AlpineZone Ski Area Challenge: Magic Mountain

[Greg]

Ethan Binns from Magic Mountain also agreed to take the AlpineZone Ski Area Challenge! This is your chance to get official answers to your ski-related questions direct from a Northeast ski resort representative! Please post some suggested questions in this thread and I'll select ten to present for official responses.

As always, please be respectful of Ethan and keep it civil. Also, please refrain from asking specifics about skier visit numbers, financials, demographic information, etc. Magic needs to be discrete about certain information.

Ask away!

 

[Joshua B]

This should be cross-posted to the NELSAP board. Anybody that reads both boards knows the kind of interest levels I'm talking about.

My questions for Ethan:

What is the status of the mid-mountain lift that was partially installed last year?

To what demographic does Magic Mountain target and reach out?

Can you give a historical overview of the phases that Magic has been through with relation to ownership and management philosophy?

Does Magic have any trails that they can claim hold records for steepness and difficulty?

Thanks!

 

[Stephen]

Also, please refrain from asking specifics about skier visit numbers, financials, demographic information, etc.

To what demographic does Magic Mountain target and reach out?

:roll: :lol:

-Stephen

 

[riverc0il]

There was a rumor circulating about a while ago about Magic Mountain having a wind farm installed which would lead to a serious cash increase for the mountain. What is the latest word on this?

Word is that the Red and Black chair will have a state inspection done this year and of course any needed repairs made to them. What is the short and long term plans for the two current chair lifts?

Are there any plans to open the beginner terrain skiers' left of the Black Chair back up?

Is a re-opening of the Timber Side ever going to become an option or is that land long gone?

Can you provide a brief description of infrastructure improvements that magic has planned for the off season in preparation for the 2004-2005 season?

Thanks!!! They don't call this mountain Magic for nothing!

 

[Greg]

This should be cross-posted to the NELSAP board. Anybody that reads both boards knows the kind of interest levels I'm talking about.

I hope you're kidding...

 

[riverc0il]

c'mon greg... you don't mean to tell me have you haven't seen a "magicskier" register recently as a user name? :blink:

 

[Greg]

c'mon greg... you don't mean to tell me have you haven't seen a "magicskier" register recently as a user name? :blink:

On SJ? Well, I don't follow every post over there. My point was that if I made a post about the challenge there it would certainly be labeled as spam, no matter how much it may interest the NELSAP folks. Totally off topic now. My bad.

Any other questions?

 

[riverc0il]

nah, i meant on AZ. he was a troll on SJ that was fairly out spoken about magic... led to some ugly threads. nevermind...

 

[skijay]

General question:

Since Magic has tubing, does that cater to specific "tubing" only crowd or does it attract skiers who tube since they are already at the mountain.

 

[teachski]

Are there any plans in the near future to upgrade existing lifts or add some additional lifts?

Will some of the trails that did not reopen when the area did be cleared and reopened (particularly beginner and novice), and are there any plans to add additional trails.

Is there any possibility of Magic hosting an Alpine Zone day (not midweek)?

Personal-
Do you know where I can get my hands on some old trail maps and/or posters that I can display on my website?

 

[Greg]

Personal-
Do you know where I can get my hands on some old trail maps and/or posters that I can display on my website?

Contact Ethan directly for this one:

http://skiing.alpinezone.com/resorts/detail.htm?resort=magic

Any other questions?

 

[jimme]

Do they plan any infrasturctue repairs to the buildings, bathrooms and any other structures over this summer or are there other items needing more immediate attention?

The large map on the Red Chair shed includes Timberside. Are there any long or short term plans on replacing it with a map of the current trail system?

Do they allow boundary to boundary skiing in the same fashion as MRG?

Any long or short term plans for a high speed lift, or will they stay with fixed lifts even when replacement is necessary?

Jimme

 

[jimme]

With FunBall, Soccer and other family activites I'm totally tapped out time-wise. :idea: If anybody can sift through the posts from SJ and possibly glean some questions from the famous Magic threads that would be fantastic. Although riddled with emotions, there were some interesting points and questions raised.

Greg- this kind of Q & A is awesome! Just great to be able to ask questions of ski area management and get answers! So much better than rumors, speculation and hoping.

Jimme (Declaing myself as the new king of discussion board admin suck-ups)
:roll: :beer:

 

[Greg]

If anybody can sift through the posts from SJ and possibly glean some questions from the famous Magic threads that would be fantastic. Although riddled with emotions, there were some interesting points and questions raised.

I think we have some good ones here. I shipped these over to Ethan:

1 - What is the status of the mid-mountain lift that was partially installed last year?

2 - Can you give a historical overview of the phases that Magic has been through with relation to ownership and management philosophy?

3 - Does Magic have any trails that they can claim hold records for steepness and/or difficulty?

4 - There was a rumor circulating about a while ago about Magic Mountain having a wind farm installed which would provide additional cash flow for the mountain. What is the latest word on this?

5 - Word is that the Red and Black chair will have a state inspection done this year and of course any needed repairs made to them. What is the short and long term plans for the two current chair lifts?

6 - Are there any plans to reopen the beginner terrain skier's left of the Black Chair? Is a reopening of the Timberside ever going to become an option or is that land long gone? Are there any plans to add additional terrain?

7 - Has Magic Mountain planned any repairs to the buildings, bathrooms and any other structures over this summer, or are there other items needing more immediate attention? Are there any other infrastructure improvements planned for the off season in preparation for the 2004-2005 season?

8 - The large map on the Red Chair shed includes Timberside. Are there any plans on replacing it with a map of the current trail system?

9 - Does Magic Mountain allow boundary to boundary skiing in the same manner as Mad River Glen?

10 - Any long or short term plans for a high-speed lift, or will Magic Mountain stay with fixed grip lifts even when replacement is necessary? Are there any plans in the near future to upgrade existing lifts or add additional lifts?

teachski - I rolled sone of your questions into Steve's and jimme's due to the similarity.

Greg- this kind of Q & A is awesome! Just great to be able to ask questions of ski area management and get answers! So much better than rumors, speculation and hoping.

Thank ChileMass. He sparked this idea. Also, Joshua B came up with the specific idea for the challenge. I think it is a great resource and adds some very unique content to the site. I'll keep at it to get as many resorts on board as possible!

 

[ChileMass]

[Thank ChileMass. He sparked this idea.

I am the man......... :wink:

 

[Joshua B]

How you can possibly be the man when it's clear that I am the man? 8) :lol:

 

[ChileMass]

Remember, Josh - a mind is a terrible thing to waste...... :wink:

 

[Greg]

Remember, Josh - a mind is a terrible thing to waste...... :wink:

So is bandwidth... :lol:

 

[ChileMass]

(With head hung down like in 6th grade) - "Sorry, Mr. Blasko......." :dunce:

 

[Greg]

(With head hung down like in 6th grade) - "Sorry, Mr. Blasko......." :dunce:

Good boy. Now get back to drinking your Ketel One... :wink: