Magic Mtn 01/09/05

[loafer89]

I really did not find that Magic Mtn was all that difficult to get too. From Okemo it took us about 45 minutes and that was with snow covered roads and all. I understand what you mean about it being a little bit out of the way for day trip skiers. We figured that it would be a nice way to end our ski weekend by going south to Magic and then heading down route 30 to Brattleboro, so by the time we got to I-91 we were almost out of Vermont and closer to home.

The lifts at Magic are on the dated side and not in the best of shape, that I cannot argue, and the fact that the new snow under some lift towers was stained red from rust comming off the lift wheels and sheaves was a bit unsettling. This was not all that different from the old days at Saddleback with duct tape holding together some of the T-bars together, I could care less how I get up the mountain so long as it is safe.

Plattekill, Bobcat, Magic, Mad River Glen and Saddleback have that old fashioned family feel to them that I really like. I hope that Camden and Black Mtn provide the same kind of feel when I ski them next month. It's hard to believe that both mentioned places only charge $18 for 1,000' + vertical.

Hopefully alot of the smaller places will stay in business because skiing right now at the larger resorts for a weekend is hardly affordable, we spent an easy $800 last weekend just for two days of skiing, and the prices just keep climbing higher with each passing year. My son will be 5 years old next week and I wonder what skiing will cost when he is my age??

 

[beswift]

I really did not find that Magic Mtn was all that difficult to get too. then heading down route 30 to Brattleboro, so by the time we got to I-91 we were almost out of Vermont and closer to home.

I don't know where home is for you, but travel to Southern Vt. from Boston involves using Rt. 2 (State) which is a lot more difficult to negotiate than Rt. 89 (Interstate) which serves central Vt. (Okemo to Stowe). I usually have stayed in Brattleboro and then drove up to Magic in the morning. It is 20 miles to Chester from 91 as I remember. I have tried taking the dirt road which passes over the Mtn. range the East side of the Ski resorts and can make it shorter. Unfortunately, often it is too icy to allow a vehicle to climb it. Ascutney, a comparable resort, is much easier to get too

I could care less how I get up the mountain so long as it is safe.

Unfortunately, you are in a rare minority. After using the high speed lifts, Magic's chairs can be very uncomfortable. Not only are they slow, they can be uncomfortable and awkward to load. It is almost impossible for the attendants to brush off the ice and snow as the padding is rough and ragged. You may like skiing with with a wet crotch, but many don't. It often collects crusty snow at the summit while running in the morning so they have to constantly try and brush it off. If there were a lot of traffic, this would not be such a problem. However, with only a handful of riders, the clean seats are rare indeed. These older chairs with footrests were built for leather boots which are shorter than the new plastic ones. A large sized boot can get jammed in them. Unloading can be a nightmare and at best slows the ride down even more. The angle for back support on many of these old chairs is horrible as well. If safety is your only concern, it is compromised by all these factors.

Plattekill, Bobcat, Magic, Mad River Glen and Saddleback have that old fashioned family feel to them that I really like.

I have no idea of what that actually is, but I almost never have seen families at Magic during the week. The lodge can be rather depressing, especially when the conditions suk. Mad River wouldn't qualify in my book as a family mtn., either. It is actually an expert's mountain, usually filled with good skiers, young adults, telemark locals, and their regular season ticket holders. They have a small intermediates area with an even smaller beginner's. The single chair certainly isn't conducive to families riding together, either.

Hopefully alot of the smaller places will stay in business because skiing right now at the larger resorts for a weekend is hardly affordable

I agree with you on that, but you can't survive this business unless you generate some kind of steady traffic. Supporting your small resort by running at a loss on your big-hearted and romantic appeal gets old fast.

 

[beswift]

I was just looking at the NELSAP website about the Timberside area on the other side of Magic Mtn.

I can't find this Timberside on the NELSAP website. I don't know what you mean by >>rustic<<, either. Perhaps the Moosilauke lodge or the Stowe lodge would be considered rustic, but I have never thought that the lodge at Magic merited that term.

 

[loafer89]

First off let me respond to the "family" feel by saying that I like resorts that are not owned by multi million dollar corporations that are more interested in getting the $65-$70 out of my wallet and could care less about why I am there or if I am having a good time. When I arrived at Magic, the girl at the ticket window "OFFERED" me a half day AM ticket without me asking for it, try to find another resort that will do that. The people in the front office were friendly with everyone that came into the lodge and I was given informative tips on where to ski.

Regarding the red double chair, the seats that I sat on where 100% perfectly clean and comfortable, yes the lift is slow, but it's better than walking up the hill!!!! As for the unloading ramp, my 4 year old son had NO problem getting down it despite it's steepness. The Magic carpet trail was groomed to perfection and was much better than the groomed runs at Okemo and my son had a great time.

I live on Long Island, so like I said traveling south on 30 was not a problem and is more senic than the interstate, as a big fan of Sugarloaf which is far from everwhere, I am used to uneasy access to ski areas. Magic was very easy to get to from Okemo and we plan to ski there much more when we are in Vermont.

If you are looking for the Timberside area on NELSAP go to the southern Vermont section and click on the Timber Ridge/Glebe Mountain Farm link and you will find all the information about this abandoned area that is on Magic Mtn.

These old fashioned ski areas can survive/thrive if people are willing to look past the deficiency's and concentrate on the skiing itself. Ski Plattekill is thriving on that old fashined no BS skiing theme, When I first started skiing there nearly 10 years ago, about 25% of the chairs on the triple had hazard tape on them on them due to the poor condition of the lift. Now they have rebuilt the lift, installed a double chair and offer some of the best skiing in the Catskills.

If I have taken your comments at heart a little too much I apologize, however I had a great time at Magic and I cant understand why people bitch and moan about this place at every ski website that I visit, if people don't want to ski there , stay away, it's as easy as that.

 

[beswift]

First off let me respond to the "family" feel by saying that I like resorts that are not owned by multi million dollar corporations that are more interested in getting the $65-$70 out of my wallet and could care less about why I am there or if I am having a good time. When I arrived at Magic, the girl at the ticket window "OFFERED" me a half day AM ticket without me asking for it, try to find another resort that will do that. The people in the front office were friendly with everyone that came into the lodge and I was given informative tips on where to ski.

Yes, the people are nice, but I actually have enjoyed the people at Killington, Sugarbush, and other areas just as well. It does depend on when you ski, however.

Regarding the red double chair, the seats that I sat on where 100% perfectly clean and comfortable, yes the lift is slow, but it's better than walking up the hill!!!!

Again, it prabably wasn't sleeting or snowing the day you were there. Of course other resorts aren't strangers to wet and icy seats. As my post stated, it was during the week that they don't get the skiers to keep the seats clear. By the way, I am not complaining so much as making it obvious why they aren't attracting crouds. You may not like the attitude of the general skiing public, but it exists.

Magic was very easy to get to from Okemo and we plan to ski there much more when we are in Vermont.

Again, I find the drive pictoresque as well, but I understand why it isn't on the beaten track of many skiers. I do hope that you return and enjoy it, too.

If you are looking for the Timberside area on NELSAP

Actually, I dug up an old trail map I have from when it was open and operating. I plan on scanning it and offering it for viewing some time this weekend.. Oh, by the way, if you like these kinds of out of the way ski areas, try Ragged Mtn. in N.H. There's one area that I didn't enjoy seeing modernized, but it might still be something you and your family would enjoy. I used to tele ski there often a decade ago. They widened the main trail at the top since then and put in a high speed lift. There's a terrific New England style trail which meanders through the woods to the left of the skier. They didn't touch that. Futhermore, they have a great lodge which is big and roomy.

 

[loafer89]

We both agree that Magic has decided ups and downs as far as infastructure is concerned, but for a resort that has come back from the dead, they are doing the best that they can with I guess very limited funds. This season has proven very difficult to maintain any sort of enjoyable skiing surface, and after being frustrated at paying $67 to ski on DOC at Okemo, Magic was much more fun. I am a bit spoiled in that each of my visits to Magic have been after a large dump of snow, so I suppose that helps sway my opinion of the place.

I too have had good experiences with staff at the larger resorts, Sugarloaf has an excellent ski school and kids program, which is why we drive 450+ miles to ski there every year. We have also had bad experiences at the larger resorts. When my son took both of his lessions at Hunter in December, he came away shy of ski school and male instructors. On his last visit the instructor pushed him down and "yelled" at him to get up without any assistance, my wife nearly beat the living #$%^ out of the instructor. At Magic we tried to get him a female instructor, but there were none available. They brought out a really nice fellow who tried to talk our son into taking a lession with him, which we found to be quite a nice effort on his part.

If Magic does complete the new begginer lift this year, that will be a big determinant factor in our skiing plans there next year, because the main mtn is just to long for my son at this point. I am having a hard time deciding where to ski with him close to home this weekend, as I really want to try to keep him away from really crowded places until he is a beter skier, and conditions will probably be quite icy.

 

[JimG.]

When my son took both of his lessions at Hunter in December, he came away shy of ski school and male instructors. On his last visit the instructor pushed him down and "yelled" at him to get up without any assistance, my wife nearly beat the living #$%^ out of the instructor.

She should have. As much as I love Hunter, this is an area they really need to improve. Stories like these are one of the main reasons I stopped teaching there. It's hard as a certified instructor to see what has happened to the staff there in the past 8-9 years.

BTW, my middle son Peter had a similar experience with a female instructor there. I gave up coaching kids 2 years ago to spend time coaching my 2 oldest sons because I didn't trust the level of teaching they would get otherwise.

I'd be interested to hear more details if you care to expand on this...send me a PM. BTW, are your initials K.S.?

 

[loafer89]

I was very suprised at the way that the lession quality at Hunter has degraded especially with the new learning center that they just built. My best friend/skiing buddy wants to go to Hunter this Sunday along with my family, but I know that my son will refuse to take a lession there. We are thinking of going to Belleayre instead. I really like Hunter, but this may keep me away for a while until my son can ski the main mtn with us.

Not to sound like an idiot, but how do I send you a PM, do I just click on the PM link? and yes my initials are K.S, do you know this from my posts on FTO???

 

[JimG.]

Not to sound like an idiot, but how do I send you a PM, do I just click on the PM link? and yes my initials are K.S, do you know this from my posts on FTO???

Click on the "JimG." to get to my profile, then click
"PM" and type away. And yes, I know you from FTO.

 

[beswift]

loafer89
This wasn't the first time Magic started up again after shutting down for more than a summer. They always seem to open up when the economy improves. I am glad you are finding things more acceptable there than elsewhere as they need the return customers. As to ski schools, I never took a lesson and know that it would have helped when I was learning how to ski pre-school. My parents never gave us much help as they didn't know much about skiing themselves. I hope your child appreciates it

 

[loafer89]

I will be sking quite alot with my son at the smaller resorts/areas because there are less crowds and the prices are more reasonable. I started my sking in 1983 with lessons from the start and I skied alot with my brother who was already a good skier. My parents put me in summer ski camp in Europe when I was 14, and by the time I was 16 I had skied every month of the year.

Even with alot of ski experience, I consider my skiing skills to be average and I enjoy the sport more for the snow/mountains contact than anthying else, so I am happy with any skiing just about anywhere.

 

[beswift]

It's all about having a good time, isn't it? Although I prefer wine, women and song, skiing has often done in a pinch.