February 5th brought three feet of snow to parts of Western Massachusetts and Southern Vermont. I had been planning a trip to Magic Mountain in Southern Vermont for some time now; the big dump made the decision on where to ski that weekend rather easy. Magic Mountain is most well known for its challenging terrain, lack of snow making, and lack of grooming. It is a Skiers Mountain without any Resort atmosphere or amenities. Some may consider these reasons to avoid the Magic Mountain. But for me, they only add to the appeal.
The alarm clock went off at 4:30AM and I jumped out of bed. Two and a half feet of snow fell during the previous 24 hours and my back still hurt from shoveling the previous evening. After a shower and breakfast, I went out to finish cleaning up the drive way. I was ready to roll at 6:30AM, but was hesitant to go because of the road conditions. I watched the news for an hour and a half before I was satisfied that the drive would be safe. I left home around 7:30AM; I had originally planned to leave two hours earlier so I could get first tracks.
The roads were mostly clear despite left lanes on the Interstates being bumpy. Passing tractor trailer trucks was an adventure. I decide to take the back roads off Interstate 89 which was a bad mistake. “Short cuts make for long journeys,” Pippin said in The Lord of the Rings. I finally got to Magic Mountain at 10:30AM, an hour later than I had planned. Snow cats were still plowing the parking lot and for good reason! As I turned to enter into a parking spot, my car got stuck in the snow. I grabbed my gear, bought my lift ticket, and waited for the Magic Mountain staff to assist me in getting my car unstuck.At exactly noon time, I took my first run of the day; three hours after the lifts had opened when I had planned to take my first run. “Oh well” I said, “it is a beautiful day and plenty of untouched snow every where.” It was a joy to ski on! Three feet of fresh powder with minimal grooming is fun stuff! By 1PM, I had taken three runs. On my fourth run, I went down the Wizard trail. Nearing the bottom of the trail on a flat section, I skied into a drift off the groomer track and snapped my ski in half. I had been skiing for only one hour when my pair of two year old skis became completely useless and my skiing day seemed to be finished. The skis were unrepairable with a crack spitting the top sheet from the core under one of the bindings.
A quick review of the adventure so far: My back was hurt from shoveling, I was delayed two hours due to shoveling and safety concerns, I took a very long “shortcut,” passing tractor trailer trucks was a life flashing before your eyes experience, I finally got to Magic 3 hours after the lifts opened, I got my car stuck and waited an hour in the lodge for help, I only get 3.5 runs in, and my ski breaks! What gives!
Fortunately, Magic Mountain had a few pairs of skis in the demo shop. The shop was closed, but one of the employees went into the shop and allowed me to snag a pair of demo skis… for the low price of only $40! Yikes! The lift ticket was only $15, so I figured a total cost of $55 for a day of skiing with a rental ski was not a bad price. Unfortunately, the demo ski was not to my liking and made skiing difficult. Of course, I did not learn my lesson and decided to take the more “direct” back roads home instead of the highway. This delayed my arrival home by about one hour. Not much more could have gone wrong that day. Around 7PM, I made it back home safe and sound. Despite the pains and problems, it was still a fun day of skiing great powder.
