A History of Cannon Mountain: Trails, Tales and Skiing Legends

Cannon Mountain’s history is steeped in skiing legend and lore. Rising at the western edge of New Hampshire’s magnificently beautiful Franconia Notch State Park, the granite-domed mountain has been the playground of skiers since the 1930s. Here, the country’s first down-mountain ski trail was cleared in 1933, the first aerial tramway was built on the mountain and the first professional ski patrol was established. More than a dozen members of the U.S. Ski Hall of Fame–whose contributions to the sport include historic racing feats, the development of ski techniques and designing countless ski areas across the country and around the world–have called Cannon their home hill. Join author and longtime Cannon skier Meghan McCarthy McPhaul on the slopes of this historic mountain.