Border War! Vermont vs. New Hampshire Skiing Part 2 – Magic Mountain
LONDONDERRY, VT – Abracadabra! Presto, Change-O! Now you see it…now you don’t…and then – happily – now you see it again! Like a rabbit in a conjuring trick, Vermont’s fabled Magic Mountain has once again reappeared, and the winter sports world rejoices at its miraculous resurrection.
I choose that word with precision – resurrection – because on occasion over the course of the decades Magic Mountain was lost to us, discarded on the skiing scrap heap and filed under the dreaded “NLE” designation…“No Longer Exists.” But with new ownership, lots of sweat equity, almost 60 years of goodwill, and the undying devotion of its legion of fans, Magic Mountain is back, and its return is one of the great, feel-good stories in our sport.
Magic is one of those places skiers and snowboarders speak of in holy whispers. It’s old school skiing at its best. Magic is verdant, snow-frosted, tree-studded glades that seem like a reverie from which you never want to wake. It’s topsy-turvy, rocky, wild terrain peppered with towering moguls that bewitch and beguile even the most seasoned experts. And it’s an indelible character and rich history – one truly loyal to founder Hans Thorner’s Swiss heritage and vision – that created a community vibe of homespun camaraderie that’s all but unparalleled anywhere.
The overall mountain plan is excellent. The mountain conveniently divides itself into east side and west side, helping disperse people broadly across the terrain. The west has fewer trails of a more difficult nature, while the east has more runs and is generally easier, a few notable exceptions aside, such as the popular “Trick.” Glades are generously sprinkled on both sides. There are also two surface lifts, and a new “Green chair” servicing the east side should be open right around New Years Eve 2019, possibly before.
The eponymously named and colored Red Chair serves as the main lift, and accesses every trail and glade on the property. By taking the Red (or the nearly parallel Black Chair, also eponymously colored and named) each run at Magic is a top-to-bottom run, and you can ride every trail and glade upon disembarking at the top. On-line research indicates, (and our day was similar) that the mountain generally likes to groom the easier trails and leave the advanced runs, double blacks, and glades untouched after a fresh snowfall.
Magic’s indelible character and enchanting charm are defined by its rugged, steep, hurly-burly terrain, and by its myriad glades. Do not be fooled by the small size of the mountain, it has some of the steepest terrain in the east. In places – Redline, for example – the pitch can reach as much as 45 degrees. And let me tell you – that pitch looks a lot steeper when there’s a gaping maw of four foot moguls or a rocky drop-off waiting beneath. Pick your line, trust it, and most of all, execute! That’s the imperative at Magic. You better ski well, or it won’t just eat you, it’ll go all Hannibal Lecter on you, chianti and fava beans included.
Some runs are supermodel-slim, like Slide of Hans or Broomstick. Others are classic lift line runs, like the parallel Redline and Blackline that are the equal of anything you’ll find at Whiteface, Sugarbush, or Killington. And still others, like Upper Magician, Sorcerer, and Talisman, are mogul-studded joy rides that can bounce you around like a pinball.
Happily, there are also plenty of runs for everyone else too.
Unlike other resorts that feature glades in name only Magic’s glades are truly a wild run through the woods. Where most Vermont resorts feared lawsuits and, correspondingly, widened trails and razed trees, Magic stayed true to its European alpine roots, eminently natural and idyllic. It was a close call, there was talk in the late ‘80s when the mountain was corporate-owned of clearing the glades. But in typical Magic Mountain fashion, a grass roots campaign rallied under the banner “Save Twilight Zone,” named for the wildest and most iconic of the forest trails, and the glades remained not only preserved, but protected.
“It’s refreshing to find a place that survived the Resort Chainsaw Massacre of the ‘80s,” said one Magic regular, who skied away before we could get their name. “Lawyers spoil all the fun.”
To read the rest of Jay’s piece, click here: http://jayflemma.com/border-war-vermont-vs-new-hampshire-skiing-part-2-magic-mountain/
Posted from jayflemma.com
