summit of Cannon.

 
Nasty Thin Cover And Hard Pack Snow On Paulie's

The Tramway had already closed for the season, so I boarded the Peabody Express Quad to the Cannonball Quad to access the summit.  Mount Mansfield, Stowe's Ski Trails, and Jay Peak were all visible from the summit.  Upper Mountain Trails at Cannon were amazing!  I started on Skylight, which was the worst of the Upper Mountain trails with lots of scraped and icy patches, but a good steep pitch was worth the skidding.  Upper Ravine's winding turns were perfect for my wide GS style turns which made for a fast second run from the summit.  The real fun began on the Taft Slalom Trail, which featured PERFECT soft and edgable snow.  Amazing.  I passed a few people trekking over to Mittersill as I then entered the Upper Hardscrabble Trail which was an ice skating rink in places.  To quote one skier stopped for a breather: "That really was a Hard Scrabble!"  Well, it wasn't that bad, however it left something to be desired.

 
Near the bottom of the Upper Hard Scrabble Trail

 
Great View of Franconia Ridge From The Top Of The Vista Way Trail

After a return trip to Taft Slalom to Upper Ravine, I hit up Vista Way which offered a mixed variety of every condition found at Cannon that day, all on one trail!  Wonderful one instant, scary the next...  a solid mixed bag of tricks.  Upon stopping to take some pictures, I accidentally discovered what I considered to be a Hidden Glade Trail, unmarked on the map.  Reminded me of the Glades off White Cap at Sunday River, very nice.  Finally, I tracked Tramway to By-Pass to Paulie's Extension, and finally Lower Cannon to return to the lodge via a top to bottom run.  This was a wonderful top to bottom run with all sections well covered with soft packed powder.

 
Unmarked Glades Off Of Vista Way Trail Looking Back Towards The Summit

With the AM journeys completed and a lunch break finished, I returned to the Front Face!  Avalanche was wonderful in the morning, with soft bumps up top.  Lower parts of Avalanche were quickly becoming scraped off, but I still enjoyed them.  Zoomer was an interesting run, as about midway down the trail, a grass patch covered 95% of the trail.  This left two very thin and dangerous by-passes which made things interesting.  Things began rather firm all around on Zoomer, but by late afternoon, it was a pleasant run.  Upper and lower bumps were excellent; and the hairy dirt patches kept things interesting and skiers awake.

For my Run of the Day, I choose this Un-Named and Un-Marked thin trail that was a former lift line.  The trail is located between Lower Ravine and Gremlin just a short ways below and to the left of where Spookie joins Lower Cannon.  The remains of a now extinct lift can be seen at the top of the run.  The run is about 8 feet wide at best, and probably around half a football field long with a decent pitch.  Mini-bumps appeared about half way down.  I tracked down this run about three times with quick and nibble turns, having a blast all the way.  I truly love lifeline runs.  This one is reminiscent of 'The Shoot' at Burke, however this trail was steeper, narrower, and a bit shorter.

 
Run Of The Day!!!  An Old Lift Line Trail, Presently Unmarked

For a high speed cruiser, Middle Ravine to Lower Ravine couldn't be beat!  Big GS turns provide laugh out loud fun.  A big grin spread across my face as I laid down big and round GS style turns, increasing my speed all the way to the bottom.

I finished the day by re-tracking some of my favorite trails for the afternoon.  Among these were Avalanche, Taft Slalom, my hidden Run of the Day Trail, By-Pass, and Paulie's Folly Extension.  A solid day of unbelievable skiing to end the 2001-2002 ski season!!!

 
An Old Trail Sign Marked "COMPARENA" Next To The Above Lift Remains
There Currently Is No "Comp Arena" Trail At Cannon