Cannon opens new Mittersill chapter

By Matt Boxler

For those who only prefer parks, pipes and groomers – read no further. For those of you looking to test your abilities on dozens of acres of overgrown and ungroomed backcountry descents that are narrow, steep and deep – forget the flight out west.

The original American Mittersill Club Ski Area operated side-by-side with Cannon for nearly 40 years.With the re-opening of Mittersill this season, Cannon Mountain in Franconia Notch, N.H. is the place to go to satisfy that itch for all-natural riding. While adventurous types have been ducking ropes for the last 20 years to find powder there, this season marks the first of many to come when venturing into Mittersill is not only legal, it’s encouraged.

Developing all-natural parks and glades for skiing and riding is all the rage of late in the industry. Killington has The Stash, Okemo has Broken Arrow, Ragged has Wild Woods. But with 86 “new” backcountry acres officially open this season, Cannon’s development in this area may take the cake.

Mittersill was its own independent ski area when it opened in 1945. Steeped in New England ski lore, Mittersill was a destination for the elite, the famous and the skilled. Swiss Olympian Paul Valar served as head of the ski school, along with his Austrian born wife, Paula Kann, a member of the U.S. National Ski Team. Valar is one of the original seven incorporators of the Professional Ski Instructors of America and the founding president of the New England Ski Museum.

Mittersill operated for nearly 40 years before shutting down in 1984. Unfortunately for skiers and riders, the federal permit that allowed access into the area expired not long afterward.

But the dream to return Mittersill to its original purpose never died, and last season, a long-awaited exchange of state and federal lands officially turned the area over to Cannon Mountain.

Plans for Mittersill are still evolving, but don’t expect it to change drastically from what’s there now. The area can be accessed from either the top of the Tramway or the Cannonball Quad. Just scoot along Taft Slalom to Mittersill Access, which will be marked with the designation of “Extra Hazardous.”

Access to the Mittersill backcountry is available from the top of the Tramway or the Cannonball Quad.Regulations prohibit Cannon from clearing above and beyond the 1989 trail and liftline footprint, which means the only chairlift that would meet this criteria would be a double, as higher capacity lifts would require a wider lift line. A double chair is in the plans for 2010-2011.

“Mittersill will continue to be an all-natural experience that’s geared to skilled intermediate to advanced skiers and riders,” said John DeVivo, general manager at Cannon. “There’ll be no snowmaking, limited grooming and very little patrolling there. We don’t want to change the skiing and riding or the culture of Mittersill.”

For those riders looking for the safest way to venture into the Mittersill, Cannon’s Snowsports School offers two-and-a-half-hour guided tours for intermediate and advanced skiers and riders. The tours are given on weekends by backcountry pros.

And, perhaps the best part of all, Cannon will run a shuttle on weekends and holidays between the Mittersill base and Cannon’s Peabody Base Lodge, where a well-deserved beer awaits in the newly revamped 2,800-square-foot Cannonball Pub.