Magic Mountain ...

[polski]

... may be trying to pull a rabbit out of its hat, sad to say, judging by a report posted on TGR this evening: Supposedly the company president has emailed people saying they're trying to go co-op (a la MRG) and need to sell 300 shares in the next 90 days at $3-5k apiece to stay afloat next season. Awfully tough time to try to raise that kind of money (I'd love to help but can't even think about this) and though it has a stellar rep as a hardcore skiers' mountain, not sure it has the kind of built-in community that MRG did when they went co-op -- especially after going through various owners and a period of being closed.

 

[deadheadskier]

Hope it works out. Would be cool to see another area pull off what MRG did instead of just putting up condos or some other real estate to raise cash.

 

[riverc0il]

I heard rumor about this potentially happening earlier this season. Was holding out hope that it was just a potential worst case scenario option and not actually going to happen. Mad River Glen was in a much different place than Magic is currently when it went co-op and as polski mentioned, has a much deeper community base and significantly more die hards. I wish Magic all the best in trying to pull this off, but that is a big price tag on uncertainty and significantly higher cost than a Mad River share. Even if I was a Magic die hard, I don't know if I would want to take that type of financial risk.

 

[jrmagic]

Its 90 days frm when the offer is made which has not happened yet. I'm not sure there is quite the same base as MRG but there are plenty of families like mine that have been skiing here for a long time many of whom own property locally to make it work. I agree the timing sucks but the state of the economy is one of the major reasons he was not able to attract capital in the first place.

Discounted season passes and limited discounted daily tix for friends and family provides good incentive for those who can raise the cash.

 

[bvibert]

Wow! I hope Magic the best! I'd REALLY hate to see that place go under.

Hopefully they can work something out, whether it be the co-op thing , or something else.

 

[2knees]

whatever happens, magic needs to survive one way or another. If it means closing for a few years until things rebound economically, then so be it. but its a ski area like no other and if its gone for good, then we all lose big time. 300 shares at 3-5k in this environment is hard to fathom but stranger things have happened.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

I searched on the TGR forums but couldn't find anything. Could you post a link?

 

[roark]

I searched on the TGR forums but couldn't find anything. Could you post a link?

http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2322501&postcount=6400

 

[Angus]

I skied there Sunday for the first time and as earlier reported it was definitely limited terrain and variable conditions. With that said, looking over into the west-side area; it is easy to see why people rave about the place - trails looked steep and narrow. With that said, doesn't this kind of terrain need to be located in a snow belt where the trails are consistently refreshed? 126" posted on their website just doesn't work IMO. I've heard the area has limited access to water which makes extended snow making difficult. The flip-side is between okemo, stratton, and bromley; there is a density of skiers looking for alternatives. Being somewhat familiar with the history here, my impression after the visit was the new ownership was trying to do alot of things on a very tight budget. Everything looked...well, run-down. And, I'm not trying to be negative or mean. The people were super nice - especially the guys running the lifts. What I guess I may be trying to say is, there is a potential co-op plan that raises somewhere in the vicinity of $1-1.5mm but does that really provide the capitalization necessary to modernize and create the facilities for a sustainable enterprise? Not sure, I know nothing about ski hill operations!

 

[Greg]

Bob Switzgable should buy it.

 

[bvibert]

Bob Switzgable should buy it.

x 1 million

I'll sacrifice myself and move up there to help him run it.

 

[Angus]

who's Bob Switzgable ?

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=2303&dept_id=478843&newsid=20246613&PAG=461&rfi=9

 

[bvibert]

who's Bob Switzgable ?

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=2303&dept_id=478843&newsid=20246613&PAG=461&rfi=9

That's him.

 

[polski]

Magic is closed for the season. Hopefully only for the season.

 

[vertmont]

Source of water?

Do they have a pond or a river or both? Is it a air water system or fan guns? I'm interested, may go down a take a look some time next week. If anyone has any info pass it on please. Hope something can happen, Magic is a awesome mountain.

 

[jrmagic]

Do they have a pond or a river or both? Is it a air water system or fan guns? I'm interested, may go down a take a look some time next week. If anyone has any info pass it on please. Hope something can happen, Magic is a awesome mountain.

They have a pond. They were doing work to increase capacity up to 4x the current amount which would be filled from Lowell lake (the connection already exists). If you go there you will see the pond on your right as you drive up the access road. To completely take advantage of the dozen or so fan guns I beleive there is sitll some 480V electrical work to be done. I am not sure if that was completed or not. They also have an air/water system which has both fixed and portable nozzles. I know they have consulted with engineers on possible upgrades to the system though I dont know the details of those plans.

 

[Beetlenut]

I thought I remember either last year or the year before, that they were doubling the size of their snow making containment pond to affect more snow making. I remember them having problems doing that, but thought they got that done eventually.

 

[jrmagic]

They did ahve trouble and before they could work on the expansion they had some required repairs that needed to be completed first and I know that part was done.

 

[roark]

Save Magic Mountain

When more info is available it'll probably be in the above thread first.

 

[riverc0il]

Really sensible plan. Snow making, get the third lift built, Magic Carpet, and fix the Black and Red chairs. Everything else comes later. If they can get the snowmaking upgraded and get beginner lifts running, Magic will thrive. Experts alone can't support the mountain financially in the long term. And the dependability of snow making will likely triple skier visits, if not more.