The NEW Magic Mountain

[MG Skier]

I read a social media feed about Red being down. Huge bummer, for those that can get there. (I can't!) They have so many positives going for them at Magic. Yes, the Black Chair which wasn't immediately in the business plan kind of fell in their lap, I'm glad they went for it and lets face it...you can't control a pandemic as far as when the contractors could come in and work and EVERYTHING takes forever times TWO right now. Black lift gets completed when it does and when it is safe! The Only Way!

I hope for Magic and those that can get there that Red gets some love and can spin soon. I'm thinking good thoughts from 3 hours away!

Hey, at least there is a Green chair and a nifty new T-Bar close by!

Cheers!

 

[ne_skier]

Who do you think will buy it?, why isn’t the black quad running?

Black has been plagued with both the troubles of running a small ski area as well as two crappy construction seasons. 2018 wasn't even a construction season at all, as permitting went into October, and much of 2020's season was consumed by Covid. There's still a while to come, and I honestly don't see it being done for an opening this winter. The loading and unloading ramps have yet to be built, chairs are still without safety bars (And that weird bunching-up thing still exists) and the lift would have to be inspected before opening to the public.

 

[machski]

I hate to say this, but installing a used lift without the OEM being the installer can cause fits. Some other examples would be when LBO moved the GMX at Sugarbush (Poma HSQ) but used Doppelmyer to move. That lift ran fitfully right into Win's tenure and IMHO only became solidly reliable about 2 or 3 years ago. Granted, the move and open was originally done on time. Snow bowl to become black required a lengthened line amongst other changes from what had been engineered for Snowbowl. Sure there are a few independent contractors out there, but if you go that route to save $$ up front, it occasionally doesn't pay off in the end. I feel terrible this saga has dragged on for Magic. I do wonder being in hindsight if the management would have chosen a different route.

 

[tnt1234]

He makes his money through slopeside lodging, condos, snowmaking, grooming, and fast lifts. Magic does not/should not have any of those things (to the degree that Fairbanks would want it). But at the same time, tough to make money without those things.

I honestly would like to see a co-op system like MRG. I'm not sure if Magic has the same allure of MRG to make that work.

I think Magic has the allure. But they don't have the latitude.

 

[Cobbold]

Red is the only current summit lift. Black is still being worked on. Green is the mid mountain lift that is operational. Its a skinners weekend.

'Serious part failure' doesn't sound

I hate to say this, but installing a used lift without the OEM being the installer can cause fits. Some other examples would be when LBO moved the GMX at Sugarbush (Poma HSQ) but used Doppelmyer to move. That lift ran fitfully right into Win's tenure and IMHO only became solidly reliable about 2 or 3 years ago. Granted, the move and open was originally done on time. Snow bowl to become black required a lengthened line amongst other changes from what had been engineered for Snowbowl. Sure there are a few independent contractors out there, but if you go that route to save $$ up front, it occasionally doesn't pay off in the end. I feel terrible this saga has dragged on for Magic. I do wonder being in hindsight if the management would have chosen a different route.

Bousquet is having issues getting their triple installed, I guess these things happen, any word on what the serious part failure is?

 

[cdskier]

Bousquet is having issues getting their triple installed, I guess these things happen, any word on what the serious part failure is?

Coupling failure on the main shaft.

In terms of getting Red Lift back in service, we are sparing no expense and wasting no time to try and get her repaired as quickly and safely as possible with the goal of a new coupling in place on the shaft by Saturday morning. But it will take significant logistics and we are pulling in Pfister Mountain Services to help us with the re-install. Travis has lined up the parts out of Buffalo NY, but some machine tooling is needed as well which we have lined up for tonight/early Friday morning there. Once that is complete, Matt will be picking everything up late morning there and driving back to install it all Friday evening (12 hour round trip for Matt!). If all goes well, then summit skiing is a go for the weekend. But it is certainly not a given, so we will keep you all posted.

 

[Newpylong]

Magic does not seem to have any magic, is this the beginning of the end?

Seriously?

The Mountain Manager drove all through the night to get the part and now he'll work probably for another two days without sleep with the rest of mountain ops to hopefully fix the lift. This was communicated to their customers, who undoubtedly appreciate this team's effort.

Also, Fairbanks never took over a ski area that for all intents and purposes was dead. They all were in decent shape, had a strong customer base and were well capitalized. He knows how to run a resort but his (outdated) viewpoint on Magic does not hold much water with me as someone who has operated a ski area that was also on the brink of death. The Magic team's effort are nothing short of herculean.

 

[jimmywilson69]

good luck Magic! Total bummer, but at least it was this weekend and not next weekend. Seems like the place is going far and above to build and expand their brand. All while on a much smaller budget with much larger capital improvements than many mountains both big and small are taking on. This is just a blip on the radar for this place.

I will visit someday I promise!

 

[ne_skier]

Not particularly the most joyous thing to happen on Red's 50th season, but hey, shit happens
Hopefully they can get it up and running for the weekend, they're clearly wasting no time getting the part. Definitely a great day to be a skinner.

Also, Fairbanks never took over a ski area that for all intents and purposes was dead. They all were in decent shape, had a strong customer base and were well capitalized. He knows how to run a resort but his (outdated) viewpoint on Magic does not hold much water with me as someone who has operated a ski area that was also on the brink of death. The Magic team's effort are nothing short of herculean.

The fact that they even took on Magic was pretty incredible. Just 4 years ago, Magic was struggling to make snow in December, had virtually no snowmaking to begin with, only one operable lift, and sat in the shadow of Bromley and Stratton. There isn't a doubt in my mind that Magic would have shut down again in 2016 had it not been for the purchase.

Concerns Mounting at Magic Mountain - NewEnglandSkiIndustry.com

 

[MG Skier]

I agree, great hustle to find a new part, prep it and try to install it to salvage the weekend. Best wishes on making that happen Magic!

 

[rocks860]

Aw man, I was planning on going up next Thursday, hopefully red is up and running by then

 

[skithetrees]

Skiing was fantastic today. Red being down forced me to explore some great options off green that I wouldn’t have otherwise tried.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

Skiing was fantastic today. Red being down forced me to explore some great options off green that I wouldn’t have otherwise tried.

white kitten <3

 

[Smellytele]

Skiing was fantastic today. Red being down forced me to explore some great options off green that I wouldn’t have otherwise tried.

White tiger, Warlock and greenline are all fun

 

[skithetrees]

White tiger, Warlock and greenline are all fun

Absolutely!

 

[Smellytele]

Absolutely!

One issue is that at the unload the chair is too low on the green chair. Made for 6 year olds

 

[skithetrees]

One issue is that at the unload the chair is too low on the green chair. Made for 6 year olds

Sure is! Mine was skiing with me, so it worked out. Haha. White kitten to white out was run of the day for him.

 

[ne_skier]

One issue is that at the unload the chair is too low on the green chair. Made for 6 year olds

Knee workout in and of itself

 

[JoeB-Z]

All fixed. On Facebook too. https://magicmtn.com/alpine-update/...DcDIIVYWtkToyJ58FNr1uWaHtJYsMR9PkeHzydI-tzSUw

 

[zoomzoom]

am familiar with output shaft couplings used on Heron lifts. was it the lower gear coupling that failed?

the long driveshaft has a gear coupling on the bottom end and alignment is critical for good performance. shimming the gearbox to accomplish this is fiddly to say the least, as other components are on gearbox input side that need correct alignment too. annual inspections are recommended to check for proper tooth alignment/excessive wear. am hoping magic bought two of these, one for spare. magic's motto could be: "never give in, never give up, our customers deserve no less".

i believe that Poma and Dopplemayr tend to shy away from relocation projects, unless strict quality control measures are undertaken on all components. i.e. strip and inspect gearbox and rollback devices, motors rewound, full service on tensioning systems etc. iirc, 100% NDT on grips and chairs is required, along with testing or replacing the grip springpacks. towers of course will have to be extended or shortened as the terrain dictates, QC is easier to monitor at the factory.