History

The Old Man of the Mountain was discovered in Franconia Notch.

The State of New Hampshire purchases the 6,000-acre Franconia Notch property with assistance from the society for the protection of NH Forests.

Franconia Notch State Park is dedicated as a memorial to New Hampshire men and women who have served the country in times of war.

The construction of the first ski trail on Cannon Mountain begins.

The first trail opens: The Richard Taft Trail.
Franconia Ski Club is incorporated.
Olympic skier and member of Ski Club Hochgebirge proposes the construction of the Aerial Tramway.

The New Hampshire state Legislature approved construction of the Aerial Tramway, but no funding was appropriated. Manchester attorney and former Olympic skier, John Carleton is named chairman of the Aerial Tramway commission.

The New Hampshire state Legislature approves a $250,000 bond for the construction of the tramway at Cannon. James McLeod of Littleton is named chairman of the Aerial Tramway Commission. Roland Peabody is hired as the first tramway manager.

Charles N. Proctor is hired to survey new trails and Sel Hannah designs them.

Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway opens to the public! Ski runs include Taft Slalom, Taft Race Course, Coppermine, Tuckerbrook and Fleitman Trail to bring skiers the tram. Winter tram fare cost $0.95 for a round trip or $0.60 for a one-way ride up only. Riders could also purchase a 10-trip passbook (one-way only) for $5.

Summer Tramway guides are hired as ski patrol in the winter, creating the first paid, professional ski patrol in America.

Tram Ravine, practice slopes, and Lookout are added.

The Alpine T-Bar lift opens at the summit starting at 3,000’ it brings skiers to 4,100. Upper and Lower Hardscrabble trails are cut.

Middle Hardscrabble is cut.

Mittersill Ski Area is opened by Austrian baron Hubert Von Pantz.

The United States Alpine Ski Championships are held on Taft. The State of New Hampshire approves $5,000 for improvements to Cannon including increasing the size of the Practice Slope by Valley Station to10 acres, doubling the length of the rope tow on the Practice Slope to 700’ and adding a warming hut. Upper and Lower Hardscrabble trails are connected.

The deed to the Flume Gorge was transferred to the state of New Hampshire, bringing the Flume under the umbrella of Franconia Notch State Park.

Sel Hannah and Ed Blood survey all Cannon trails to make improvements: Ravine is widened. A glade is built near the practice slope and the 700’ rope is again doubled in size to 1,400’. The deck at the Tram’s Mountain Station is enclosed and enlarged.

Tramway Trail and Easy Way, now known as Vista Way, are cut.

Paul Valar begins his 20-plus year tenure as director of the Cannon Mountain and Mittersill ski schools and is joined by Paula Kann Valar in the summer of 1950.

Paulie's Folley is cut. Roland Peabody dies and is succeeded by his son Roger Peabody as manager of the Cannon Aerial Tramway and Franconia Notch State Park. The New Hampshire Aerial Tramway Commission is abolished, and all functions of the commission are transferred to the NH Division of Forests and Lands.

The Alpine T-Bar Lift is extended.

The Roland Peabody Memorial Slopes Development is completed at a cost of $305,000. Five new trails are added: Red Ball, Lower Cannon, Turnpike, Zoomer and Lower Ravine. Lower T-Bar and Middle T-Bar are installed to connect the new base area to the summit and base lodge. Cannon now has 17 trails and 6 lifts.

A 40-meter ski jump is installed near Valley Station for the 1956 National Junior Ski Championship.

The Alpine T-Bar lift is replaced.

The State of New Hampshire creates the Department of Resources and Economic Development, including the Division of Parks and Recreation. A $9 million bond is issued for the expansion of the state parks systems with millions allocated to Cannon and Mt. Sunapee, the only other state-owned ski area. Tramway, Vista Way, Cannon Link and Middle Cannon are all widened and improved. 

At this time a one-day ticket costs $5.50 and a season pass costs $90.

$651,000 is allocated to the further development of Cannon. Gary’s, Rocket, Avalanche, Banshee, Gremlin, Toss-up and Skylight are created. Upper Ravine, Taft Slalom, and Upper Hardscrabble are improved. A T-bar is installed on Banshee slope and 2 double chairs Zoomer and Peabody are installed.

Cannon now has 24 trails and 8 lifts. The Hardscrabble and Bypass area is widened and improved.

A second Alpine T-bar is installed adjacent to the other.

Vista Way, Bypass and the corner into Avalanche are redesigned for the North American Alpine Championships downhill course.

Cannon hosts the first World Cup Races in the United States. The North American Alpine Championships.

Snowmaking comes to Cannon, covering 35 acres. Cannon also has record season opening Nov. 16 and closing April 21. 285” of natural snowfall and 141 days of skiing.

A new Peabody Base Lodge is constructed and the Peabody Double chair replaces the T-bar. Locals refer to it as the Hong Kong chair.

Snowmaking capacity is increased to 50 acres.

Ernie’s Haus, at the base of Gary’s is donated to Franconia Ski Club.

Cannon gets a new Aerial Tramway. Car capacity more than doubles from 27 per car to 80.

The New England Ski Museum opens near Tram Valley Station.

Snowmaking is extend to the summit increasing coverage to 80 acres.

The Zoomer lift is upgraded from a double to a triple. Mittersill Ski Area is closed.

The Alpine T-Bar is replaced by the Cannonball Quad and Profile is cut.

Cannon welcomes snowboarders and creates a 600’ half pipe.

Peabody Express Quad replaces the Peabody Double. The Eagle Cliff Triple Replaces the Hong Kong chair. The Brookside Triple chair is installed and construction begins in the Brookside Learning Center.

Tuckerbrook opens with the Tuckerbrook Quad, Rabbit Path, Turkey Trot, Moose Alley, Deer Run, Bear Paw, Coyote Crossing and Flietman. 

Lake View Glade, Kinsman Glade and the Tramline Trail are opened. The old Peabody Lodge is expanded and later named Notchview Lodge. Cannon now has 55 Trails and 9 lifts.

Summit Station is renovated.

The Tramline Trail is named Dj’s Tramline. Mittersill opens as a backcountry-only area

Cannon opened and managed the terrain on Mittersill as a lift-accessed backcountry area.

The trail crew completed some thinning and brush cutting for ease of access, but nothing to change the culture or skiing and riding experience. With no snowmaking, limited grooming, very limited patrolling and extensive rescue time, the area carried a designation of extra hazardous.

Cannon ran a weekend/holiday shuttle service from the base of Mittersill to the Main Base Area when Mittersill was open. Mittersill was considered officially open for approximately 45 days during the season. When shuttles were running, they carried up to 300 people per day back from Mittersill. Cannon also offered Guided Mittersill Tours through their Snowsports School.

Installations of the Mittersill Double Chair begins.

The Mittersill Double Chair opens, offering lift access to Mittersill for the first time since 1984.

3 Phase improvement plan for Mittersill is proposed. Snowmaking, trail improvements and race training gifted through the Franconia ski club.

Phase 1 Baron’s Run widened, cleared and graded. Skyline and Ridge Run are widened enough to allow for snowmaking. A new snowmaking compressor is installed to add 28% more capacity. Mittersill still had no snowmaking and limited grooming.

Phase 2, 55 snowmaking guns on Baron’s Run. 75 Guns on Skyline Ridge run and new connector trail. 19 acres cut on Taft Training slope.

Snowmaking on Taft Training Slope. New T-bar named the Valar T-bar opens on the Training Slope. Franconia Ski club shifts training over to Taft.

Franconia Ski Club Opens the new performance center.