NYSkiBlog
Administrator
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2020
August 8
August has arrived and that means we are really turning the corner toward ski season and projects take on even more urgency.
The crew here at Magic has really never taken the foot of the gas, except for maybe the first couple weeks post-COVID 19 shutdown in late March. We are getting after trail mowing, lift maintenance, snowmaking pipe repair and testing, new beginner area expansion, new lighted terrain park, new outdoor food & beverage areas like the T-BAR, Black Line Tavern tented dining area and weekly upkeep on the disc golf course which has been getting more play this summer. Pfister Mountain Services has also been making steady progress on the Black Line Quad, with haul rope installation next on the list as well as electrical drive work.
Our Friends-of-Magic Work Days are coming up in September as we work together on glade clearing and touch-ups around the lodge. With shorter nights, we know it won't be long until the new ski season!
What the new ski season will look like exactly with COVID-19 precautions is a lot of guess work. And, I believe it will evolve and change as the season goes on. But hopefully by late February and March we are partying like its 2021 (not 2020)! The season will most likely start with some type of restricted capacity scenario--and stay that way--until a vaccine is widely distributed nationwide which could be sometime in February if all goes well. But we are getting prepared (and we need your help), for a manageable, but fun, ski season in the midst of a pandemic.
The first thing we can all do is help keep the good northeast coronavirus case and death numbers as low as possible by following CDC guidelines for mask-wearing and social-distancing. We want you to be able to visit us safely and in good health!
The second thing we can all do is prepare to be outside as much as possible. Both now and during the winter. Magic will be providing added space to enjoy the outdoors all day and you will need to be prepared to dress warmly. The lodge will be in use to prepare food and beverages--and serve a limited number of people inside per state-mandated restricted capacity scenarios-- but that's why its necessary to think about being outside mostly to eat and socialize, other than using restrooms.
The third thing is to plan on making reservations online, in advance, to ski and ride here whenever we are open, with check-in upon arrival to get a lift ticket (both pass holders and ticket buyers) so we can control exactly how many people are at Magic to meet our capacity restrictions. Reservations will also most likely be needed to obtain limited table space for (on weekends/holidays) upstairs at the lodge at the Black Line Tavern and downstairs in the cafeteria so we can meet and accurately control our limited capacity numbers. That way you know whether you can be inside or only outside that ski day and plan accordingly. Uncertainty is never fun, so we think its better to know either way ahead of time, so you can plan and prepare.
If you don't have one of the reservations for inside the lodge, be prepared to use our expanded outside food & beverage areas we are creating (we will invest in some outdoor heating elements as well). Online reservations and upfront payment will also be required for limited rental equipment and snowsports lessons (private lessons only most likely).
Season pass holders will be provided the first opportunity to reserve spots at Magic up to a certain day each week (example: unlimited reservations available for pass holders through Tuesday of each week for all upcoming ski days--then on Wednesdays reservations will be opened up to just day ticket buyers). So a bit more advanced planning will be needed. "Same-day" reservations to ski will be allowed if there is still capacity available that day for both season pass holders and day ticket customers. Weekdays (Thursdays/Fridays) will not be a capacity issue here so those days should be closest to normal with plenty of space available inside and out. Also early season pre-Christmas is typically less crowded, so capacity shouldn't be any issue then at Magic.
Until a February vaccine, it will be about our hearty skiers and riders looking to get on the hill no matter the weather or conditions, perhaps changing into boots in the parking lot, and eating outside on the weekends with take-out from the base lodge or our new on-hill snack shacks. It will still be fun, but highly focused on the sport of skiing and riding, and a bit less of that crowded apres ski scene inside the BLT.
We are currently planning for a daily skier visit capacity restriction of 50% of our hourly lift capacity for skiing (approximately 1,700 skiers total) and 25% for the lodge building's seating capacity (approximately 200 total). This capacity restriction gives of plenty of room for most of our winter ski days here at Magic. It's only on the big holiday weekends or February/early March weekends where we routinely surpass those type of skier-visit numbers typically on the "road less traveled" so we feel pretty comfortable about a safely spaced and fun ski experience this season. It's only inside the lodge where it will not be a typical Magic experience as more activities are pushed outside. Of course, we don't know what actually will transpire, but the better prepared we all are for these safety and health contingencies, the better the experience will be. And, there's nothing better than just being able to get on the mountain and joyfully do what we love,
Importantly, we will not be raising day ticket prices (nor pre-season or in-season pass prices) versus last year despite the potential for limited capacity restrictions. But, all ticket prices online will be at, or close, to our regular ticket window pricing as discounted ski tickets are just not viable under these restricted scenarios. We want to keep the sport accessible and affordable to more people but we also can't afford to lose money as a small business after all the investments we have made here since 2016 to #makebettermagic.
How long some type of restricted capacity scenario lasts into the season remains to be seen, as well as at what level. But skiing is a sport that can be safely done with an airborne virus because it is outside and we traditionally wear face masks, goggles and gloves anyway. (But, we need anyone who has any cold or flu symptoms to stay home and ski another day, even if it is a powder day.) Our expanded lift system will limit any lines, even if we must have non-family members go up as singles on our double chairs or double-up on our Quad. We will continue to have fun on Sunshine Corner, the new T-BAR and the expanded BLT deck area, with much less indoor activity--at least until mid-winter arrives and a widely distributed vaccine. That's the hope!
I must emphasize that nothing is set in stone, but I want to keep the lines of communication open with you all, as I have since mid-March on the impacts of the pandemic, about what a restricted capacity scenario could look like this winter, so we are all as prepared as possible when we start making snow in early November. We plan to go full throttle, and not hold back, on making the mountain as snow-filled as possible for you!
To all our friends cleaning up and still without power from the tropical storm, we are thinking of you. Thankfully here at the mountain there was limited effects from the storm and the Black Line Tavern and Disc Golf Course are both open today for you,
Stay well and see you soon!
-Geoff
Magic Mountain. Where skiing still has its soul.
Pre-Season Sale on affordable Season Passes (save up to $100) is here
August has arrived and that means we are really turning the corner toward ski season and projects take on even more urgency.
The crew here at Magic has really never taken the foot of the gas, except for maybe the first couple weeks post-COVID 19 shutdown in late March. We are getting after trail mowing, lift maintenance, snowmaking pipe repair and testing, new beginner area expansion, new lighted terrain park, new outdoor food & beverage areas like the T-BAR, Black Line Tavern tented dining area and weekly upkeep on the disc golf course which has been getting more play this summer. Pfister Mountain Services has also been making steady progress on the Black Line Quad, with haul rope installation next on the list as well as electrical drive work.
Our Friends-of-Magic Work Days are coming up in September as we work together on glade clearing and touch-ups around the lodge. With shorter nights, we know it won't be long until the new ski season!
What the new ski season will look like exactly with COVID-19 precautions is a lot of guess work. And, I believe it will evolve and change as the season goes on. But hopefully by late February and March we are partying like its 2021 (not 2020)! The season will most likely start with some type of restricted capacity scenario--and stay that way--until a vaccine is widely distributed nationwide which could be sometime in February if all goes well. But we are getting prepared (and we need your help), for a manageable, but fun, ski season in the midst of a pandemic.
The first thing we can all do is help keep the good northeast coronavirus case and death numbers as low as possible by following CDC guidelines for mask-wearing and social-distancing. We want you to be able to visit us safely and in good health!
The second thing we can all do is prepare to be outside as much as possible. Both now and during the winter. Magic will be providing added space to enjoy the outdoors all day and you will need to be prepared to dress warmly. The lodge will be in use to prepare food and beverages--and serve a limited number of people inside per state-mandated restricted capacity scenarios-- but that's why its necessary to think about being outside mostly to eat and socialize, other than using restrooms.
The third thing is to plan on making reservations online, in advance, to ski and ride here whenever we are open, with check-in upon arrival to get a lift ticket (both pass holders and ticket buyers) so we can control exactly how many people are at Magic to meet our capacity restrictions. Reservations will also most likely be needed to obtain limited table space for (on weekends/holidays) upstairs at the lodge at the Black Line Tavern and downstairs in the cafeteria so we can meet and accurately control our limited capacity numbers. That way you know whether you can be inside or only outside that ski day and plan accordingly. Uncertainty is never fun, so we think its better to know either way ahead of time, so you can plan and prepare.
If you don't have one of the reservations for inside the lodge, be prepared to use our expanded outside food & beverage areas we are creating (we will invest in some outdoor heating elements as well). Online reservations and upfront payment will also be required for limited rental equipment and snowsports lessons (private lessons only most likely).
Season pass holders will be provided the first opportunity to reserve spots at Magic up to a certain day each week (example: unlimited reservations available for pass holders through Tuesday of each week for all upcoming ski days--then on Wednesdays reservations will be opened up to just day ticket buyers). So a bit more advanced planning will be needed. "Same-day" reservations to ski will be allowed if there is still capacity available that day for both season pass holders and day ticket customers. Weekdays (Thursdays/Fridays) will not be a capacity issue here so those days should be closest to normal with plenty of space available inside and out. Also early season pre-Christmas is typically less crowded, so capacity shouldn't be any issue then at Magic.
Until a February vaccine, it will be about our hearty skiers and riders looking to get on the hill no matter the weather or conditions, perhaps changing into boots in the parking lot, and eating outside on the weekends with take-out from the base lodge or our new on-hill snack shacks. It will still be fun, but highly focused on the sport of skiing and riding, and a bit less of that crowded apres ski scene inside the BLT.
We are currently planning for a daily skier visit capacity restriction of 50% of our hourly lift capacity for skiing (approximately 1,700 skiers total) and 25% for the lodge building's seating capacity (approximately 200 total). This capacity restriction gives of plenty of room for most of our winter ski days here at Magic. It's only on the big holiday weekends or February/early March weekends where we routinely surpass those type of skier-visit numbers typically on the "road less traveled" so we feel pretty comfortable about a safely spaced and fun ski experience this season. It's only inside the lodge where it will not be a typical Magic experience as more activities are pushed outside. Of course, we don't know what actually will transpire, but the better prepared we all are for these safety and health contingencies, the better the experience will be. And, there's nothing better than just being able to get on the mountain and joyfully do what we love,
Importantly, we will not be raising day ticket prices (nor pre-season or in-season pass prices) versus last year despite the potential for limited capacity restrictions. But, all ticket prices online will be at, or close, to our regular ticket window pricing as discounted ski tickets are just not viable under these restricted scenarios. We want to keep the sport accessible and affordable to more people but we also can't afford to lose money as a small business after all the investments we have made here since 2016 to #makebettermagic.
How long some type of restricted capacity scenario lasts into the season remains to be seen, as well as at what level. But skiing is a sport that can be safely done with an airborne virus because it is outside and we traditionally wear face masks, goggles and gloves anyway. (But, we need anyone who has any cold or flu symptoms to stay home and ski another day, even if it is a powder day.) Our expanded lift system will limit any lines, even if we must have non-family members go up as singles on our double chairs or double-up on our Quad. We will continue to have fun on Sunshine Corner, the new T-BAR and the expanded BLT deck area, with much less indoor activity--at least until mid-winter arrives and a widely distributed vaccine. That's the hope!
I must emphasize that nothing is set in stone, but I want to keep the lines of communication open with you all, as I have since mid-March on the impacts of the pandemic, about what a restricted capacity scenario could look like this winter, so we are all as prepared as possible when we start making snow in early November. We plan to go full throttle, and not hold back, on making the mountain as snow-filled as possible for you!
To all our friends cleaning up and still without power from the tropical storm, we are thinking of you. Thankfully here at the mountain there was limited effects from the storm and the Black Line Tavern and Disc Golf Course are both open today for you,
Stay well and see you soon!
-Geoff
Magic Mountain. Where skiing still has its soul.
Pre-Season Sale on affordable Season Passes (save up to $100) is here
