Sometimes It Takes Sticking Around for Things to Work Out

Change is the nature of the universe.   Without it evolution would be as worthless as a globe to a Flat-Earther.  However, even as we yearn for a shiny new day, another chance to get things right, we need to take what does work along with us for the ride through time.  Conversely, we need to discard and wave goodbye to whatever holds us back.  Recognizing the difference and having the courage to choose defines the thin line between success and failure, or better, between opportunity and status quo.  Sometimes all you need is time.

This Saturday Magic Mountain is scheduled to open for the 2016-2017 season.  This will mark the 20^th year of continuous operation for the mountain.  It will also be the first season in that time with entirely new ownership and management. 

Over the years the resort has often stumbled towards bankruptcy and permanent closure.  Vision, hard work, generosity and good fortune have saved Magic several times during the past two decades and many good people have supplied the former to help produce the later.  The list is long and contains familiar names, but also contains many whose labor of love often went unrecognized.  It would be unfair to single out the shining stars I’ve known over the years, at the expense of many I never knew.  They would be just the tip of a very large iceberg of devotees who have loved Magic Mountain as their own.

There were heroes in the first days of reopening, working through long cold nights to restore lift ops and snowmaking that had been stripped away after Boston Concessions pulled the plug in 1991.  There were managers who stared down deadlines and debt with little more than an absolute determination to keep the resort open.  There were cooks and carpenters, mechanics and medics; and, of course, scores of season pass and daily ticket customers who knew this was more than just another ski area and acted passionately on that knowledge.  High on the list is the extraordinary effort of the people involved in Greg Williams’ Save Magic campaign that raised capital and stoked interest in the mountain during a time when both were in limited supply.  And, what about Jim Sullivan and Tom Barker who stayed the course through treacherous waters?  Ok, some people have to be mentioned, including the founder of the feast, Hans Thorner.

In the beginning it was Thorner’s bold vision that created the first Tyrolean themed ski village in North America and recruited the use of a helicopter to set lift towers on steep rocky terrain.   Magic is also where snowboarding took its tentative first steps.  Jake Burton built a half pipe here before other ski areas had even seen a snowboard.  Since 1960 thousands of kids have learned to ski and ride at Magic, later bringing their own kids, who in turn brought their kids.  There’s history here and the beat goes on.

With the vertical of Mount Snow without the glitz, the steeps of Killington without the show biz and Mad River’s off piste without the affectation, Magic is unique.  Especially now.  Our hill is cared for by Mountain Manager Matt Cote who, before becoming an employee this year, annually volunteered countless hours performing whatever improvement efforts were necessary. The new President, Geoff Hatheway, has a long relationship with the mountain.  He is also an owner and has a personal investment in the daily decisions he makes.  In addition to Geoff the new ownership group consists of long time Magic skiers and riders who have always understood and cherished the qualities that separate Magic from any other ski resort.

Magic’s journey has been a long, strange and memorable trip.  Its numerous struggles to survive are legendary, as is its stubborn refusal to succumb to them.    I join with everyone who loves the mountain, welcoming a new era that celebrates Magic’s past while at the same time recognizing a bright and shiny future.

Finally, it is my hope that someone someday writes a definitive Magic history.   It would be an amazing read.