
Magic Mountain's summit reaches 2,850 feet, dropping roughly 1,500 vertical feet to a base at 1,348 feet across 50 runs spread over 127 acres on Glebe Mountain near Londonderry, Vermont. Terrain splits 32 per cent intermediate, 26 per cent expert, 24 per cent beginner and 18 per cent advanced, with average annual snowfall of roughly 145 inches. The resort carries Indy Pass affiliation. Four lifts, including one quad chair and two double chairs, serve the mountain alongside one surface lift and one t-bar.
Magic Mountain markets itself as an authentic, deliberately unpolished throwback to an earlier era of Vermont skiing, prized for its challenging natural terrain and genuinely uncrowded slopes. The resort's substantial expert terrain, at 26 per cent of its trail count, reflects a character shaped by the steep, ridge-lined topography that first drew its founder to the mountain.
Swiss-born ski instructor and filmmaker Hans Thorner, searching Vermont in the late 1950s for a location reminiscent of his native Swiss Alps, found Glebe Mountain's steep ridgelines suited his vision, and opened Magic Mountain in 1960 with a T-bar serving the lower half of the mountain, adding a substantial 7,379-foot double chair in 1962. Magic formed part of Vermont's original 'Golden Triangle' alongside Stratton Mountain and Bromley Mountain, all within 10 miles of each other, and thrived through the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s.
Boston Concessions, which also owned neighbouring Bromley, purchased Magic in the mid-1980s, but a downturn in the real estate market led Bromley's owners to close Magic entirely in 1991. The resort remained closed for years before reopening to the public in 1997, and in November 2016, following a poor winter and difficult operating results, Magic Mountain Management LLC sold the property to Ski Magic LLC, led by Geoff Hatheway. Adult daily tickets run from 96 to 116 US dollars, with children aged 5 and under skiing free.
Magic Mountain spreads 50 runs across 127 acres skiable of terrain. It leans intermediate at 32%, with 12 beginner runs to find your feet and 22 advanced or expert runs when you want to push.
The 2025-26 season at Magic Mountain ran from 20 December 2025 to 5 April 2026, a roughly fifteen-week season supported by average annual snowfall of around 145 inches. Season dates can shift depending on early and late-season weather on Glebe Mountain's steep terrain.
Midwinter, from December through February, typically brings the most consistent conditions to Magic's genuinely challenging, expert-weighted terrain. As an Indy Pass resort, Magic draws some visiting skiers holding that multi-resort pass alongside dedicated visitors specifically seeking its authentic, deliberately uncrowded character within southern Vermont's Golden Triangle region.
Given Magic's proximity to major metropolitan areas as one of southern Vermont's ski destinations, the resort draws visitors seeking a genuine alternative to the more heavily developed mountains nearby, including former Golden Triangle neighbours Stratton and Bromley. School holiday periods bring some family visitation, though the resort's substantial expert terrain skews its visitor base toward more experienced skiers.
Specific event programming beyond standard operations is not confirmed in available resort information. Since Ski Magic LLC's November 2016 purchase, the resort has continued rebuilding on more than six decades of history since founder Hans Thorner's 1960 opening, including the multi-year closure of the 1990s. Magic's authentic, throwback character and challenging terrain remain central to its seasonal identity.
Magic Mountain sits on Glebe Mountain near Londonderry, Vermont, with a base elevation of 1,348 feet and a summit at 2,850 feet across a roughly 1,500-foot vertical drop over 127 acres. This southern Vermont setting places the resort within the historic Golden Triangle region alongside Stratton and Bromley mountains.
Londonderry and the broader southern Vermont region offer lodging and dining within a short drive of the resort. Manchester, a larger regional town, lies within a reasonable drive as well, providing additional visitor services and shopping.
Vermont State Route 11 provides access to the resort through southern Vermont. Winter driving conditions on this route can include snow and ice, though the well-travelled road is regularly maintained given the region's status as a significant ski destination cluster. There is no direct public transport service to the mountain.
Manchester's smaller regional airfield offers limited service, while Albany International Airport in New York and Bradley International Airport in Connecticut serve as more practical gateways for visitors flying in from further afield, given Magic's position within a reasonable drive of southern New England's metropolitan areas.
Hotels and lodges near Magic Mountain, powered by Stay22.

Arapahoe Basin, Keystone and Winter Park are all chasing an October start, though none has a firm date yet. The first dated openers are Breckenridge and Copper on Friday 6 November, then Vail on 13 November, with most of the rest bunched around US Thanksgiving. Hesperus did not open at all last season. A super El Niño offers hope but no guarantee, and forecasters say the southern mountains have the better odds.

Dolomiti Superski is spending around €100 million across its 12 areas before winter. Kronplatz gets a new 10-passenger gondola with a middle station, 3 Zinnen gets Helmissimo, and Val di Fassa swaps a chairlift for a gondola above Col Valvacin. New water-storage basins and upgraded snowmaking follow, and construction has started on the San Martino to Passo Rolle link. A peak adult day pass is €89.

Brian Head is targeting 6 November, though last year it aimed for 7 November and did not open until the 25th. Park City, Alta and Solitude are pencilled in for 20 November, Snowbird and Snowbasin for 27 November, and Deer Valley for 5 December. Eagle Point will stay closed after the Cottonwood Fire. A super El Niño is forecast, but the big snow is not expected until January.

Hintertux became Austria's second glacier to open for 2026-27 on Friday 2 October, after the Pitztal Glacier. Twelve kilometres of piste are running around the Olperer and Gefrorene Wand, served by one gondola and two drag lifts, with the Betterpark also open. Lifts officially run 8:15 am to 4:30 pm, but skiing stops at 2 pm for now.

A historically poor western winter cut Vail Resorts' annual net income from $280 million to $147.5 million and skier visits by 13.4 per cent. Now 2026-27 pass units are down 12 per cent as of 18 September, worse than the 10 per cent flagged in spring. Vail blames the weather and thinks some buyers are simply waiting, and it forecasts a rebound if the snow behaves.

Arizona Snowbowl advertised eight $1 lift ticket days this winter. Go looking and only three are showing - 10 March, 1 April and 10 April - so the rest may already have gone. The consolation is a calendar full of $9 days, including all but one day in April. Opening day is 20 November, weather permitting, and opening weekend is $19.

For years, Whitewater's Short Side was where you ducked a rope and hoped for the best: unmapped, ungroomed and unpatrolled. This winter it's inbounds. Six new runs of glades and fall-line skiing add 190 acres (about 77 hectares), taking the resort past 1,400 acres in total. F2 Logging spent a month in the trees to make it happen, and opening day is pencilled in for 4 December. Bonanza now needs less snow to groom, too.

Mammoth got its first snow of 2026-27 on Monday 28 September - and promptly lost it by Tuesday morning. Barely an inch fell at McCoy Station, but with opening day pencilled in for Friday 13 November, it's the first sign the Sierra is waking up. Last year's date slipped from 14 November to 20 November, so nobody's booking flights on a dusting just yet. Here's where California's early openers stand.
Live open status isn’t available right now.
Scroll for the full outlook · Open-Meteo
Days 1–7
0.0"
Days 8–14
0.0"
Live snow from the resort feed; forecast from Open-Meteo, via Supabase.
Snow depth at Magic Mountain is tracked at both the base and summit, since the two elevations often see different totals — roughly a 458m difference here. We report fresh snowfall over the last 24 hours and 7 days alongside the running season total, in both metric and imperial units.
Snow quality tracks closely with temperature and wind. We surface both alongside the snowfall data so you can judge whether conditions at Magic Mountain are holding up or starting to soften.
We pull Magic Mountain's conditions from on-the-ground mountain reporting, then layer in forecast data so you get a fuller picture than either source alone. The mountain is served by 5 lifts, including a quad chairlift.
Snow reports are typically updated early morning and late afternoon. For the most current conditions, check back regularly, especially if a winter storm is approaching.