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The NEW Magic Mountain

JamaicaMan

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Feb 16, 2015
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Our crews are all over our normal maintenance, required testing and advancements for next season and doing great. With our small and highly trained workforce, safe working conditions are easily maintained and the guys have been slaying their work. We have put an astronomical amount of effort into putting our minds together for ideas that will go a long way to bolster our ability to deal with contingencies- changes in how we will have to serve our customers in our existing models and also to diversify our offerings in ways that take into account our new reality and the challenges/opportunities it brings. Anybody who's seen our pass offerings this year should know we are doing everything our extremely creative staff can come up with to salve the wounds COVID is creating.

Believe me when I say nobody here is taking any of this lightly. If anything, we are ramping up our responses and being as proactive as we can in this scenario. We know things will change, and we are doing everything we can to change with it- and even ahead of it where we can. We're proponents of a "prepare for the worst, hope for the best" school of thought, and we will be as ready as possible once the snow flies!

Snow is flying this week again 🤷*♂️


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slatham

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Joined
Sep 17, 2012
Messages
2,412
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83
Location
LI/Bromley

JoeB-Z

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Mar 1, 2011
Messages
389
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One other cool idea was the ability to snag a pass with half down and the rest in September. I was going to buy a pass anyway but it helps with cash flow.
 

Killingtime

Active member
Joined
Jan 16, 2018
Messages
393
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28
Location
Long Island, NY
Y'ALL SEEN THE NOOZ?

People are picking up what we're putting down in a big way.

https://skiing.substack.com/p/magic...Sj5S5Ax8itIWaxjYDPxfsXXY62UPt-JG-ikGvxaLVLoUY

Yeah you guys are doing a great job getting the word out there. After selling my place in K-town last year, I spent this winter exploring. I heard good things about Magic and wanted to try it but always wound up passing on it for one of the other places nearby. One of the main reasons I picked up the Indy Pass was because Magic was on it. I had a really great time and look forward to going back. Marketing will only get you so far though. At the end of the day you have to deliver a good experience, especially in the competitive southern Vt area. Magic has been doing that and people are noticing. Barring any new Covid type disaster, I think Magic is set for a break out season. New lift, outdoor eating area, etc. Just don't get rid of the tow rope, it's good to practice every once in awhile.
 

JamaicaMan

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Feb 16, 2015
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Will the “new” Black Chair run any faster than the beloved old Red Chair ?

It’s a got a few more horses under the hood with the new drive, but to some extent the speed will be regulated by the Tramway authority. Will have an idea once it’s inspected as to the exact speed it will be run at for ongoing operations.


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amf

Member
Joined
Dec 16, 2004
Messages
247
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18
Location
southern NJ
Will the “new” Black Chair run any faster than the beloved old Red Chair ?
I dunno... I always like a slower ride after lapping Goniff Glade or Twilite Zone. And one thing I liked about the old chair was its relative protection from the wind.
 

urungus

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Joined
Dec 1, 2016
Messages
1,780
Points
113
Location
Western Mass
Handle tow is getting moved to the top of Little Dipper, tubing area on Hocus Pocus replaced with expanded terrain park.

Reposting today’s Alpine update

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we had been doing a lot of planning which we've now been announcing this week via social media as we begin to take concrete action on the mountain. Our vision is to create more access and better utilize existing space for young families to learn, grow and have fun here. We started a couple of year ago by bringing back the old beginner area near the Trailside Condos with a new conveyor carpet lift installed on Little Dipper trail (Nelson Family Learning Area). Then we finished building the Green Lift up to the mid-mountain to access that great intermediate and novice terrain over on the lower East Side without having to go all the way to the summit. Plus, we just finished fixing the snowmaking line on Lower Magic Carpet to create an easier, groomed way down off the Green Lift. However, there was still a big step to go from riding the carpet lift trail to going up the Green Lift for novices, given our steeper terrain in general, as our fine snowsports instructor staff pointed out many times to me. Also, the conveyor carpet space for learning can get a bit crowded on bigger weekends.

So to enhance and complete our beginner/learn-to ski experience and create all the stepping stones for success for family skiing, we are moving the terrain park handle tow over to the beginner area above the carpet lift to access both old beginner trails over there. Snowmaking will be reconnected/repaired there as well so we have plenty of finely groomed conditions from top to bottom of the beginner area which dates back to 1964 when a short chairlift serviced it. So with modest cost, we are reclaiming a historic area of Magic to help families #growupmagic!

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Looking down and up from the new handle two line

Okay, Geoff, but you just lost a fun little terrain park. Well, one of the things we wanted to do was expand our little terrain park and have it, like our beginner area, in a more protected, less trafficked spot. Our answer: move it right into the snow tubing park which already has a handle tow lift. While it is tough financially to see the tubing park discontinued, our mission is to create a better ski and ride experience at Magic first and foremost. The old tubing park is perfect as it is set off away from the main trail, is viewable from the base lodge, and...has lights! The new terrain park will have more room for more lanes, features and moderate level jumps. The handle tow makes lapping it quick and easy. And, the existing lights allow Magic to be the only park in the area skiing into darkness. Kids from other resorts can be somewhere else all day and hit us up after their lifts close from 4p-7p. Plus we can do a bunch of evening rail jam comps. I don't know about you, but this is all going to be fun to watch from the BLT deck and lodge.

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New terrain park with surface lift and lights

Moving the terrain park to the snow tubing area also allows us to take down some of the big berm at the end needed for the tubing park, so we can provide easier access from the East Side over to the new Black Line Quad.

So there you have it. In a few short years, we've added a bunch of family-friendly lifts and terrain to help bring back Magic to more families. But the biggest draw for families coming here remains all of you. The friendliest bunch of skiers and riders on earth!

____________

People are giving an arm and a leg for Magic. We have seen some good tattoos lately...artwork on the Red Lift is "magical"
 
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hughconway

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Oct 16, 2019
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55
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Sounds like Magic has some ambitious plans that will really improve the overall experience and make the place more family friendly. Great work. The pessimist in me fears that they may be biting off more than they can chew. I hope I am wrong, but you guys were all calling me crazy last october when I told y'all that there was a 0.0% chance of the new quad opening during the 19-20 season.
 
Joined
Sep 15, 2011
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Location
Northern CT
All I can say is "well done Magic, well done". This is what we need in the ski industry. Creativity, smart financial planning and marketing a mountain that has so much to offer.
 

machski

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Sep 5, 2014
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Location
Northwood, NH (Sunday River, ME)
Sounds like Magic has some ambitious plans that will really improve the overall experience and make the place more family friendly. Great work. The pessimist in me fears that they may be biting off more than they can chew. I hope I am wrong, but you guys were all calling me crazy last october when I told y'all that there was a 0.0% chance of the new quad opening during the 19-20 season.
That lift required outside contractors who fell behind, not Magic's fault. These plans are easily within Magic's abilities to do themselves, very confident this will happen for this season.

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Newpylong

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Dec 20, 2005
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4,938
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Location
Upper Valley, NH
Sounds like Magic has some ambitious plans that will really improve the overall experience and make the place more family friendly. Great work. The pessimist in me fears that they may be biting off more than they can chew. I hope I am wrong, but you guys were all calling me crazy last october when I told y'all that there was a 0.0% chance of the new quad opening during the 19-20 season.

Moving a handle tow and reconnecting a valve station and pipe repairs are well within most (and definitely Magic's) inhouse experience and a single off season timeframe.

Assuming prompt Act 250 and Tramway board approval..
 

hughconway

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Oct 16, 2019
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Moving a handle tow and reconnecting a valve station and pipe repairs are well within most (and definitely Magic's) inhouse experience and a single off season timeframe.

Assuming prompt Act 250 and Tramway board approval..

I truly hope you're right. But the new quad still isn't done, there is probably a reason why the snowmaking pond expansion that was due 2-3 years ago hasn't been spoken of this year, there are other projects going on around the mountain and even though the map they posted looked like it would be part of an act 250 filing, I haven't been able to locate one approving that surface lift move.

I truly hope it pans out for them, but they also have a track record - much improved in the past few years under new ownership - of making promises and not delivering. It's nearly august. At this point I'm really just rooting for them to finish that quad and get it inspected before Thanksgiving. IMO, that will be a small miracle in and of itself. Awesome plan moving that rope tow, but one step at a time!
 

Newpylong

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The quad and tow are not mutually exclusive. Pjister is handling the quad install, Magic can do the tow themselves at the same time and quickly. When we moved ours while I had an engineer build the plans for the new location we dug the holes for the pads, dug and began electrical, etc. The tramway board will promptly approve a handle tow move. It's literally as simple as removing the handles, loosening the tension chains, taking the rope off. Building the simple slab forms for each end and having them poured. Disconnecting the electrical on one end and the stop gate/controls at the other, moving the terminals with a tractor into new position and reassemble. Out of all lift moves its the simplest.
 
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