Wish we could say with 100% certainty when Opening Day at Magic will be. The plan has always been to open around the weekend of December 14th depending on snow conditions.
As always, being a smaller independent ski area among our bigger, better financed corporate neighbors, Magic is limited both by the current capacity of our snowmaking system and the depth of our financial pockets to be 100% in control of our Opening Day destiny. Therefore we scan the forecasts and look for the optimal time to make snow so that when we do put the costly snowmaking enterprise to work, we get maximum value out of it, with minimal snow loss. And, I’m sure it is frustrating for some Magic-lovers to watch other resorts spend hundreds of thousands of dollars earlier than ever to claim pre-Thanksgiving openings with this year’s colder early November temperatures. But, we have to play a more prudent game and can’t afford the risk and cost of such early snowmaking disappearing on our hill with inevitable early season wet weather.
This is tricky as weather forecasts are notoriously error prone even a couple days out, much less a week or two. For example, the Thanksgiving storm was originally looking like a major snow event and that turned to wet stuff. Then the temperatures dropped after it, we were ready to go, and an unexpected bump on the road appeared: our utility failed to turn the power on to the hill! And it continued day-after-agonizing-day after assuring us they’d be there each day. (I mean, it takes all of 15 minutes, but it took the utility 10 days!)
After much begging and pleading (and with our money already in their coffers), the utility finally powered us up on Wednesday Dec 4th. Of course we then had to wait through the r**n storm and higher temps. The good news is the temperatures look pretty good now, and while the storm left just a light coating of snow, it’s better than nothing.
That leaves us just a week to go top to bottom on 1700 vertical feet and almost a mile and a half of trail. Our snowmakers will do the best they can. However, as we learned over the years, nothing can be guaranteed for a definite opening next weekend given weather changes and the amount of acreage we have to cover with our system. We will keep every one posted on progress so plans can be made.
In looking to the future, one of the key projects for the new Magic Faithful Club to help finance is the expansion of the pond and pumping system which will allow more water to be sent up the hill and through the guns at a given time to increase snow blowing capacity and lessen the time to finish a trail. But, for now, our snowmaking crew will be out starting today making the best of the system we have–and hoping mother-nature steps up her snow game as well.
Thinking snow and skis crossed…
