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October POWDER Magazine

thetrailboss

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Just came in the mail.

Great shot on the front cover....from BROMLEY?!

And there was an article about community ski areas. I really dug the first few pages...talking about Abenaki Ski Area in Wolfeboro and other town hills. Then there was a clunky (at best) segue into Magic :blink: It seemed as if the author submitted two separate articles and it looked as if someone said, "screw it, we'll make it one article." It's too bad because the two together don't really work; Magic is not a "town hill" per se.

I'm sure someone from the peanut gallery will disagree, but it seems odd to be talking about town run hills that are 200' of vertical and volunteer run and then going to a much larger resort/ski area/cooperative that is not really in the same category. And no mention of Big Squaw?! I usually LOVE Powder and their articles, but this one was just a let down.
 

marcski

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I didn't think so. I liked the article. It was about "feeder Hills". While Magic is definitely larger than Abenaki and in a different league, it is still somewhat of a feeder hill in comparison to the mega resorts just a few miles away. Not to mention, the community, grass roots efforts that took to keep it alive to the extent that it is today.
 

thetrailboss

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I didn't think so. I liked the article. It was about "feeder Hills". While Magic is definitely larger than Abenaki and in a different league, it is still somewhat of a feeder hill in comparison to the mega resorts just a few miles away. Not to mention, the community, grass roots efforts that took to keep it alive to the extent that it is today.

I would not classify Magic as a "feeder hill". I think of "feeder hills" as those that are geared to getting folks into skiing. Magic doesn't really fit into that mold. They cater largely to a crowd that wants expert terrain with natural snow.

And I think that Magic's situation is quite complicated. It is open thanks to a small group of investors who bought the land, an individual who ran it as a private entity for a few years, and the group of skiers and riders that he reached out to for investment as a "co-op" that would take it over. The article indicates that the current management doesn't really know what to do with the remains of the co-op, but appreciate the investment that they made and the improved ski area they now have to run (once again as a private entity).

I think having two articles--one on Magic and one on small town areas--would have been better. The two aren't really the same.
 
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Smellytele

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I didn't think so. I liked the article. It was about "feeder Hills". While Magic is definitely larger than Abenaki and in a different league, it is still somewhat of a feeder hill in comparison to the mega resorts just a few miles away. Not to mention, the community, grass roots efforts that took to keep it alive to the extent that it is today.

Not feeder hill because its terrain is more difficult than the "mega resorts" of which you speak. I say the "mega resorts" are more of a feeder hill to it.
 

RustyGroomer

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What about the Magic pic of that clown in yellow? Powder photog must have been desperate.
 

thetrailboss

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What about the Magic pic of that clown in yellow? Powder photog must have been desperate.

I take it that is part of your pack ;)

Did you speak with the author? I wonder if he submitted two articles to POWDER and someone got the brainwave to merge them. I don't think it was fair to both topics. I think that Magic's situation deserved more space and consideration than it got. I don't think it's right to just shoe-horn it as they did.
 

RustyGroomer

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I take it that is part of your pack ;)

Did you speak with the author? I wonder if he submitted two articles to POWDER and someone got the brainwave to merge them. I don't think it was fair to both topics. I think that Magic's situation deserved more space and consideration than it got. I don't think it's right to just shoe-horn it as they did.
If my pack is attached to me,... yes!! That's me. I have met/skied with Derek & all I can say is the timing was very difficult on the article. I'm not kidding when I say the article was all set for print when it had to be modified due to the changes @ Magic.
 

thetrailboss

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If my pack is attached to me,... yes!! That's me. I have met/skied with Derek & all I can say is the timing was very difficult on the article. I'm not kidding when I say the article was all set for print when it had to be modified due to the changes @ Magic.

Interesting. I think that would be more reason to have broken it into two articles and run the Magic one next month with some more information.

We haven't had any real discussion lately about Magic (we've had the typical Killington/SR preseason fight). So what is going on at Magic? Who is running it? What does the "Magic Faithful Club" have to do with the operations (if anything)?
 

RustyGroomer

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Interesting. I think that would be more reason to have broken it into two articles and run the Magic one next month with some more information.

We haven't had any real discussion lately about Magic (we've had the typical Killington/SR preseason fight). So what is going on at Magic? Who is running it? What does the "Magic Faithful Club" have to do with the operations (if anything)?
Certainly can't comment on the guys @ Powder's reasoning. What's going on? Getting the hill ready for snow. Volunteer day this Saturday. Tom Barker is the man in charge. He has been there for many years & is taking a more active day to day role. Time will tell if he stays in that role long term. "Magic Faithful Club" has zero to do with any operations.
 

RustyGroomer

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Very cool. Are you able to post it here? Some of us low-lifes don't subscribe to powder...
Including me! I had to get an online subscription for $15. It's not available in a free online version. I don't think anyway.
 
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