Magic Mountain

It was a dream-like experience driving the snow-covered roads to Magic Mountain, where I found myself comforted by a family friendly hill, with days of fresh snow accumulation awaiting me. The hill was open the previous day, but there were few tracks, and it snowed overnight and through the morning filling most of them (and some of mine).

A fixed double is the workhorse at Magic, and reaches to just below the ridgeline of the hill, protected from the wind. Two easy runs frame the valley between, where powder accumulates in soft pillows. There is a nice pitch to the face below the chair, and the liftline provides a powder-hound's paradise, while those in search of more open runs head out along the ridge to any of a series of chutes down from the ridgeline.

Farther down, there are cliffs to beware of below, and rails set up for jibbing along the ridge. I found so much powder and wonderful cruising here, I continued to ride until the lift operators had to turn me away. This is a fine hill for exploring, and holds enough stashes to last for days after powder stops falling.