ALPINE UPDATE
A little snow this week...
Mother nature is starting to hint at wintry weather ahead as we've picked up a couple inches of snow this week. Nothing big yet but hopefully a precursor to a super white winter by the time ski season gets into full swing during the Christmas-New Year's holiday.
We had hoped to begin making snow starting last week, but repairs to multiple key air and water snowmaking pipes crushed during the tower concrete installation with heavy machinery has hampered our efforts. In addition, considerable sediment from these broken pipes had entered the system which has caused further delays this week along with a few blown pipes with system start-up. We are currently clearing the line today with forced air from our compressors and this should allow water to flow to guns this Friday night.
Now, of course, we will be looking for those windows of cold weather in the low 20s to do as much snowmaking as our system allows to get us open for skiing. The weather over the next week looks a lot less cold than the prior two weeks--just a few nights seems cold enough. With that in mind, our opening day for skiing most likely will be the 1st weekend in December rather than November 30th as originally planned. But we will certainly do our best to make it happen earlier if at all possible. Matt, Travis, Don, Brownie, Jeremy and crew have been working tirelessly every day to get the system repaired and going..
At the same time, we are also having to deal with a Quad lift sub-contractor for concrete that has not finished the last of their work at the top terminal despite numerous opportunities to do so over the past 3 weeks. That still means heavy equipment needs to access the top of the mountain via the work road which cuts across the hill for this final pour scheduled Friday morning. We certainly hope they show up as promised to finally finish their work so we can finally get on with ours.
As always, we take these obstacles and address them head on and with determination. And, we want to keep you all posted so you can make your plans. With the issues encountered by the new lift installation, it has certainly stretched the patience and limits of our relatively small work force. I can't thank them enough for their dedication and perseverance. The extra time and money will definitely pay off over the long-term for our ski area, but it's certainly not without some short-term pain. And, we thank you all for your faith and trust in Magic as we work through this project to "make better Magic".
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In addition to the new lift project and snowmaking, Magic has been spending much time, effort and tens of thousands of dollars on state work-safe regulatory compliance. As one might expect with a ski area that has much legacy infrastructure, it's quite an undertaking. All our employees have taken the job seriously with a keen eye on safety upgrades which will have long-lasting benefits. The process continues under the leadership of Andy Belcher, head of Ski Patrol and Safety Compliance and we thank him for his Herculean efforts.
Ski Patrol has also begun a fundraiser which will continue through December 3rd: For every $1 given to National Ski Patrol, 50 cents will go back to our local Magic Ski Patrol. These these funds will be used for equipment for the training of our patrol members in order to improve their readiness to take care of our fellow customers. Should you care to donate, it is being done through a facebook donation page set up by our assistant patrol director, Ted Johnson here
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We had a great few days in Boston for the ski show and appreciated the opportunity to meet so many of you at our booth. We are excited about the upcoming ski season and we plan on opening at least the Black Line Tavern on Friday and Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend. There will be an Ullfest party to insure copious amounts of snow this season starting on Friday afternoon, Nov. 29th (4pm) and then The Equalites play the Black Line Tavern at 7pm. DJ Joe Bell will be hitting the BLT stage on Saturday Nov 30th at 7pm as well, with the Black Line Tavern open for lunch at 11am and dinner from 5-9pm each day.
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Great deals can still be had for season passes, Freedom 4-Packs (while they are still on sale until 11/30) and Throwback Cards (still save $10).
Own some Magic here
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Our partnership with the new Indy Pass has been gaining traction with less frequent skiers and riders as an independent, affordable option to the more expensive mega-resort Epic & Ikon passes. The Indy Pass is having its pre-season sale price of $199 end on December 1 so now's a good time to check out their 44 ski area (with two days at each) multi-resort pass alternative!
Speaking of independents, there's now one less indie out there in Vermont as Sugarbush recently announced their planned purchase by Alterra. Win Smith and his team have done a tremendous job with Sugarbush over the years as a profitable, premier resort, but he felt that with all the increased competition from the corporate passes, expensive regulatory and cost-of-business environments here in Vermont, that a purchase by Alterra would better secure their future. We certainly understand how difficult it is, and we wish Sugarbush continued success, but, we are as determined as ever to "carve our own trail" as a soulful, throwback, indie ski area here in the great state of Vermont!
We will keep you posted on developments as we start-up snowmaking during any cold weather windows, and in the meantime, think cold and snow...
- Geoff
Magic Mountain. Where skiing still has its soul.
P.S. 2019/20 Day Lift Tickets on SALE at bargain basement prices with limited quantities at these prices just for pre-season.
FALL TICKET SALE
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Vermont's most affordable and fun Youth Seasonal Programs like Devo, Racing & Freeride are on sale here.
FUN UPCOMING EVENTS
- November 29 Ullrfest Party 4p and The Equalites live on EQX Stage 7p
- November 30 DJ Joe Bell 7p
- December 7th Opening Day Skiing
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The New Indy Pass now has 2 days at each of 44 independent ski areas for just $199 until November 30th.
Check it out here:
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YOUR OWN PRIVATE SKI AREA: Takeover Magic and make it your own for a company outing, private party, charitable event, or branded marketing event! It's not as expensive as you might think and we can be as creative as you want. Any non-holiday Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday during the winter, magic can be yours for the day. Contact Kerry Mara at Magic kmara@magicmtn.com or info@magicmtn.com--dates are already being booked for this winter, so hurry!
"You just need to go at that shit wide open, hang on, and own it." —Camp
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