Living Our Dream: Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway

August 07, 2013

Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway

Twin Mountain, VT - Events of Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Cannon Mountain is a granite dome that sits at the northern end of Franconia Notch State Park. The mountain has an elevation of around 4,100 feet and is the location of one of the oldest ski areas in the country.

In 1938, Cannon Mountain, then known as Profile Mountain, improved access to ski trails by adding an aerial tram. It was the first aerial tram in North America. The tram was replaced in 1980 with an updated system having cars with a capacity of 70 or 80 people each - roughly three times the size of the original cars. The tram has a vertical ascent of 2,022 feet.

Although there are several lifts operating during ski season, the tram is the only way for skiers to get all the way to the very peak of Cannon Mountain. The tram also operates in summer so visitors can enjoy panoramic views of Franconia Notch.

We headed to the Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway on Wednesday. We knew we wanted to ride the tram so we took advantage of the discount and bought a combination ticket when we visited Flume Gorge the day before. Tickets are $15 for each, $28 for both. The tram runs every 15 minutes, so we didn't have to wait long for the next car to depart. The ride to the top takes less than 10 minutes.

Tram departing the upper station

There is a short loop trail that goes around the top of the mountain and provides breathtaking views down into Franconia Notch.

Margery near the start of the loop trail

Paul at one of the overlooks

Looking south down Franconia Notch

Looking northeast

There is also an observation tower where you can get a 360º view.

Observation tower

They say you can see all the way to Canada from the peak of Cannon Mountain. Visibility was reportedly 65 miles the day we were there, and Canada is only about 60 miles to the north, so it is quite possible that's Canada in the far distance toward the left side of the next photo.

Looking toward the tramway from the observation tower

Paul and Margery on the observation tower

From the observation tower, we made our way back to the upper tram station.

Tram approaching the upper station

View on the way down

Approaching the lower station

At the base of the tram is the New England Ski Museum. Admission is free. We stopped in after we got off the tram for a look around. To the left in the next photo is one of the old cars from the 1938 tram.

New England Ski Museum

The museum details the approximate 8,000 years of the history of skiing.

Inside the ski museum

Skiing started as a utilitarian venture used to chase down animals that were being hunted. There was a long, but interesting video about a man who visited central China and met with people there who still use some of the old methods of making skis. The pair of skis shown in the photo below is hand hewn from one solid log. The skis are thinned and shaped with an axe. The tips are heated in a wood stove, bent using a jig, then clamped to dry in the curved position. After the skis are dried, skins are tacked to the undersides. The preferred skin is from the leg of a horse. The nap of the fur faces the back of the ski so the fur will grab the snow for walking uphill and still allow the ski to slide downhill. The skier uses one long pole that he drags behind partly for balance and partly as a rudder for steering. A Chinese skier is shown to the left of the next photo. Notice how far he leans back on the pole.

Skis from central China

It was fun to watch another visitor at the museum look for his name on one of the 36 ski racing trophies on permanent display. He won in 1987. We also learned that Seven Springs Ski Resort in Champion, PA east of Pittsburgh is the 7th oldest continuously operating ski resort in the United States.

From the ski museum, we headed back to the motor home. There are several more things we saw while we were in the White Mountain region. We'll tell you about some them in our next post.

Posted on August 07, 2013 | Permalink