Magic Mountain 4/8/2018

NewEnglandSkier13

Magic’s last day of the season was a day of relatively average conditions, for February or early March. It certainly did not feel like April out there. New snow yesterday had given everything a new surface, which was starting to get scraped off in places. Some moguls were still soft, but others had become icy. Groomed trails were perfect packed powder. Woods had good snow, but were very thin in places, more so than at Abram yesterday. Most trails on the East Side were open and so were a few on the West; nothing under or near the chairs was. It was not very busy and there was no waiting, except for first chair. Temperatures were in the 20s and 30s with some wind and it was mostly cloudy. It was a great day and it’s too bad to see places close with so much snow left.

Red ChairRed ChairTalismanRed ChairPixie DustUpper WizardGreen Chair

bmwskier

Looks like they had a lot of good coverage, even with this time of the year. Want to get there soon– next year alas!

ciscokid

Sam you get my vote for Snowjournal picture reporter of the year (again) with Ski_it a very close second.

Thank you both ( and all others reporters)for your varied state visits with both large and smaller areas.

I guess I’ll categorize age contributors for vote

#1 teen age contributor Sam the newenglandskier

#1 over 50 Ski_it

ski_it

<blockquote class=“Quote” rel=“ciscokid”>Sam you get my vote for Snowjournal picture reporter of the year (again) with Ski_it a very close second.

Thank you both ( and all others reporters)for your varied state visits with both large and smaller areas.

I guess I’ll categorize age contributors for vote

#1 teen age contributor Sam the newenglandskier

#1 over 50 Ski_it</blockquote>

Thanks but I think others are more worthy of being #2. TReilly, Yardsale & 4aprice first come to mind.

TomWhite

No photos yet. Further below is middle section of Magic’s 4/30 post.

Green Lift work begins today as lift contractor picks up and begins to assemble sheave trains for lift towers #makebettermagic #basetomidmlift

04|30|18

Spring Projects and Savings

Speaking of greater access for all skier types (not just experts), it means we continue to put our investor capital into two big buckets: 1. Magic’s snowmaking system so there’s a great mix of machine groomed snowmaking trails and all-natural snow trails  2. Magic’s lift system so there’s not only reliable summit lifts to access our more difficult terrain, but also lifts to support easier lower mountain trails and learn-to-ski areas.

Let’s take number 2 first: The base-to-mid mountain double-passenger "Green Chair" will begin work anew next week to complete its installation by late June! (Think fall foliage rides and weddings at Sunshine Corner, too) This new lift opens Magic up to more young families and “significant others” who can’t yet handle the more difficult terrain up top. Green Lift gives every one easy access to our fun lower mountain intermediate and novice terrain (even expert glades). There’s easy access to the race trail for racer training and events. Plus, now there’s earlier season openings on lower mountain snowmaking trails for all of us!

In combination with this past season’s new learning area “magic carpet” conveyor lift, the Green Chair opens Magic to those who love the vibe, but are wary of the summit ;-) We’ve also put a lot of money into repairing the Black Summit Lift over the last two seasons with a bit of a mixed operating performance record. We will have important information on our plans for this lift shortly, so stay tuned. But our goal is to improve summit access reliabilty and capacity to keep our lines to a minimum while keeping our slopes open and uncrowded. Now, for number 1. We’ve invested in our pumphouse, new pipes, new electric air compressors, more energy efficient snow machines, and groomers. One of the last pieces of the puzzle is more water–to make more snow on more of our trails so there’s great variety and conditions on both East and West Sides no matter how much snow mother-nature delivers. Therefore, once state Act 250 approvals are finalized this spring, we can begin the big snowmaking pond dam build and stream re-routing project which will double our available water volume for more snowmaking! Broader coverage without running out of H2O.

These are major investments by SKI MAGIC in a sustainable future. Over $1.5 million this off-season on top of a similar amount over the last year and half. But, we need your support…

slatham

Video today on Twitter of painting the tower sheaths. Work already underway on Green!

TomWhite

Magic’s recent posts has a few new items, below #2 is the same as what I posted yesterday.

Spring Projects and Savings

Alpine Touring has skiers up the mountain almost every day still enjoying our East Side snowmaking trails (see below from Monday). But, spring is slowly taking over, as can be seen in the above shot of Magician on Tuesday, and so is all our off-season project planning. <img width=“250” height=“187” alt=“https://gallery.mailchimp.com/7aa25df3430f5fd8a6aacf087/images/40f2df43-c842-4e1b-980e-6a7712828d35.jpg” src=“file:///C:/Users/tomwh/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image002.jpg” v:shapes=“Picture_x0020_1” />  (New Jamaica Cottage transported to Sunshine Corner this week for 18/19 early season Ski Patrol hut by the Green Lift & later season “refreshment center”) There’s a lot of capital approved to be spent by SKI MAGIC to #makebettermagic for all our passionate skiers and riders. While the 2017/18 season was strong, with a fantastic finish, we are putting key pieces in place for Magic to continue its momentum for years to come. And, it’s great to have you along with us on our “back to the future” journey. SKI MAGIC LLC had its annual investor meeting on April 12th and all the members are truly excited about the increased customer interest in our “throwback” ski area and philosophy. We are putting a premium on creating better access to the incredible variety of Magic’s classic trail system and terrain for all skier types–from beginners to intermediates to advanced and expert skiers/riders–and importantly keeping that experience as crowd-free as possible on the slopes and at the lifts. A big part of that is our policy of limiting day ticket sales to under 2,000 skiers per day with our current lift system. Only Magic does this! And, it’s another great reason to think about our affordable season pass options as pass holders always get access, even on our busiest days.  Speaking of greater access for all skier types (not just experts), it means we continue to put our investor capital into two big buckets: 1. Magic’s snowmaking system so there’s a great mix of machine groomed snowmaking trails and all-natural snow trails  2. Magic’s lift system so there’s not only reliable summit lifts to access our more difficult terrain, but also lifts to support easier lower mountain trails and learn-to-ski areas.

slatham

Now for some big, unexpected news…..

djspookman

<blockquote class=“Quote” rel=“slatham”>Now for some big, unexpected news…..</blockquote>

YES!  best news ever.  period!

slatham

Stratton’s Snow Bowl Poma Quad Lift Heading to Magic MountainAnother Major Upgrade by SKI MAGIC LLC Will Replace Magic’s Current Black Chair Summit Lift

Londonderry, VT, May 9, 2018 – Magic Mountain is purchasing and installing Stratton’s current “Snow Bowl” Poma fixed-grip quad chairlift as a new base-to-summit lift for the 2018/19 season. The Poma quad lift will replace Magic’s current “Black Chair” which had been operating as a double passenger capacity lift. The new lift at Magic will follow a similar lift line up the Black Line trail to the summit with a slightly higher terminal station in order to access all trails at Magic. Magic’s new Poma quad lift, originally built in 1986 and installed at Stratton’s Snow Bowl area, comes with 148 chairs, a 2,000 skier per hour capacity, and has an excellent performance and maintenance record at Stratton. It will service approximately 1,500 vertical feet with the lift line stretching about 5,000 feet long. The lift will add significant uphill capacity in combination with Magic’s current “Red Chair” double summit lift and another new installation to be completed this spring of a base-to-mid mountain Borvig double passenger lift (“Green Chair”). The current Black Chair, which the Poma Quad will replace, only had 113 chairs, was approved as a two-person carrier, and therefore had a maximum capacity of just 620 riders per hour. The Poma Quad therefore effectively triples Magic’s uphill capacity over the current lift.  “When we heard Stratton was replacing their Snow Bowl lift with a new high-speed detachable, four-passenger lift, our investor group jumped on the opportunity to try and purchase their Poma fixed-grip quad”, said Geoff Hatheway, President of SKI MAGIC LLC. “For our ski community, this lift is a huge upgrade that meets and manages our current and future growth expectations, better fulfills customer desires for quality, reliable lift service at Magic, and sustains our reputation as an area with both minimal lift lines and low on-slope skier density.” Stratton is taking down the Snow Bowl lift this month and then Magic will have the lift transported across the valley (about 15 miles) to its Londonderry location.  “It’s great to see this dependable lift live on in southern Vermont, and I want to acknowledge Bill Nupp, President and COO of Stratton, and all our neighbors there for making this purchase happen”, continued Geoff Hatheway. “We occupy a very different place in the industry than Stratton, but Bill and his team really wanted to make this possible for us. It’s a true example of the big guy on the block helping the little guy out and supporting the diversity of experiences uniquely available here in southern Vermont—all within just a few miles of each other.” Magic plans for its lift contractors to begin work this summer and fall on the new summit Black Line Poma Quad, after the installation is complete on the mid-mountain Green Lift. Magic will operate the new quad as the primary summit lift every weekend and holiday period, with the famed Red Chair continuing as an additional lift on busy weekends plus pulling main duty on lighter traffic weekdays.   In total, this will be a major $1 million capital investment in the new lift by SKI MAGIC LLC which will help attract more skiers and riders to the southern Vermont and Windham County region who are interested in a classic, old-school mountain vibe.<blockquote class=“Quote” rel=“slatham”>Now for some big, unexpected news…..</blockquote>

rickbolger

will replace Magic’s current “Black Chair” 

</blockquote>

Huzzah!  Huzzah!  I hope it gets melted down so that Sauron can never reforge it as a ski lift anywhere again.

This is terrific news and should be a game-changer for Magic.  Great move by Stratton too.  Rising tide etc.

djspookman

I hope it gets melted down so that Sauron can never reforge it as a ski lift anywhere again

</blockquote>

ha!  that’s awesome

newpylong

Amazing.

newman

The Black Chair can be a donation to Timber Ridge

riverc0il

<blockquote class=“Quote” rel=“newman”>The Black Chair can be torn down and rot.</blockquote>

Fixed it for you.  :)]

Love Magic. Despise the Black Chair.