What the heck is going on at Magic?

[skifasttakechances]

It is and more. There is no cash flow and no access to capital. And robbing Peter to pay Paul doesn't count. As they say in business "once you run out of cash they take you out of the game". Not as though TB'S heart is not in the right place but as intelligent as he is his head was not built to run a business and his execution is terrible. And as much as I was hoping it would succeed ... With all do respect it would be best if TB would rethink the offer that was and probably still is out there to purchase the mountain. The place is special and has so much potential. It is a shame to witness this failure. Yet still hoping for miracles.

 

[Sorcerer]

The success story. So much effort was put into fixing the flag poles, that the rest of the tasks were neglected. I think MMP is somewhat responsible :sad:

 

[deadheadskier]

Just saw they got a s'more station though. That counts for something!

 

[Savemeasammy]

This thread needs more ski-offs.


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[VTKilarney]

What's really scary is that the refuse to give an actual date for the red chair to be inspected. They will only say that it is going to be inspected "soon." And yet they insist that they are going to open in nine days.

I feel like I'm watching a train wreck as it happens.

But at least they have smores.

 

[MadMadWorld]

This thread needs more ski-offs.


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Ding ding ding

 

[yeggous]

The success story. So much effort was put into fixing the flag poles, that the rest of the tasks were neglected. I think MMP is somewhat responsible :sad:

This is my favorite capital improvement of the year for any mountain in New England. Bravo!


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[Magicsnowboard]

The skiing was good again today. Rain softened the ice up a bit.




Found a VIP seating area for my daughter in the lodge...



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[doublediamond]

Layers of incompetence that need to be thrown out by the scruffs of there
necks.

I've said this before way way up thread. It's layers on top of layers of incompetence going back to when the place reopened back in the 90s. It doesn't take a lot of brain power to run a ski area successfully. It doesn't take *that* much capital if you want to run it on a tight budget.

Here's the biggest thought that troubles me....

Since Magic doesn't have the most powerful snowmaking system, and they don't shoot to be T2B by Thanksgiving like a certain of their neighbors, why did Magic not jump on EfficiencyVermont's snowgun roundup?

That was a godsend. Substantially cheaper snowmaking gifted to ski areas. Why do you think every other mountain jumped on it so hard?

Remaining Ratniks, $10,000

I'm guessing they had them at $500 a pop, so 20 Ratnik Snow Giant II's. They could have gotten 25 10' half-off HKD SV10 Impulses (what Loon & Sunday River have been killing the field with over the last couple of years) on sleds for handing them in for scrap. The rebate for the regular SV10 (without the air valve) was 25% off.

If they were worried about being able to open at all in warm weather in the worst of possible years *cough* this one *cough*, why did they not jump on the 25% off offer for Baby Ratnik Snow Giant 2, or double, triple, or quad Baby Ratnik Snow Giant 2? (I have not yet seen a ski area with the triple or quad tower sleds, but there are pics on Ratnik's website). BSG2s use 40% less air than a modern SGII.

Why have they not considered HDK's 5-payment-a-year, 5-year, 25 gun lease to buy (~$107k over 5 years)? The decrease in air pays for itself in about 2 years.

Why do they rent diesel air vs. getting an electric compressor? Used ones have been quite cheap on ski area classified sites in the past several years.

Are their Ratnik ground guns even of the new c. 2008 nozzle configuration (simple: is the hole and ellipse [new] or a circle [old])? That right there saves 30-60% air dependent on WB. I'm guessing with so little investment that they have the old nozzles. I can't imagine that's a big investment -- the nozzle screws off/on.

Old vs. New nozzle flow curves

This is just snowmaking efficiency. All of these suggestions allow more snow to be made for cheaper. This is their #1 problem. They can't make money or get skiers with one way down open on MLK weekend. That's the pace we're on this year for.

We could go on and on about other mountain issues.

For example, Green/Sun Corner will never run. They've been selling the chairs off one by one. And even if there was a desire, at this point the lift is too far gone and of an archaic design that endangers riders. It's been down/half-built for 20 years. Yes, Betwixed was taken out summer 1995. Why not rip it down and sell it for scrap? There, some free snowguns, or funds for Black repairs, or whatever.

For reference, Crotched was closed for just 12 years and one double was gone completely and the 2nd was extensively rehabbed with a new drive terminal.

Why does PR go silent with not even a Facebook post all summer? Look to Tenney to see what can easily be done there.

Etc. Etc. Etc.

Many thanks to the marketing guy/gal coming here. It's great to hear feedback from the ski area. But these and many other issues make us all pull our hair out. I hope s/he sticks around and posts more.

It's a great mountain. All of us want it to succeed. But it's been a lot of utter incompetence for eons. And it drives us all crazy

 

[doublediamond]

Magicsnowboard, do they not have any of their fan guns set up yet? They had a pic on Facebook of them moving them around.

 

[doublediamond]

There is no cash flow and no access to capital. And robbing Peter to pay Paul doesn't count.

Then serious questions need to be asked. Last winter, they had no money to rent compressors until the last possible second. And they announced that they were flat out of cash in the spring, following one of the best winters in the East in a while. How could they possibly not break even last winter?!?

 

[mbedle]

How could they possibly not break even last winter??? Simple, large amount of season pass holders, skiing on the cheap threads, liftopia and significantly better skiing located in the vicinity.

 

[Tin]

Pitchforks at the torchlight parade?

 

[prsboogie]

How could they possibly not break even last winter??? Simple, large amount of season pass holders, skiing on the cheap threads, liftopia and significantly better skiing located in the vicinity.

Better in what way?

 

[mbedle]

Well, not necessarily better in some respects to terrain, but better in the overall quality and quantity of skiing offered. I put magic in the same class as MRG, they have their selling points to a select few people.

 

[Newpylong]

With slightly more capital they could appeal to more than a few people. They'll never be Okemo (thank god) but besides the expert terrain there is excellent intermediate terrain, it just need to be covered.

 

[Sorcerer]

Magicsnowboard, do they not have any of their fan guns set up yet? They had a pic on Facebook of them moving them around.

The fan guns are set up on Showoff and around the base. Temps are still to high to do anything- probably Sunday night

 

[steamboat1]

The fan guns are set up on Showoff and around the base. Temps are still to high to do anything- probably Sunday night

It's in the teens right now. What a jerk off.

 

[deadheadskier]

It's in the teens right now. What a jerk off.

Where are you getting your weather information?

It's 29 degrees in Londonderry currently

https://www.google.com/search?q=lon...droid-verizon&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

 

[Newpylong]

It's in the teens right now. What a jerk off.

On what planet? 30 degrees and 70% humidity. Snowmaking is not possible.