Abbey C.
Yelp
This past Saturday was my first experience skiing Cannon, and I was absolutely impressed. To be honest, up until this weekend I had always stuck with the tried and true mountains of Vermont, never even thinking about what New Hampshire had to offer (much to my chagrin).
The accessibility was phenomenal, with an easy and scenic ride 2.5 hours from Boston up I-93. Once you are off the highway the road leads you directly to the mountain with very convenient parking (no shuttle buses to get to the base while lugging all your stuff awkwardly). Interestingly enough you can see the trails on the mountain (quite close up might I add) from the highway as you approach the exit.
The ticket prices can not be beat! At $66 for an all day (peak) adult ticket, it only goes down from there. They have mid-week, powder day, and other random deals going on all season long. Cannon also offers a discount for all College students, at $50 for a full day, and $40 for a half day, I really can't see why any college student would choose another mountain (there's definitely enough money left over for those collegiate "extracurricular activities" after a day on the slopes).
For the mountain experience, the terrain was quite challenging. As an intermediate skier I was frequently surprised by the approaching slopes and thrilled when I made it to the end safely. Some of the blue trails seemed to resemble the diamonds of other mountains. With this being said, it definitely forced me to improve my skiing and I would not recommend the full mountain for those trying to learn, or who are not completely confident on ski's. The ride from top to bottom was a good length, and the variety of trails was great. Towards the end of the day, the trails became a little bit icy, but were not skied off as it had been snowing all day. The lift lines were fast, and even non-existent at times, and all the lift attendants were rocking out to great music.
Come lunch time, there is nothing better than chili in a bread bowl, and Cannon certainly delivered there. Food was reasonably priced, relatively speaking since lodge food prices always very steep, and a there was a decent variety. All the staff was friendly and helpful. Coconut M&M's at the register made my day too!
The lodge did lack any sort of lockers for storage, but since the furthest parking lot is about a 2 minute walk away this wasn't terribly inconvenient. All in all definitely go to Cannon if you love to ski and want to challenge yourself!