# Magic Mountain, VT: 01/18/2010



## riverc0il (Jan 18, 2010)

Met up with billski in the morning for a Magic powder day. Barely cleared my powder day designation at half a foot. Regardless, the skiing was sensational. All trails were open and all trails had ample base including steeper stuff like Magician, Red Line, Goniff, etc. The base under the new snow was bomber though if you poked around with a pole (a bent one, oops :lol: ) you could feel a few crusties underneath. 

After skiing two runs with billski, we St. Bear noticed us at the top of the Red Chair and we skied a few runs. I bid billski and St. Bear farewell after a while though so I could get some macho aggressiveness outta my system full steam ahead style. Today was the first day of the season in which I felt like I finally had my A game working.

By noon time, the sun had come out in full force and things were getting warm but the snow held out and did not get mushy at all. The snow got packed down really well across the mountain and with exception of the steep part of Red Line and in some woods sections, the snow is in A+ condition right now. Hard to believe it is only January 18th! Magic is skiing better now than I have seen it in mid-February and March. If you have been thinking about Magic, there is no time like now to get there!

A few pictures, all taken pretty late in the day:

*"Artsy" Shot of Goniff from Green Line*






*Green Line*





*Black Line*





*Full Write Up* with more pics.

What a pleasure to finally meet billski! I knew we would make it happen this season, thanks for sharing some turns and I hope the rest of your day went well. St. Bear... unexpected surprise bumping into you. Thanks for flagging us down. Nice to meet you and share some turns.


----------



## powbmps (Jan 18, 2010)

Conditions look awesome.  Hopefully there will be lots more for Feb. 13!


----------



## St. Bear (Jan 18, 2010)

Thanks, Steve.  It was a blast chasing you down the mountain a few times.  It was a great day, definitely in my top 3 since I started skiing again a few seasons ago.


----------



## crank (Jan 18, 2010)

I was there yesterday and it was good then.  Looks like it got a lot better with an extra 6".  Gonoff had the best snow and the best coverage of anything I skied.


----------



## BackLoafRiver (Jan 18, 2010)

Loved the full write up!  Thanks for posting. Glad you had such a great day.


----------



## awf170 (Jan 18, 2010)

Looks nice.  Rog and I bailed last second in fear of mix precip.  Luckily it looks like it all missed.  I really need to get there soon.  Maybe later this week.


----------



## bvibert (Jan 18, 2010)

Dammit, I knew I should have blown off work today to ski Magic. :smash:

Looks awesome, thanks for the report!


----------



## roark (Jan 18, 2010)

bvibert said:


> Dammit, I knew I should have blown off work today to ski Magic. :smash:
> 
> Looks awesome, thanks for the report!



^^^ this. Looks like a good time was had. I won't miss the next Magic powder day.


----------



## polski (Jan 18, 2010)

awf170 said:


> Looks nice.  Rog and I bailed last second in fear of mix precip.


Same here. For a few reasons unrelated to skiing it wound up not being a bad call regardless of the weather. From a skiing perspective it looks pretty damn stupid though.


----------



## riverc0il (Jan 19, 2010)

awf170 said:


> Looks nice.  Rog and I bailed last second in fear of mix precip.  Luckily it looks like it all missed.  I really need to get there soon.  Maybe later this week.


I saw Rog's post on T4T about the bail due to fears of mixed precip. It was definitely all snow and not even wet snow. You guys do Mount Washington or the kitty? Definitely give Magic a rip when you can, I am sure you'd enjoy the mountain. If you can time your visit after another storm, that would be ideally though coverage is plenty fine right now.


----------



## billski (Jan 19, 2010)

Great day with Rivercoil and St. Bear.  It was a pleasure to ski with you guys, especially after the years of banter on the forum.   Rivercoil is a damn fine skier.  We watched him after we split take on Red Line - he was smooth, cool and had great form.   St. Bear skis damn fine too for someone only back on the slopes for 3 years after an extended sabbatical.

The trails and snow was simply great.  It was all snow, the morning runs really were somehting before everything got chopped up, boot deep in places, kicking it up to my knees as I cruised through it.  All the powder pigs got first tracks, following later in the morning with quite a collection of families with young kids.  I was really, really happy to see so many people at the mountain.  Everyone was working, including the owner selling tickets and Matt even spent time as a liftie!

The trails stayed great all day.  We did one woods run, the woods we did (St. Bear help me here!) were solid lots of snow to kick up, but definitely were busy before us.  I started at the opening bell and closed up at 4.  By about 2pm, St. Bear had departed and I spent the remainder of my runs gomering around.  The blue trails were in great shape even at days end.  By the last run, my legs were rubber, and the mountain was nearly deserted, but I needed to be outside.  They were even closing up trails, so I took an uber-easy last run down some blues and into a green.  Most of the blues and greens had one groomer pass up the middle, with lots of powder choices all around.  Most fun.

I stayed the night before at the Inn at the Mountain.  I think I snagged the last room, it was a "family suite", with two doubles and a separate room with a bunk bed setup.  Would be perfect for a family three, four or five that wants a little privacy between members, reasonably priced..  It was clean, and pretty much had everything a mainstream business class hotel would have in the room.   The place has wired internet, a modern room security system with cards, a nice bar and lounge/game area where I saw a lot of kids,and it's right below the main Magic parking area.    My only beef (and its a small one) is the stairway to the rooms on the 2nd floor was quite steep and narrow.  Interesting for someone who is packing a lot of heavy ski gear.  This place could definitely help take Magic to the next level.  Check it out.  Lots of CT and NJ plates, only a smattering of NY plates.

Adjacent to the hotel is what looks like an another lodging facility, with a small sign "Stratton Mountain" Employee Housing.  Two white buses showed up at 7AM, which is what made me notice.
For MLK, I am certainly glad I picked Magic over the bigger boys.

After a very tiring day, I travel north to Belmont VT to visit with a friend.  We talked about the critter we saw from the lift, a long, very thin foot long, about 3" fat all white beast with small black tip of his tail scurry across the snow.  I was informed that it was most likely a weasel, whose fur changed colors with the season.

The drive home was much easier than the drive to the mountain, where I encountered a every possible weather condition.  As I got off 91 and headed towards Magic, the steady snow became lighter and smaller flakes, indicating a much lower moisture content as we moved from 500' to 1400' elevation (see, I knew GPS's were good for something!).

Anyways, a great day, great runs, great company.  With weather in new england as fleeting as it was, you gotta grab your chances.  For those who take pause when it's raining at home, don't forget the "mountain magic" which happens.  Thanks for the great day  gentlemen.


----------



## St. Bear (Jan 19, 2010)

Thanks for the kind words, Bill.



billski said:


> We did one woods run, the woods we did (St. Bear help me here!) were solid lots of snow to kick up, but definitely were busy before us.




We skied both Twilight Zone and the Hallows.  Twilight Zone is on the map as a glade, but is really just a diamond trail with a few trees interspersed near the end.  The Hallows is what Bill is referring too, and was a lot of fun.


----------



## rocojerry (Jan 19, 2010)

St. Bear said:


> Thanks for the kind words, Bill.
> 
> We skied both Twilight Zone and the Hallows.  Twilight Zone is on the map as a glade, but is really just a diamond trail with a few trees interspersed near the end.  The Hallows is what Bill is referring too, and was a lot of fun.



Awesome day there yesterday.  Made 3rd tracks down Twilight Zone as my first run of the day, untouched turns over decent bumps underneath.  Amazing.  Lower part of that run I was over to ski'rs left of bottom of red line, got 1st tracks and then followed the actual groomer to the lift, fresh cordorouy served up for my carving pleasure.

Next run down hit some woods above the Hallows, I think they called it Narnia..  awesome.
Hallows had some traffic before me by 2nd run, but it was still very nice in there...  More to come with a few pictures hopefully!

Black Magic, top of black-line -- biggest cliffs of the year!  Nice work riverc0il


----------



## bvibert (Jan 19, 2010)

I just read your full report Steve, nice work!  Good pics too, Green line looked pretty damn nice.  I'm happy to hear that they had a lift line of sorts too. :beer:


----------



## billski (Jan 19, 2010)

bvibert said:


> I I'm happy to hear that they had a lift line of sorts too. :beer:


 
Yeah, they even had to have ropes up.  2 lines, maybe three skier pairs n each side.  Worst liftline was probably 5 minutes.  

Magic is like MRG.  I don't mind the mandatory break and slow chairlift; because I need the rest!


----------



## bvibert (Jan 19, 2010)

billski said:


> Magic is like MRG.  I don't mind the mandatory break and slow chairlift; because I need the rest!



Agreed!  I love the red chair and the single!


----------



## ts01 (Jan 19, 2010)

Nice report, and great writeup on Steve's blog as well!  

I was at Magic with my kids and friends yesterday and "I wish I had a camera" was the constant refrain -- one of the top ski days ever.  So it's great to find someone who did, and who posted the proof.

We saw that white critter in the woods as well, in the trees on the right hand side of the red line lift down low, just before it crosses a cat track and starts up the steep portion.  Weasel or whatever it was, it was beautiful and another magical moment.


----------



## jrmagic (Jan 19, 2010)

You guys defintiely picked an awesome day to show up. I was out all day so I'm sure we probably crossed apths at some point. too bad I didn't know.  The snow was excellent on Sunday as well and they had 4 lift lines setup (Saturday too).  As for yesterday it was just plain stupid skiing with lots of smiling faces everywhere I went.  As was already mentioned the mountain is skiing as good if not better now than it does in Feb/March. There is a nice healthy base in the woods and the trials that should be able to weather some tough stuff if Mother Nature decides to throw us some curve balls.

I didnt see the critter topday but ahve seen them in the past. anyone know what it is??


----------



## billski (Jan 19, 2010)

jrmagic said:


> You guys defintiely picked an awesome day to show up. I was out all day so I'm sure we probably crossed apths at some point. too bad I didn't know..



Just get in the habit of checking *Trips and Events Forum
I tend not to post until the night before just 'cause I don't decide till then.  Don't have to ski with anybody (especially on a powder day!), just stop by and say "hello"

Shoot a PM for positive-ID details.

Would love to meet more of the gang.  
*


----------



## jrmagic (Jan 19, 2010)

thanks. I'll ahve to check that out. I'm there pretty much every weekend and all of February break.


----------



## billski (Jan 19, 2010)

Red line was really, really chopped up by day's end.  I mean, not just grass, but dirt was being kicked out in many places.  River hit it at just the right time; he wouldn't have recognized it later.


----------



## rocojerry (Jan 19, 2010)

billski said:


> Red line was really, really chopped up by day's end.  I mean, not just grass, but dirt was being kicked out in many places.  River hit it at just the right time; he wouldn't have recognized it later.



I hit redline as my second to last run around 1pm, looked a lot better from the trail than it did from the chair


----------



## bvibert (Jan 19, 2010)

billski said:


> Red line was really, really chopped up by day's end.  I mean, not just grass, but dirt was being kicked out in many places.  River hit it at just the right time; he wouldn't have recognized it later.





rocojerry said:


> I hit redline as my second to last run around 1pm, looked a lot better from the trail than it did from the chair



Dirt and grass are often surprisingly edge-able...


----------



## jrmagic (Jan 19, 2010)

bvibert said:


> Dirt and grass are often surprisingly edge-able...




Very true LMAO:lol:   Late in the afternoon I heard a couple of guys grind their way down red line  and it was hurting my ears. I'd hate to see those edges and bases after that run.


----------



## billski (Jan 19, 2010)

bvibert said:


> Dirt and grass are often surprisingly edge-able...



Don't recall if it had changed much, my observations were from about 4pm.

I'd rather use my garden and farm tools to do landscaping thanks


----------



## riverc0il (Jan 19, 2010)

billski said:


> Red line was really, really chopped up by day's end.  I mean, not just grass, but dirt was being kicked out in many places.  River hit it at just the right time; he wouldn't have recognized it later.


Yea, that is why I hit it when I did... I saw the deterioration and I didn't want to miss it as it is a great trail. Love the audience factor. Deterioration was from all the damned bump skiers that kept skiing the troughs instead of topping the bumps when conditions got bad. Grass in the troughs means ski the tops!!!

:smash:

:lol: ;-)


----------



## billski (Jan 19, 2010)

riverc0il said:


> Yea, that is why I hit it when I did... I saw the deterioration and I didn't want to miss it as it is a great trail. Love the audience factor. Deterioration was from all the damned bump skiers that kept skiing the troughs instead of topping the bumps when conditions got bad. Grass in the troughs means ski the tops!!!
> 
> :smash:
> 
> :lol: ;-)


 
You probably didn't realize it but I was hooting as you made your way down!  Looked like you were carving butter.  St. Bear said, "Ahh, he'll never hear you, he's in the zone!"


----------



## riverc0il (Jan 19, 2010)

billski said:


> You probably didn't realize it but I was hooting as you made your way down!  Looked like you were carving butter.  St. Bear said, "Ahh, he'll never hear you, he's in the zone!"


You notice interesting things when you are in the zone.... I saw you guys on the lift long before you started yelling.


----------



## rocojerry (Jan 21, 2010)

First chair   before the groomer that I mentioned above came down the hill....






Getting some air on Black Line!


----------



## billski (Jan 21, 2010)

*more! More! MORE!*



rocojerry said:


> First chair   before the groomer that I mentioned above came down the hill....
> 
> 
> Getting some air on Black Line!



That was a great day.  Got any more pics?  Good memories, love the pics, even though I was there.  :razz:


----------



## Newpylong (Jul 6, 2010)

Bump for a quick question. What's the story on the Phoenix / Green line chair?


----------



## riverc0il (Jul 6, 2010)

Bumped for a question, not for stoke?!!!? 

A great bump for the hottest day of the year. That was a great day.


----------



## jrmagic (Jul 7, 2010)

That was an awesome day


As for the lift question... Since most of the work has already been done it is on the list of capital improvements to complete once enough shares have been sold to use the capital.


----------



## Newpylong (Jul 7, 2010)

jrmagic said:


> That was an awesome day
> 
> 
> As for the lift question... Since most of the work has already been done it is on the list of capital improvements to complete once enough shares have been sold to use the capital.



YES and the stoke!

thanks guys,


----------



## threecy (Jul 11, 2010)

Newpylong said:


> Bump for a quick question. What's the story on the Phoenix / Green line chair?



I've never quite understood that lift.

It follows almost the indentical line as the Poma triple which was removed and installed at Berkshire East.

They started installation of the old Borvig double at a time in which they were struggling to get their summit lifts going.

I believe there have been two or three separate attempts at getting the lift finished over the past 7 or so years.  From what I see and have heard, it will take some work to finish it, as it wasn't well done.  As an example, at least one of the towers is crooked.


----------



## orangegondola (Jul 12, 2010)

That is correct.  Previous management tried to get the lift in on a few occasions when the focus should have been on the summit chairs.  

As mentioned above, plans for the Green lift have been put on hold. Current management has completely overhauled the Red chair and is about to make necessary repairs on the Black.  

Once the partnership kicks in it will be voted upon to see what happens with this lift. 

1) Finished for intermediate and Race trail access
2) Scrapped and parted out for $
3) Shift focus to instal a beginner lift to the right of the black chair.

Cusrious to hear everyone's opinion regarding the above.


----------



## RustyGroomer (Jul 12, 2010)

Newpylong said:


> Bump for a quick question. What's the story on the Phoenix / Green line chair?



Bump for an answer.  The Phoenix should never be completed.  Sorry to say it was yet another mistake by previous management.  It sucks to have the lift partially installed but quite frankly it should be sold as scrap & any cash should be directed toward a beginner area.

Take a look @ this pic.  Taken in Magic's busiest years during a professional snowboard halfpipe event.  In other words probably one of the busiest days ever @ Magic.  The triple @ the time was brand new.  Busy day?  Empty chairs?  Nobody rode that lift.


----------



## bvibert (Jul 12, 2010)

orangegondola said:


> Once the partnership kicks in it will be voted upon to see what happens with this lift.
> 
> 1) Finished for intermediate and Race trail access
> 2) Scrapped and parted out for $
> ...



IMHO they need a beginners lift and trail pod before they should worry about the green line lift.  I don't think the lift is a bad idea to have as an intermediate/advanced beginners lift, but I question if it's really needed given the amount of traffic that Magic generally sees and the fact that all the terrain that could be accessed from the lift can pretty easily be reached via green trails off of the red chair.


----------



## billski (Jul 12, 2010)

I think if they can focus on the snowmaking and grooming and banish the reputation of "variable conditions" it will entice the less-skillful to the mountain.   I don't know much about ski schools, but I'll guess getting green & blue skiers on the mountain is more important than having a strong ski school.


----------



## orangegondola (Jul 12, 2010)

billski said:


> I think if they can focus on the snowmaking and grooming and banish the reputation of "variable conditions" it will entice the less-skillful to the mountain.   I don't know much about ski schools, but I'll guess getting green & blue skiers on the mountain is more important than having a strong ski school.



Bill,

I agree, the mountian needs more blue and green skiers looking to avoid the McMountain feel.  Hopefully this summer's snowmaking and grooming improvements will begin to help in that arena. 

I must say, the ski school stepped it up big time this season.  Check it out here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=155360&id=29515067037
I think we need to get them a lift.

-OG


----------

