By: Laurie J. Puliafico         "In December of 1933 the Ski Club Hochgebirge, composed mainly of Boston Business men who had become passionate skiers, passed a resolution urging that aerial tramways be constructed for skiers in New England.  By July of 1934, Hochgebirger Alex Bright had produced a report surveying 22 potential tramway sites in New Hampshire, concluding that Cannon Mountain,  New Hampshire was the best prospect for the first of what Bright thought might be a series of New England tramways.  Spurred by Bright, the New Hampshire legislature agreed to build a tramway at Cannon"

(From the New England Ski Museum Newsletter, Winter 2002, Issue #55 Technology of Alpine Ski Resorts: Lifts, Snowmaking and Grooming Excerpts from the Museum's 2001 Exhibit Part One)

The Cannon Mountain Tramway has risen from these humble beginnings to become one of the most well known of New England Ski lifts.  Despite the visions and dreams of the Ski Club Hochgebirger, this tramway remains as the only one built in New Hampshire.  Jay Peak in Vermont also has a tramway, and there has been talk of construction of a tramway on Mt. Greylock in Massachusetts several different times through the years, but one has never been built there. 

Valley Station Cannon Mountain Aerial Passenger Tramway (Courtesy of Patrick Sullivan)

The Cannon Mountain Tramway opened for passengers in June of 1938.  It became an immediate success for both skiers and summer visitors.  Being in a prime location near the Old Man of the Mountain and several other popular summer attractions has allowed this tramway to operate successfully on a more or less year round basis.  It generally closes for maintenance between the high use seasons.

The original tramway was replaced with a larger tramway capable of carrying more passengers in the  early 1980's .  The original tramway served 42 years and carried over 6.5 million passengers in it's years of service.    One of the original tramway cars is at the entrance to the New England Ski Museum, which is located Next to the Cannon Mountain Tramway in Franconia Notch State Park, New Hampshire.

 A link to my collection of Cannon Mountain Postcards

 Cannon Mountain Late 60's

The Big New Cannon 1961-2

Cannon Brochure 1963

 Cannon Mountain map from '69 Ski Atlas

Cannon Mountain 1980's Trail Map

Cannon Mountain 1980's Brochure

Thayer's Hotel  (Cannon/Mittersill Map)

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