The NEW Magic Mountain

[JoeB-Z]

And where is better? I just skied four runs for conditioning. In fact it was good for an edging clinic!

I think they were running the new electric compressor when they started making snow as the day went on. And people were working on the Magic Carpet.

It was terrible to see the damage but I can't think driving North tomorrow will help.

 

[slatham]

January 13th and we're complaining about it being "gone" at Magic. Never in recent history has there been anything to be "gone" at Magic on this date. Yeah it f'ing sucks, but we've had several epic years over the past 6 or so years and NONE of the them started before Feb 1! I want to say #wintersnotover but the reality is #winterhasntstartedyet! Keep the faith.......

That said, I bet it's up and down and challenging for the next couple of weeks before things swing back big time once into Feb.

THINK SNOW!

 

[JoeB-Z]

Don't whine, ski

The guns were fired up ASAP. Brownie will be crawling tonight. It will be better than today.

January 13th and we're complaining about it being "gone" at Magic. Never in recent history has there been anything to be "gone" at Magic on this date. Yeah it f'ing sucks, but we've had several epic years over the past 6 or so years and NONE of the them started before Feb 1! I want to say #wintersnotover but the reality is #winterhasntstartedyet! Keep the faith.......

That said, I bet it's up and down and challenging for the next couple of weeks before things swing back big time once into Feb.

THINK SNOW!

 

[urungus]

The trail report lists Upper Wizard as open, but Lower Wizard (and all other west side trails) closed. How are you supposed to return to the lodge when you get the the end of Upper Wizard?

 

[JoeB-Z]

The trail report lists Upper Wizard as open, but Lower Wizard (and all other west

That was wrong. One way down on Saturday. Wand was shit off and the race team was using Hokus Pokus with snowmobiles.

Plus the chute on Upper Wizard could not have survived as it sort of sucked last week with some pronounced rocks.

 

[bdfreetuna]

Wanted to make it there Thursday but too much work on my plate. It's early season though and it was a short thaw luckily.

 

[tnt1234]

So, what kind of shape is the rest of the mountain in? Does 6-8" from this mid-week storm open up some good stuff?

 

[Do Work]

So, what kind of shape is the rest of the mountain in? Does 6-8" from this mid-week storm open up some good stuff?

Of course. There is frozen base down most places righ tnow, and while it's there it's not skiable. It will however, help to open some more low angle terrain like Sleeve, lower carpet, vertigo etc. Only time will tell but I think we've got a decent shot at opening some things up depending on what actually happens.

 

[SIKSKIER]

Nice to see this.Go Magic!

THE LATEST
The Dawn of a New Snowmaking Era at Magic!
Air and water are key to making snow (and cold weather).
We just upped our game big-time with air. We've now replaced two 1600 CFM diesel compressors with two 2425 CFM electric compressors. And, for the 1st-time ever, we were making snow on Carumba and Lower Red last night on 100% electric-powered air!
Magic's snowmaking system now has dramatically upped its available air pressure to shoot water out of snowguns to make snow. That means more guns on at any given time and quicker coverage of skiable terrain. And, with the new Ingersoll Rand compressors, it's also "air-cooled" out of the system so it's quicker to turn water into snow versus the warmer air coming out of the diesel-powered units. And, because we're running electric, we're lowering our carbon footprint and removing fossil fuels from the snowmaking process (while reducing our operating costs).
While this project was a very large capital outlay involving partnerships with Green Mountain Power and Efficiency Vermont, the payback for Magic and our skiers will be huge in terms of a more efficient, more powerful and more relaible snowmaking system. It truly represents a major step forward for our size mountain, and we believe makes for a more sustainable ski area into the future.
Next summer, we tackle the water supply--doubling the volume of the pond.
The ski season this year has seen solid progress on our 5-year plan, but we almost can't wait until all the improvements in our snowmaking system will be ready-to-go from Day 1 next season. In the meantime, our neighbors will enjoy quieter compressors and cleaner air, and all our skiers will soon get to see the West Side snowmaking begin with these new compressors after this mini warm-up over the next few days clears out!
Thanks to the leadership of Matt Cote, who spearheaded this project, Magic is making a giant-size leap for a small area.
And, here's a link to another article on the type of place Magic is now being recognized for and the unique "old school" experience we are seeking to sustain and build. But to do that, sometimes you need to invest in "new school" technologies. Snowmaking is one of those critical investments. The new Sunkids magic-carpet style lift for our new Nelson Family beginner area is another. And, that debuts on Saturday!
Think Man-made Snow!

 

[IceEidolon]

3,200 CFM is worth (depending on nozzle setup) about 32 new HKD Impulses (480 GPM at startup) or five Ratnik Baby SG2 guns flowing around 100 GPM.
4825 CFM gives nearly 50 HKD Impulses at 735 gpm on startup, or seven Ratniks plus a bit extra air flowing 140 GPM.

Magic might have their Impulses set up to flow less air than the ones where I work, so the numbers might be even better. Regardless, between the HKDs and the Halo/Diablo and Areco fans, Magic should be close to maximum water flow at startup on certain routes (IIRC around 1000 GPM). And *that* means the pond can turn into base depth more quickly, and at much warmer temperatures, than ever before. This air change almost doubles their output at 25 degrees wetbulb.

Aftercooled air is also a big deal. When our air coolers go down, our guns go from dry snow to slop.

And that doesn't even touch on the fringe benefits, like faster startup adding extra snowmaking minutes, less babysitting means more time for the ops guys on the hill, if there's a Variable Frequency Drive then startup goes much smoother and in cold weather when water is maxed out the compressor can be throttled back automatically, saving power without spiking or dropping pressure or dumping air...

Sent from my R1 HD using Tapatalk

 

[JoeB-Z]

How the hell is DoWork and his crew changing the tires on this thing as it rolls down the road?

Amazing. Meltdown then push it right back up the mountain.

Nice to see this.Go Magic!

THE LATEST
The Dawn of a New Snowmaking Era at Magic!
Air and water are key to making snow (and cold weather).
We just upped our game big-time with air. We've now replaced two 1600 CFM diesel compressors with two 2425 CFM electric compressors. And, for the 1st-time ever, we were making snow on Carumba and Lower Red last night on 100% electric-powered air!
Magic's snowmaking system now has dramatically upped its available air pressure to shoot water out of snowguns to make snow. That means more guns on at any given time and quicker coverage of skiable terrain. And, with the new Ingersoll Rand compressors, it's also "air-cooled" out of the system so it's quicker to turn water into snow versus the warmer air coming out of the diesel-powered units. And, because we're running electric, we're lowering our carbon footprint and removing fossil fuels from the snowmaking process (while reducing our operating costs).
While this project was a very large capital outlay involving partnerships with Green Mountain Power and Efficiency Vermont, the payback for Magic and our skiers will be huge in terms of a more efficient, more powerful and more relaible snowmaking system. It truly represents a major step forward for our size mountain, and we believe makes for a more sustainable ski area into the future.
Next summer, we tackle the water supply--doubling the volume of the pond.
The ski season this year has seen solid progress on our 5-year plan, but we almost can't wait until all the improvements in our snowmaking system will be ready-to-go from Day 1 next season. In the meantime, our neighbors will enjoy quieter compressors and cleaner air, and all our skiers will soon get to see the West Side snowmaking begin with these new compressors after this mini warm-up over the next few days clears out!
Thanks to the leadership of Matt Cote, who spearheaded this project, Magic is making a giant-size leap for a small area.
And, here's a link to another article on the type of place Magic is now being recognized for and the unique "old school" experience we are seeking to sustain and build. But to do that, sometimes you need to invest in "new school" technologies. Snowmaking is one of those critical investments. The new Sunkids magic-carpet style lift for our new Nelson Family beginner area is another. And, that debuts on Saturday!
Think Man-made Snow!

 

[slatham]

3,200 CFM is worth (depending on nozzle setup) about 32 new HKD Impulses (480 GPM at startup) or five Ratnik Baby SG2 guns flowing around 100 GPM.
4825 CFM gives nearly 50 HKD Impulses at 735 gpm on startup, or seven Ratniks plus a bit extra air flowing 140 GPM.

Magic might have their Impulses set up to flow less air than the ones where I work, so the numbers might be even better. Regardless, between the HKDs and the Halo/Diablo and Areco fans, Magic should be close to maximum water flow at startup on certain routes (IIRC around 1000 GPM). And *that* means the pond can turn into base depth more quickly, and at much warmer temperatures, than ever before. This air change almost doubles their output at 25 degrees wetbulb.

Aftercooled air is also a big deal. When our air coolers go down, our guns go from dry snow to slop.

And that doesn't even touch on the fringe benefits, like faster startup adding extra snowmaking minutes, less babysitting means more time for the ops guys on the hill, if there's a Variable Frequency Drive then startup goes much smoother and in cold weather when water is maxed out the compressor can be throttled back automatically, saving power without spiking or dropping pressure or dumping air...

Sent from my R1 HD using Tapatalk

Not quite there yet on the GPM. They need the pond done (this summer) and increased GPM to max out those compressors. I have to assume they plan more GPM flow, otherwise why all the CFM.

But just an amazing parade of upgrades over the past 14 months. Yes, it's been less than 14 months since the deal closed!

 

[NYDB]

Magic lift lines 10am

Sent from my SM-G950U using AlpineZone mobile app

 

[MEtoVTSkier]

Looks like it was a GREAT day there!

 

[JoeB-Z]

Looks like it was a GREAT day there!

It was a really a nice day. Limited terrain of course but some great surfaces and weather. The place is really humming with lots of first time Magic skiers. Met a guy from Denmark on rentals who read the WS Journal article and had a weekend to kill on a business trip. Also a fellow from DC whose wife was a newby enjoying the inauguration of the magic carpet lift. Not only was the carpet getting good use, but the terrain park had a stream of fans too.

 

[Magicsnowboard]

Carpet plus little park = excellent additions.

Pretty friendly staff as well...

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[slatham]

Magic putting everything in place. Time for the snow gods to be gracious and deliver a February to remember.

 

[urungus]

The carpet is a great addition ... I remember hating rope tows as a kid (what they had on most bunny slopes back then), shredding endless sets of gloves, thinking my arms were going to get wrenched out of their sockets, falling down and causing massive pileups...

 

[Magicsnowboard]

You didn't used to see many 2ft shredders, now they hanging out in packs! Love the carpet.

Rope tow park was also getting heavily use this past weekend. Cool video from Magic https://www.facebook.com/skimagicvt/videos/10154988781867038/

Locally people seem stoked. Mrs MSB and I went to Honeypie for dinner and the staff was telling all the customers to go to Magic.




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[Vaughn]

It's interesting to see how Magic has apparently re-opened without too many snags but Tenney is still pending. There was of course the lawsuit with that grifter at Tenney which didn't help. Did the new owners of Magic just have a ton more cash when they bought?