Act 250 allows Magic to double snowmaking

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Magic Mountain Ski Area in Londonderry announced today, Tuesday, June 25 that it has received Act 250 approval to double the size of its snowmaking pond to approximately 9 million gallons while taking the pond “off stream” to help create a better aquatic environment for fish downstream.

The Act 250 permit also allows the in-take of water from the Thompsonburg Brook along Route 11 to replenish the pond.

“Expanding Magic’s snowmaking capability is critical to the long-term success of our ski area … to provide skiers more trails with more snow coverage, no matter what Mother Nature decides to bring us in the winter,” said Geoff Hatheway, president of Magic Mountain.

With the additional water, Hatheway says Magic can cover more than 60 percent of the mountain on both the east and west sides, so skiers can ski and ride for a longer season.

The snowmaking pond and stream work will begin this summer and will be completed before the season begins.

According to Hatheway, this is the second Act 250 project approved this year for Magic. This summer and fall will see the installation of a Poma fixed-grip quad lift purchased from Stratton last year. The new lift is expected to be ready for the 2019-2020 ski season, effectively doubling Magic’s capacity.

The two projects together represent an investment of $2 million by SKI MAGIC LLC, which purchased the ski area two and half years ago and has overseen record skier visits each year. Magic has been awarded the No. 1 ski area in North America each of those seasons by Liftopia’s Best in Snow survey.