This fall is your last chance to ride the iconic Cannon Mountain Aerial Tram in its current form. The state-owned New Hampshire mountain announced this morning the conclusion of public operations with planning underway for a new system to be constructed in the coming years. The current tram opened in 1980, making it 45 years old with more than nine million passengers carried. It was built by Italian manufacturer Agudio and replaced an American Steel & Wire tram that served the summit from 1938 to 1981. “She’s aged gracefully, but like all legends, she deserves a dignified retirement,” said Jace Wirth, General Manager of Cannon Mountain and Franconia Notch State Park. “It’s time to begin writing the next chapter.”
Planning is underway for a third-generation tram but there’s no set timeline for reopening. In 2022, the state considered building a much cheaper gondola, but public feedback revealed a strong desire to continue Cannon’s tram legacy. The following year, the state put out an RFP for modernization of the current tram with a projected budget of $18 million. Leitner-Poma was the only bidder and came in $11 million over that amount. The project was put on hold while state leaders sought more funding.
Cannon’s original American Steel & Wire tram carried 27 riders per car, the current “ketchup and mustard” cars hold up to 80 and the next version may carry even more. “With $27.2 million secured through New Hampshire House Bill 25, along with additional capital resources anticipated, a structural analysis—pending Governor and Executive Council approval—will soon begin to confirm the renovation strategy for existing towers, terminals, and foundations,” Cannon wrote today. “This analysis will also help refine design requirements and load considerations for the next-generation tram system.” While $27 million is a great start, it’s nowhere near enough to build a completely new system at current prices. Skiers and sightseers will likely be without a base-to-summit lift for a number of years while the new tram is designed and built. In the meantime, the summit can still be accessed by a series of chairlifts in the winter.
A specific date for the tram’s final laps will be announced in the coming weeks.
Lift Blog 
So does that mean it will be a Leitner-Poma tram?
LikeLike
Never been here before, but it looks to me like the left parking lot will be devoid of lift access, and a whole lot of runs will be hard to lap, especially the blues right above that parking lot. I wonder if they will run bus service to the base of another lift in the mean time, or perhaps add or relocate a lift over there to allow access to the rest of the mountain from that parking lot
LikeLike
https://skimap.org/skiareas/view/347
It looks like in the 70s, the B lift was located on the “Banshee lift line” run. Maybe they could throw a used T-Bar or double there temporarily?
LikeLike
I expect the Tramway base lodge will simply be closed for the duration. Even when the Banshee T-bar was there, it wasn’t really practical to use it to get to the Zoomer triple, it’s a long slog over flat ground. (The T-bar dated from before the Peabody Slopes went in, when Banshee was the only beginner terrain.)
A bigger problem will be getting back from Kinsman Glade and DJ’s Tramline (both among the toughest trails in New England), but they both require a lot of snow to open.
LikeLike
The tram has separate parking from the main lodge.
LikeLike
For heaven’s sake just put in a gondola already. Much cheaper, way higher capacity and still protected from the elements. Plus, you don’t have to stand the whole time.
“But the tram is an icon”.
Well, if you are going without service because you can’t afford nostalgia, I think you have your answer.
LikeLike
100% agreed here and as a skier I would absolutely prefer a gondola. The path does not justify a tram, modern gondolas are just as wind/weather resistant as trams (especially the 2 or 3 cable variety), and are substantially cheaper.
Folks seem to be tied up in nostalgia, and the only sensible argument I’ve heard is that nostalgia drives interest and therefore more business. They’ll need a lot of extra “nostalgia business” to justify that extra cost, though. Not totally sure how it weighs in, but the clientele is different than most other lifts, mostly riding in the summer/fall for sightseeing.
I still don’t agree but hey I’m just observing from my armchair.
LikeLike
@Bearclaw You seem to underestimate how important the tram is to the history of Skiing in New England…. The Cannon tram is a symbol of New Hampshire, and is well known for being one of the most popular attractions in the state. Yes, while Trams are not efficient in moving people uphill, capacity has almost never been a problem for the mountain. Furthermore, having a Gondola run through the summit area would not bode well. Due to Cannons location and the topography of the surrounding area, Franconia Notch and the surrounding mountain ranges create a “tunneling” effect that funnels and accelerates wind. Much of that upper lift line is highly exposed because of this by nature (hence the smaller trees), and as you can probably imagine, would bounce around the cabins pretty hard.
@DBER08 Cannon Mountain operates as a part of Franconia Notch State Park, and its operations contribute to the overall revenue of the New Hampshire State Park system. Believe it or not, Franconia Notch State Park (where Cannon is located), is a significant revenue generator for the park system as a whole, accounting for 48% of its annual revenue. New Hampshire State Parks, including Cannon Mountain, aim to be self-funded, meaning they generate their operating funds through fees and other revenue streams. They are not in “the nostalgia business”.
Regardless of what I’ve just mentioned, the state is already dead set on building another tram, so there is not turning back on their decision, or trying to appeal or reverse the decision. The fact that it took them so long just to finally agree on something that would please everyone is in-and-of-itself a pretty big achievement.
LikeLike
I certainly was in the “icon” camp. I would much rather see a gondola. Especially if it would mean midweek service.
LikeLike
The windy conditions in the notch would require a 3s gondola and that would be more expensive than a tram. Any detachable system would be more complex than a jig-back tramway and the 3s is the most elaborate type of detachable system.
LikeLike
The windy conditions in the notch would require a 3s gondola and that would be more expensive than a tram.
LikeLike
Being old enough to have ridden both the original tram and the current one, and having seen my best friends married at the top station (skiing followed), I am all for replacing it. This is driven more by nostalgia than efficiency. That said, nobody really laps the small trail pod south of Banshee anyway. And the tram does drive summer tourist traffic. You can ride a gondola most anywhere.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Unless the lift needs immediate expensive upgrades to keep running, it seems strange to shut it down years before a replacement is ready. I wonder if this is their way of putting pressure on the NH legislature to cough up the rest of the money, as this is a cash cow for the park system/state.
Even with the tram, I’ve thought it would be good for them to have a transfer tow like Alta, to run between the tram base and Zoomer.
LikeLike
Even once it is “closed” – assuming nothing happens to it immediately – they will probably still use it to service the restaurant at the top, unless they are going to close that as well. It would be much harder to keep that place supplied via snowcat.
LikeLike
Such a bad look to retire a major lift without an immediate replacement, not even a temporary one like Jackson Hole did. There are trails that are only served by the tram that will now be inaccessible.
I guess the other question is whether it will be immediately demolished, or remain standing but not operating.
LikeLike
let’s be real here, the trail pod at the bottom frankly doesn’t need to exist, and Kinsman/ DJ’s will probably benefit from a higher cost of entry (exit in this case) of the short hike to Zoomer
LikeLike
Ehhh, considering they still operated the old tram while the new tram was being built through 1979 to 1981, it doesn’t surprise me that they decided to go this route for construction. My guess is they probably will just run the old tram until the new tram is fully completed.
LikeLike
The only reason the tram lasted this long is because sometime around 2010, the state had Doppelmayr rebuild the suspensions on top of the two tram cars. Working for a lift engineer at the time on another Cannon lift, he wanted to talk to one of the Doppelmayr guys he knew well about the tram car project. Cannon is also considering replacing the existing 1999 Garaventa CTEC detach. More capital money that will be hard to wring out of the General Court. People up there are very nervous the “L” word is being floated around.
LikeLike
When I read this, I felt as if I had just been told that one of my close relatives has cancer.
LikeLike