LONDONDERRY, Vt., Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Skiers at the Magic Mountain ski area in Londonderry, Vt., are halfway toward the goal of saving their humble ski resort, the mountain's president said.
Jim Sullivan, president of Magic Mountain, is selling shares for $3,000 in an attempt to create a community-owned ski resort and save "the last standing area in Southern Vermont … that represents traditional Vermont skiing," The Boston Globe reported Monday.
Sullivan has sold 146 shares and has to sell another 150 by Aug. 1 for the Magic Partnership to buy the mountain from the Nelson family that owns it, the newspaper said.
The mountain has 40 trails, but fell behind its nearest competition by not spending money on snow making equipment in the 1970s, the Globe said.
A share of the mountain buys a vote in governance of the company and discounts on full season passes. But "you get to continue skiing Magic Mountain," said Greg Williams, a frequent skier, who is selling T-shirts and bumper stickers to purchase three shares.
The mountain was purchased eight years ago at a foreclosure auction by New York lawyer Larry Nelson, who died in 2009.
"He wasn't just looking for a business venture. He did this because he loved Magic Mountain," his son John Nelson said.
