The NEW Magic Mountain

skithetrees said:

The amount of things that you guys have going on at one time right now boggles my mind. I can’t imagine tackling all of that and give you major credit for doing so. I am hoping for the best and also being realistic about the timeline here. Either way, extremely excited about the upcoming season.

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It's an exciting time right now, it's so relieving and rewarding to see these big list items all getting crossed off the list like dominoes now. Keeping all the crews moving can be a real challenge but it certainly makes the days fly by when you're simultaneously calling around for equipment, directing work crews, aligning parts/crews timelines, checking status of ordered parts, confirming with surveyors and inspectors, interfacing with the other departments, sometimes driving to go get critical pieces, dealing with broken equipment, lining up staff for events, building new policy and compliance programs... All at the same time, and every day several things pop up that require a complete reshuffling of the deck. It is definitely a lot- and I have a 2.5yo and two teenagers at home also LOL so it's safe to say I'm usually asleep sitting in a chair by 10pm most nights. That said, I absolutely love the challenge and Magic is the coolest freakin' place ever- and it gets more rad every day!

Do Work:

I wish I could help on the FoM days. The fall is impossible for me, I don't free up on weekends until November due to work. If there are November opportunities let us know.

MG Skier said:

Do Work:

I wish I could help on the FoM days. The fall is impossible for me, I don't free up on weekends until November due to work. If there are November opportunities let us know.

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We did an extra unofficial day last year, and will likely do another one this year too given the volume of work we're trying to get done. If you want to shoot me a PM I can let you know when we're planning for them.

Tin said:

I swear the Hollows and Wardrobe need more annual cleaning than most of the unmarked stuff on the west side. Damn conifers.

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We did both last year, though I haven't walked them yet to see if summer downfall is bad. I do think skiers right of upper Wardrobe needs to be widened but given only 1 more VOM day and the latest plan I heard, not sure people will get in there. Maybe if a good turnout we can send 2 teams up?

I am sure everyone knows but Green passed inspection and ran today. Top bull wheel on Red is back in place and that work wrapped up this afternoon. One goal is to get everything done on Red ASAP so when rope arrives that is all that is left to do. The big crane for Quad tower 13 is in lot B and that will be done “soon”.

Decent number of people up to ride, hike and disc golf, especially considering the weather forecast (as of 5pm no rain and the sun is peaking through). Stopped at Sunshine Corner on way down (which happened to be cold and cloudy) for a beer and a chat with with various people.

Good progress, fingers crossed for Red and Black.......

Wow, sobering email update today regarding summit lifts.

NY DirtBag said:

Wow, sobering email update today regarding summit lifts.

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Care to share the contents of the email? I am not on that distribution list.

yea its really comin down to the wire. best of luck

deadheadskier said:

Care to share the contents of the email? I am not on that distribution list.

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Greetings from Londonderry,

It's the end of October and this will be the final two days of the Black Line Tavern so we can prepare for the winter season with a re-opening as usual for the Tavern on 11/26 for lunch and dinner on Friday and Saturday of Thanksgiving. The Magic Merchants store will also be open then for holiday shopping!

Speaking of shopping, we will have a special Freedom 4-Pack sales event over the Thanksgiving holiday period as well on our online store. This will be the only time to purchase four (4) ticket vouchers at 25% off walk-up ticket window pricing. These vouchers will be good anytime this season except the Saturday/Sunday of MLK weekend and Presidents weekend, plus they are full transferable to your friends and guests. So stay tuned for this one-time Freedom 4-Pack ticket voucher Thanksgiving holiday online sales event to save even more on Magic's already affordable tickets. (Did you know that some other areas in the region now hiked ticket prices to over $170 a day??! So you can save a hundie here by just walking up to our ticket window during the season and then put the savings toward eating, drinking and being merry!)

This weekend, we go out with a bang with a big Halloween Costume Party with live band MV19. There is a $10 cover charge but our friends at Bud Light are picking up that charge for the first 150 through the door. A portion of proceeds from the cover charge benefit our local Londonderry Volunteer Rescue Squad, so thank you to Bud Light and all party-goers! There are also cash prizes of $100 each to the best male and female costumes.



The band plays 8-11:30 with doors opening at 7pm (use main deck entrance on mountainside.) As always, if you feel any cold symptoms, please stay home, and if you are unvaccinated, please wear a surgical mask inside to protect yourself and others. We will have our HEPA air filtrations system on in the Tavern. Lunch will not be served on Saturday as we prepare for the Halloween Party, but the Tavern opens at 4p with dinner served until 8pm.
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Our operations crew made good progress on the hill with snowmaking pipe repairs on Black Line and hydrants added on Vertigo to expand snowmaking this year to these trails. Our fully refurbished pond pump house motor is back in so we will be ready to blow when we get enough longer snowmaking windows following all these big rain events. It's been fun watching Killington starting to get after it up there at the higher elevations, so we know winter is not too far off.


Gabe welding pipe on Black Line Crane installing Pond Pump Motor


Alpen Woodworks put the final touches on the Quad summit deck and exit ramp this week. Fabrication of key components for the re-engineered sheave assemblies on the Black Line Quad towers 6, 7, 13 are nearly complete with Pfister Mountain Services ready to deploy shortly to work on both the Quad and Red Lifts. The Red Lift haul rope is currently scheduled for delivery by mid-November (two weeks late) and its new drive is on-site. There's a lot to do on both lifts and of course weather is unpredictable. Our planned opening date for summit access with at least one of these summit lifts is December 18th. Green Lift is designed to go earlier if conditions allow for mid-mountain skiing.


Deck and off load ramp are completed for the Quad!
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Magic passes, pre-season discounted lift tickets and Indy reservations can now be purchased/made through our daily lift tickets page. Plan ahead to both save and secure your spot at Magic, especially for weekends and holidays, given our industry-leading ticket sales limits to keep the ski experience as uncrowded as possible.

Get Passes/Discounted Tickets/Indy Reservations here


Teton Gravity Research just released its new short-film "In Pursuit of Soul". Check out Magic and other Indy resorts as the movie currently airs exclusively on TGRtv.. Here's an excerpt from TGR's time at Magic and what they say about our ski area, with our own little video snippet.
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Our independent ski area is doing every thing we can to create a different experience here than anywhere else, and to keep this sport as accessible and welcoming to all types of skiers and riders from all walks of life. The operations crew has some new young faces mixed in with the wily veterans and they are really working like a team. We still have a few job openings in ops for the winter and in our fun food & beverage area. So if you are interested in joining the team and "making Magic happen" here--a place where you truly can make a difference each and every day, and it is recognized and appreciated by our patrons--we'd love to hear from you. All our jobs are posted on the website here.

Thank you for all your support with pass sales--still up a bit over last year's record high jump! The continued increases in local Vermonter families calling Magic their home is heartening, especially with so many options close by. The understanding of what Magic is all about versus corporate skiing is really starting to take hold even beyond our little corner of Vermont. The growth of the Indy Pass is an example of that--as is the film TGR put together. Hopefully, we can all make a lasting difference together for the sport we are passionate about for years to come.

Stay well and see you soon.
- Geoff

Big yikes...

Hope they get it done on time but I've learned not to hold my breath.

Well, thank goodness for Green Lift!

The timing on Red's haul rope stinks, not that that's Magic's fault. It sounds like odds are decent both lifts are online for the Christmas holiday, and very good at least one is. Shouldn't be any trouble reroping Red, just time to pull the cable, splice, hang the chairs, and test. That takes time but it doesn't have the hidden surprises potential installing custom fabricated parts does. I guess worst case scenario it's a really good thing there are new hydrants on Vertigo?

I know about pipe on Black Line and Vertigo and the beginner area, and Slatham posted about a new HKD at the top of Wizard Chute - any word about other snowguns going up, or are the newly snowmaking-ed trails all going to be covered by portables? Is there fan power for some of the new beginner terrain?

I guess my biggest concern for them would be further delivery delays for the red haul hope.

Shits fucked up out there. "currently scheduled'' sounds a bit disconcerting.

Yep - though the closer to the delivery date it is, the better the forecast should be. Hopefully. Getting a splicer out on relatively short notice might be another concern.

Mr Conway must be foaming at the mouth on this...

A lot of people truly have no idea how fucked up our global supply chain is right now. There are impacts and delays on so many things.

cdskier said:

A lot of people truly have no idea how fucked up our global supply chain is right now. There are impacts and delays on so many things.

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And its only going to compound and become worse if things don’t get under control.

Magic's situation may be more "dire" than others, but they are by no means alone in such a predicament. The only reason people know is because they are open about it. For example, Saddleback's entire new pump skid was still in a container due "In November" sometime. Can't make snow without it. It's been on order since the spring.

cdskier said:

A lot of people truly have no idea how fucked up our global supply chain is right now. There are impacts and delays on so many things.

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The oceanic "parking lots" I have seen flying to all the coasts the last two weeks would blow people's minds. Literally cities of cargo vessels anchored just offshore of ALL our major ports. Very sad seeing it in person. You may have heard about LA and Long beach, but Houston, Savannah and Norfolk are all the same. NYC to a lessor extent too.

the camera angle showing the new unload deck makes it look a bit high. do folks back east use about 18-20" from top of seat pad to snow? i reckon it's nicely built for sure.