Magic 1.10.10

[gmcunni]

Date(s) Skied: 1.10.10

Resort or Ski Area: Magic Mountain

Conditions: pack powder, powder, bumps, sticks, rocks, twigs, trees

Trip Report: One word to describe today - "freaking cold".

Having gotten up before 6 and dressing in the dark i inadvently forgot to pack my A game today. Made the best if it nonetheless.

Arrived in parking lot about 9:15 and couldn't have been more than 20 cars in the lot. Lodge was even emptier. Temp was 5F when we hit the slopes.

Had a quick chat with a patroller in the lodge and he warned to stay away from upper magician and blackline due to icey conditions.

Jake and I took a slow cold ride up the red chair and took a warm up run down "up your sleeve" and vertigo. a mix of groomed and ungroomed conditions all the way down. i had the vents on my helmet open and my head hurt from the cold air getting in.

Back up and we headed to the other side, took broom stick to "heart of magician" and were looking for the entrance to "the hallows" but we missed it.

Jake and I took turns picking runs. We skied most of the mountain, skipping RED, BLACK and GREEN line. Redline look "fun" but lots of exposed rocks and i'd say 80% of our chair rides nobody was on it so we took that as a sign.

We did end up finding "the hallows" a couple of times, I'm not much of a woods guy but we had fun. Jake got a kick out of the jumps that had been setup.

Run of the day for me was "Goniff Glade". Talisman a close 2nd.

Jake's comment, "good not great day. More fun when there is fresh snow." On the ride home he gave the day a 7.5 but quickly changed to an 8 saying "well at least the Pats lost" (he's a Jets fan)

Said a quick HI to Rusty Groomer and complimented him on his videos. I have helmet cam envy, he's got a nice one! I tried a new mounting option on my cam and will post something if it came out.

 

[bvibert]

Glad you guys had a good day. I hope you got some decent footage, I look forward to seeing some video!

 

[gmcunni]

i think i'm going back to taking still pictures.

 

[2knees]

holy shit, it looked like twilight zone had some nice bumps.

that used to be the route. twilight zone bumps to lower redline bumps. ahhhh the 80's are back!

 

[bvibert]

Looks like you got some decent footage Gary. Seems to me that it needs to be pointing up just a tad more... The conditions looked like a lot of fun, now I'm really jonesing to get back up there!

 

[severine]

:lol: "a crappy webcam production" :lol: I've never been to Magic but even your "crappy" production has my interest piqued. Someday!

 

[billski]

i think i'm going back to taking still pictures.

I see your point. Kinda made me nauseous to watch I think if you have your camera angle a bit higher it might do the trick.

 

[gmcunni]

Seems to me that it needs to be pointing up just a tad more...

I think if you have your camera angle a bit higher it might do the trick.

yeah, i tilted it up much higher than last time but apparently not enough. guess i need to practice in the yard or something.

I see your point. Kinda made me nauseous to watch

my skiing makes me sick sometimes too

 

[billski]

yeah, i tilted it up much higher than last time but apparently not enough. guess i need to practice in the yard or something.



my skiing makes me sick sometimes too

:lol: I can trump you: I embarrass myself a lot when I ski :blink:.

Anyways, I suspect you ski with your head lower than you might think. Definitely worth experimenting with at home - why not stand on a comparable hill (or simulate one) with your boots on in your usual stance?

 

[Greg]

i think i'm going back to taking still pictures.

No! I like it. I think the quality is pretty good. You just gotta bring the angle up a little bit higher and you're set!

 

[SkiingInABlueDream]

i think i'm going back to taking still pictures.

Interesting choice of song there. Ive always thought of Cliffs as a summer song. And ironically, JS's "Summer Song" always makes me think of skiing. Huge fan of both those guitarists.

 

[bvibert]

yeah, i tilted it up much higher than last time but apparently not enough. guess i need to practice in the yard or something.

Where do you have it mounted? I've seen a lot of good POV movies with the camera mounted on the side of the helmet. I don't know if the position really makes any difference though.

 

[gmcunni]

Where do you have it mounted? I've seen a lot of good POV movies with the camera mounted on the side of the helmet. I don't know if the position really makes any difference though.

i wish i could do the side mount, i think that would be best but the camrea i have doesn't easily mount that way. right now it is on top of my helmet.

rusty groomer's camera is side mounted and another guy (woodcore posted his video) also had the side mount. both their cameras are in a different class than mine :-(

part of my issue is my helmet. giro fuze and it doesn't have a lot of smooth surface.

i'll make the best of it. i created a duct tape wedge to adjust the angle, i just need more duct tape. i'll strap on the helmet and chase the kids or dog around the backyard to see how the angle works out.

my camera

 

[sankaty]

Checked out Magic for the first time yesterday (1/11). The X2 pass (and lack of time to go to further north) has made Stratton my default mountain lately, but the recent Magic threads made me think it was worth a visit, especially with the reasonable ticket prices.

So glad I did! Loved Goniff Glade, Twilight Zone, Sorcerer, Hallows, and a Black Line to Red Line combo. Upper Red Line and Magician looked like they would be a blast with a bit more snow.

Very impressed with the snow conditions (mostly loose and packed powder) and variety of ungroomed terain, but I guess that's what happens when there are only 20 or so skiers on the mountain. Was surprised not to see tumbleweed rolling through the parking lot.

It's great to have the moutain to ourselves, but I'm guessing this isn't sustainable. I'm not sure why it's not attacting more skiers. Sure, it could use a high-speed lift, and I suppose they would really benefit from marketing their novice/intermediate terrain more to appeal to a wider audience, but it's such a great, low-key value, with a really unique variety of terrain for southern Vermont.

A few more skiers would actually help carve some more defined bumps, which is the main thing I missed. Also, why no trail map posted at the top of the main lift? A curious oversite to the newcomers with cold hands.

Definitely will be back.

 

[Jisch]

I went to Magic for the first time last week , was wondering about the lack of a trail map at the top too - weird.

 

[gmcunni]

Also, why no trail map posted at the top of the main lift? A curious oversite to the newcomers with cold hands.

I went to Magic for the first time last week , was wondering about the lack of a trail map at the top too - weird.

i guess i've been there enough (and it is small enough) that i know my way around so i didn't notice the lack of signage BUT i did see a ski instructor with a group of kids and he had a map taped to the back of his jacket.

 

[rocojerry]

Thanks, I think i may check it out for the first time ever this weekend ---
praying for some snow!

 

[jrmagic]

Glad you guys had a good trip. I had stuff to do with the kids so I missed last weekend. As for it being empty... it always seems the weekend after the Holiday week is slow there. I was there from the day after Christmas until the Sunday after New Years and it did get pretty crowded with a lot of day ticket holders which is a great thing for the mountain.

If you liked the hallows there are way better runs in the woods than that there... though they may not have setup jumps like there, they do have rocks and cliffs lol. Actually the woods on skier's right on Tali is a pretty cool shot.. its marked for the mountain bikers so its not exactly a secret.