The NEW Magic Mountain

Quad versus triple - Old Black Lift had triple chairs, even though they couldn't load them to capacity. I'm more worried about tower height, since Black used to be very short.

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Actually, there were loading 2 ppl per chair every other chair, which makes the chair a single. So going from a single to quad means they'll need to widen the lift line trail 4x as much. [emoji16]

SkiingInABlueDream said:

Actually, there were loading 2 ppl per chair every other chair, which makes the chair a single. So going from a single to quad means they'll need to widen the lift line trail 4x as much. [emoji16]

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Huh? I don't think it needs to be that wide.

You can't piss in VT without Act 250 permits, so you can be dam sure you need one to go from a triple (or whatever that Frankenlift is) to a quad. They are being conservative because of the long Act 250 process and the short window to complete such a project, IMO. And at least according to the VT Act 250 database, the permit request has not been filed yet (not that I'd expect it to - you need a lot of things lined up first, not least the surveyor data that was being done last week).

thetrailboss said:

Huh? I don't think it needs to be that wide.

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I was being facetious.

[emoji16]

slatham said:

You can't piss in VT without Act 250 permits, so you can be dam sure you need one to go from a triple (or whatever that Frankenlift is) to a quad. They are being conservative because of the long Act 250 process and the short window to complete such a project, IMO. And at least according to the VT Act 250 database, the permit request has not been filed yet (not that I'd expect it to - you need a lot of things lined up first, not least the surveyor data that was being done last week).

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ah-oh. i peed right off the trail somewhere on Sunbrook this winter.

Pez said:

ah-oh. i peed right off the trail somewhere on Sunbrook this winter.

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off the trail huh?

Haha

thetrailboss said:

Well, if they are replacing the Black, then they may be able to do it without a permit. Unless the rules have changed. They are replacing an existing lift.

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Basically the extension up top requires 250 approval and assurance to A&R/ Fish & Wildlife that we are outside the buffer zone on a few sensitive areas and that all considerations are being handled properly. Even if we kept it in the same footprint Black used we'd still need 250 approval though fwiw. Even though we have wide leeway in terms of our ability to widen trails (normally trail cutback is a yearly thing but we are fighting off about 20 years of overgrowth in most places), the new liftline will shift a bit to the east, so more cutting will have to happen no matter what. Thankfully we are just below Bicknell Thrush territory but there are other necessary considerations as well. It's by far the slowest moving aspect of the deal but we are just stacking up preparations and materials behind that date and staying 110% ready to move the picosecond we get approval.

We are lumping the lift approval in with the dam project for permit filing purposes, and we have a decent timeline to work with. It's still going to be a huge undertaking, but we are confident. Exhausted, but confident. We are no strangers to tight timelines, undersized workforces, shoestring budgets and big projects!

Do Work said:

Thankfully we are just below Bicknell Thrush territory but there are other necessary considerations as well.

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Wasn't Bricknells Thrush removed from the list of protected species?

It was indeed!

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sull1102 said:

It was indeed!

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Stratton does indeed have to work around that little Thrush...


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And now for a non-VAIL post....brought to you by our independent, non-corporate, throwback friends at Magic!

No June Swoon

Magic is busy on 3 major projects for next ski season and we are also getting ready for summer openings at the end of the month with both the Black Line Tavern and Magic Mountain National Disc Golf 18-hole course going live on June 28th.

And, it seems, the ski industry is busy as well. The latest news is that Vail is now bringing our neighbor to the north Okemo under its corporate umbrella. It's pouring ski resort consolidation and Vail is fighting Alterra Group for who's umbrella is going to be bigger.

Meanwhile about 20 miles south, little ol' Magic will keep zagging to the industry's zigging. Proudly independent. Totally throwback. Happily different.

But make no mistake, Magic is on the move. You just always have to watch out for a few pot holes on our road...

Here's what's been happening:

- Season pass early bird sales were up--like a bunch. So thanks to more of you making Magic a part of your lives!

- I just signed the formal sales agreement last week with Bill Nupp, my Stratton counterpart, for the Snow Bowl quad lift. A large check is heading there and a large lift is heading here this month!

- The Green mid-mountain lift has more work and costs than expected, but we have a great new contractor in Tim Pfister Mountain Services helping install that lift. Green Lift should be finished sometime in July.

- The snowmaking pond expansion project (double water volume) is working its way through the state permitting and approval process. Not unsurprisingly, costs for this project go up, and not down, with each new hurdle to overcome, but the state is really working hard with us to have shovels in the ground by August so that is good news.

- The guys (Matt and Tim) are putting the finishing touches on the final 9-holes of our disc golf course so every one has a great 18-hole course to play this summer.

- Look for both the Black Line Tavern and the Magic Mountain National Disc Golf Course to open for the summer on June 28th. Remember, we know how to have a good time on this mountain (inside and out) no matter what time of year it is.

- The Magic Outing Club has two marked hiking trails up Magic ("easier" east, harder west) and a new Red Line Scramble race up Red Line on July 28th (yes, up--and not on the chairlift)--there's more info here

On behalf of all our employees, thanks for supporting Magic and we hope to see you here in Vermont this summer so you can relax and have some fun while watching our progress. Yes, it's a difficult competitive environment for independent ski areas. But, for Magic, we're going to follow our own path with our fellow ski and ride enthusiasts who want to connect with something deeper. We couldn't be more stoked for the future of skiing here in Londonderry.

Magic is happening!

- Geoff
SKI MAGIC LLC
Where skiing still has its soul.


FUN UPCOMING EVENTS

- Black Line Tavern and 18-Hole Disc Golf Official Opening Day
- Independence Day Party, Band, Cook Out and Fireworks July 7th
- Red Line Scramble July 28th--a race UP Red!
- Magic's Golf/Disc Golf Biathlon Tournament, sponsored by Fiddlehead, August 18th
- Black Line Summer Music Series

Great to see the mountain progressing so well and adding more summer events. That Red Line race should be a hit for years to come with the way those adventure trail running races have taken off in popularity recently.

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Posted on FB by Magic. The quad from Stratton getting prepped for its move:

"Creatures of Magic", a recent release from Burlington Beer Co. Single IPA with oats, full bodied juicy orange IPA. Should be de riguer to be on tap this winter. (Sorry for the sideways photo, seems to be no way to correct for this)

Right click, save to desktop, Windows viewer, one turn to the right, close and save. Upload.

You must be an iPhone user...

MEtoVTSkier said:

Right click, save to desktop, Windows viewer, one turn to the right, close and save. Upload.

You must be an iPhone user...

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Except it's not that easy.

The photo appears upright on my laptop. (This one happened to be uploaded direct from my phone)


Many times in the recent past I uploaded a photo, it was sideways, check photo, upright, upload to PC, upright, upload to forum, sideways, go back to pc and rotate, upload to forum, sideways, go back to pc, rotate again, upload to forum upside down, and on it went. This time I had no patience and just left the sideways photo.

My theory is that there is now on some phones (or maybe all) a secondary photo tag that carries vertical -horizontal aspect orientation info, in addition to the which end up tag. My current combination of camera/OS/browser is unable to deal with it. If you have any insight other than "upload and rotate", I'm all ears.

New report on Black and Green lift progress:

https://www.magicmtn.com/

Also in Alpine update if you get those.

My estimate for completion of our new mid-mountain lift is end of July. We have spent the extra money so this lift will also be downloadable during the summer/fall months as well. So think Saturday fall foliage rides and beerfests this fall at Sunshine Corner

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:beer: