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The NEW Magic Mountain

AbominableSnowman

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Dec 2, 2017
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On a positive note, this post [from Geoff] is excellent: it clearly states the current situation, clearly states the known issues, and clearly states the intended approach for resolution of those issues. It also provides some insight into the thought process, and the considerations, that went into the decision-making process - without any condescension, obfuscation, denial or sugar-coating.

Is there any room for improvement? Sure, nothing is perfect; for example, there was no mention of "free beer"...;)

Seriously, though, hopefully other ownership groups read that posting and consider using it as a example of how to communicate effectively. Well done, Geoff.

--------------------

THE LATEST
Magic in the News

Certainly this last month Magic has been in the news more (Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, ThisisInsider.com, Vermont Life), and for all the right reasons, so that's a good thing. The flip side is that some fear there might be too many people now interested in checking Magic out which could change things. Understandable, but I don't think a little change is something to fear. Rather it should hopefully be a sign that maybe this great ski hill can be around for many years to come--which believe me--is not a given in this difficult industry at a time when smaller, independent areas have a more difficult time competing. But, if we're smart about it and plan for it, we can maintain and strengthen the vibe, culture and ski experience we've come to love deeply here at Magic, even as we grow.

And here's how we'll do it.

1. Magic's classic fixed-grip lifts are here to stay. High-speed lifts have changed the landscape of skiing. Often times for the better, especially at places with big-time vertical like out West. But, there are some downsides to high-speed lifts: they dump an extraordinary amount of skiers/riders at the top of mountains very quickly, and they all go down together. This makes for more crowded slopes with more opportunity for accidents to occur, or angry incidents of people being cut off. Our fixed-grip system, even on busy days, naturally regulates the flow of traffic off the lift and disperses skiers evenly. We just can't put that many at the top all at once with a fixed double versus the high-speed 6-packs. This makes (for us) a more enjoyable, stress-free ski experience no matter how many new skiers come here. But that extra 5 minutes on the chair is a deterrent to some, and I will speak to that next.

2. Magic has a natural self-selecting customer model. What I mean by this is that many people won't even consider coming here because we DON'T have those high-speed lifts we just talked about. To each their own, right? We also don't make snow on every inch of this mountain or groom every trail. My god, we even have rocks and bare ground! So there's another whole set of people who will see that and opt-out on their own. Don't even start on the lack of high-end shopping, wave pools, clubs or movie theaters in the base area. Sorry, non-skiers/riders won't find a whole bunch else to do here beyond tubing and the Black Line Tavern unless they get in their cars and visit our wonderful towns (which is a fabulous thing to do!). But you get the idea, Magic is not the typical resort experience so there is a whole set of people who will again self-select themselves out of visiting here.

"Okay Geoff, but what about all those ski lovers like us who are simply into the sport and hanging out with other folks who are really into skiing but they hadn't heard about Magic before--until all this press? There's probably still a lot of them out there and won't we be jam-packed on Holidays or busy weekends once we get snow?" Well yes. That's the point of us spending money on improving things so we can get more people here which then allows us to pay back those investments and run a successful business. BUT, here's what we're going to do to insure we don't become overcrowded at our lifts, with huge 30-60 minute plus lines that happen elsewhere which would really effect the laid-back, less crowded experience we all enjoy:

3. Magic will limit day ticket sales to just 1500 tickets on any day of the season with our current lift system. We had a day last season on President's weekend where the lift lines at both summit lifts were at about 15 minutes and growing by 11:30 am. So we decided to stop selling tickets. That number was right around 1500 day tickets and we put a sign on the road that said we were full. Yes, we could have stuffed more people in here and made more money, but it would also have started to change dramatically the experience we desire here. In the future, when we add another fixed-grip lift (like Green Chair) then that number can go up a bit, but setting a ticket limit will remain.

So that's our policy. Honestly, we hope we can have a few more days this year where we have to unfortunately turn people away (pro tip: good reason to buy tickets ahead of time on our website to reserve a spot and save money). That will mean we are doing well enough to survive; making our patrons happy; and, keeping our culture and vibe strong!

For the latest on projects and snowmaking during this dry and somwhat warmer period, be sure to click on the "read more" button below. Certainly, with only an inch of natural snow so far, we all need to "think snow" so it comes in bunches of feet by the holidays!

- Geoff
SKI MAGIC LLC
 

Do Work

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Aug 6, 2015
Messages
328
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28
Wow, well that storm certainly was productive! Guessing we got around 14-16" at the top, but it is SUPER fluffy. I would expect low angle terrain to ski very nicely, but steeper stuff has been reported as bony as soon as you make a harder turn.

Who's coming opening day?? Should be some really nice green/blue terrain open with natural snow and we've got The Silks playing Saturday night, and they are a KILLER band!
 

KustyTheKlown

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Joined
Mar 1, 2013
Messages
5,362
Points
113
Location
Brooklyn
great to see magic blanketed with snow for opening. even if you guys cant drop all the ropes, the optics of a snowy scene are good for business and morale
 

JamaicaMan

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Feb 16, 2015
Messages
279
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0
What trails will be open this weekend?

Here's where we are.

- Upper Magic Carpet totally blown in from Top of Red Chair down to Medium
- Medium partially blown in. Probably finish that up tonight into tomorrow.
- Guns lined up from Wand at Sunshine Corner down to Show Off so we will get started tonight on Wand when we can turn back on the system at 9pm.
- Show Off partially blown in and has guns lined up there for ignition tonight
- Tubey Land got some fan gun love today and is pretty close to being done. (Not a trail but there you go)

So that will be the snowmaking trail line-up for the weekend. Solid fun intermediate way down.

In terms of natural snow trails, we are looking at low angle east siders like Up Your Sleeve, White Out, Betwixt, Enchanted Forest, Pixie Dust glade, Lower Magic Carpet, Vertigo.

As Matt said, the snow from both Saturday and Tuesday is very fluffy. T-Zone was bony.

Another storm next week and we are set, though, for lots more terrain and woods.

Snowmaking crew will be hitting it hard whenever temps allow!
 

p_levert

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Sep 23, 2014
Messages
440
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On the Twitter feed, it was mentioned that George passed away. Was it George who was going to rebuild the green chair as well?
 

slatham

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Sep 17, 2012
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Location
LI/Bromley
Chomping at the bit. I will be there sometime Saturday.

p_levert, yes, George was working on the Green lift. RIP.

New trail map, several new glades (some new to map, one that is actually new) and there's a "new" trail too......
 

Do Work

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Aug 6, 2015
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Man, what a great opening day! Reports are coming back that the ungroomed natural stuff is PERFECT. I've heard from several that Up Your Sleeve is the trail of the day but that all of the lower angle areas are skiing phenomenally. Thankfully that fluffy pow consolidated a bit before opening, it's working out wonderfully. Light crowds and great conditions, good trail count and happy customers everywhere! Happy 17/18 season, everyone- it's going to be one for the books!
 

slatham

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Sep 17, 2012
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LI/Bromley
Great opening day, and December 16th no less! Impressive seeing 16 guns blasting too.

Congrats to the Magic team - off to a great start!
 

RustyGroomer

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Apr 30, 2009
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Impressive seeing 16 guns blasting too.


The best pic i took all weekend was this one. Not great by any stretch but check out that snow & fire power. Not often if ever you see this @ Magic. Impressive is right.
25299400_10154890236677038_1730789879815126750_n.jpg
 

slatham

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LI/Bromley
Any ideas of what survived the mini melt?

hoping there is enough left to make friday snow enjoyable

Magic Outing Club posted a pic today on FB of skinning tracks and it looked like the base is there just more "consolidated". If this Friday/Saturday storm works out as a net gainer - which is what it looks like now - and we get the Christmas miracle storm then all will be good.
 

slatham

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Sep 17, 2012
Messages
2,410
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Location
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Great opening day, and December 16th no less! Impressive seeing 16 guns blasting too.

Congrats to the Magic team - off to a great start!

I want to apologize to Magic and Do Work for under reporting the gun count. It was 16 HKD air/water guns AND 5 fan guns for a grand total of 21!
 
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