Big Burly Cannon Mtn.

Friday, May 16th 2008

By: Geoff McDonald

Cannon Mtn. is the hardest of the hardcore backcountry skiing resorts in New Hampshire. The mountain is huge, the runs are steep, the trees are tight (compared to many Vermont resorts) and the weather can be brutal. If you time it right though, it can be amazing. With some snow in the forecast and having had success filming for “Wanderland” there last year, we were lured back in early February to explore the terrain with Stacey Rachdorf, Erik Olson and a few knowledgeable locals.

Arriving mid morning on a grey day, we talked it over with Stacey and decided to drive about 1/2 hour further to Crawford Notch and ski a chute that he’d been eyeing in the fall. A couple ice climbers had the same idea and had already started a boot pack so it was easy ascending up the twisting riverbed.

This was my first day shooting with 16mm film and it was difficult getting used to the weight of the all-metal Bolex camera. Our plastic Sony HD cameras are like a feather compared to that thing!

So after breaking my back to reach the top Stacey and Erik shredded some beautiful turns for the 2,000 lb. camera. The chute narrowed and turned towards the bottom and we got some good shots airing off the boulders in the riverbed.

Day 2 was a full on assault on Cannon. With the help of about 10 in. of new snow and Stacey’s local buddy we found lots of nice terrain. Much of the mountain has a consistent steep pitch and made for some crazy shots of skiing the narrow trees. Both Stacey and Erik layed down some sweet lines through the woods…

Apparently a lot of other people were out enjoying the backwoods of Cannon like we were because by our third day, untouched pow was getting hard to find. The well known areas like Mittersill had been totally played out so Stacey took us to some secret spots where we schralped some cliffs and bushy tree lines.

All in all a productive three day trip. Stacey and Erik hammered out some more backcountry footage for "Head for the Hills," I eventually adjusted to the new camera, and Cannon once again proved it’s gnarliness.

Comments

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06/18/2008 Sarah Redman! said:

i meant to say i AM 15. but yeah, call me when you go. 1-603-505-0398

hit it up. i met the hammer at my school ski team's expo last december, it was rad i must say! but yeah. do it.

06/04/2008 Mars Rover 2 said:

mopping floors and money don't exist on the red planet. just forget about your attic and settle it on the hill! maybe at Cannon?

05/30/2008 The Attic said:

That Mcballs kid left me a mess!!!He even worked as a janitor, What A HACK! only mopped the kitchen and left the other boy to clean the whole place. I think that boy should keep the check for all his hard work. After all, there would be no check without his efforts.

05/30/2008 John Zorba said:

You left this place a mess. NO DEPOSIT CHECK FOR YOU!

05/28/2008 Sarah Redman! said:

YEAHH! I've spent my whole life at cannon. since i was 3 i've been there (i'm not 15)
dude. next time you come to cannon, i will be there, and you will come see me. dude.

05/28/2008 Samwise said:

sweet update fellers! Keep em coming!

05/26/2008 Adam said:

Looks sick, cant wait for the film.

05/26/2008 Adam said:

Looks sick, cant wait for the film.

05/25/2008 Ben L. said:

Sick! looking forward to being around next year. Let's get our asses to Labrador

05/24/2008 Rob said:

That chute is know as "Land Slide" by a few locals that I ran into in early March. A true epic eastern run. The top section of the slide into the douple stager was one of the best runs of my life!

05/21/2008 Austizzle Holtizzle Photizzles said:

Head for the Hills, dig it!

Did you guys throw you phones into the hills too?

05/20/2008 Mitchell said:

Nice frozen beard dude. The glades at Cannon are sick and I think I recognize that chute in the Crawford Notch...

05/19/2008 Line Skis said:

nieech, looks like you got some more snow than last year eh.