Resort Report: Sugar Bowl
This is my sixth winter in Tahoe! I can hardly believe it sometimes. It feels like I was just finishing grad school in Santa Barbara, like, last month. Over that past winters, I have been able to snowboard at five of Tahoe's resorts, and I hope to try a couple of new ones this year.
All of Tahoe’s resorts have their pluses and minuses, and I thought that I could do a Resort Report with a local perspective. I decided to start with my favorite: Sugar Bowl Resort.
I was only introduced to Sugar Bowl a couple of winters ago, when I started dating Greyson, and I started hanging out in Truckee more. It quickly worked its way up to the top of my list! I’ve written before about some of my fun days at Sugar Bowl.
First, a few facts:
Sugar Bowl is one of the oldest ski resorts in California. It started running its lifts in 1939, and celebrated its 75th Anniversary last year. One of Sugar Bowl's initial investors was Walt Disney, and Mt. Disney and the Disney lift are named after him.
California's first chairlift was built here, and lift tickets were originally $2!
Sugar Bowl has 4 peaks, 103 trails, 1,650 skiable acres, 1,500 vertical feet, with 17% beginner, 45% intermediate, and 38% advanced terrain.
Since Sugar Bowl is located on the Western Slope of the Sierra, it often gets hammered by winter storms. It averages ~500 inches a year, the most in the Tahoe Basin (so they claim).
It's Godzilla El Nino, and Sugar Bowl has the most snow of any resorts so far. 152" this season!
Sugar Bowl also has a cross country ski area, Royal Gorge. Last year, I got to try fat biking there!
Now, here's my take on Sugar Bowl:
Pros:
Sugar Bowl has the shortest lift lines of any of the big resorts! Even on a "busy" powder weekend day, I've waited in line a max of ten minutes. Compared to Heavenly, where you can wait in line for an hour+ when things are busy, Sugar Bowl lift lines are amazing.
Related, Sugar Bowl is not usually crowded. It feels much more like a "locals" resort. Even on busy tourist weekends, Sugar Bowl has a much mellower feel.
There are incredible views! From the top of Lincoln, you can look towards the Sierra Crest, towards Castle Peak, down on Donner Lake, and, if it's a clear day, you can even see the Coast Range!
Sugar Bowl is a great resort if you want to advance from an intermediate to an advanced rider/skier. I found myself getting a lot more comfortable riding off piste once I started riding here.
I was used to riding at resorts that had mostly two settings: easy to fairly easy groomers and difficult tree & mogul skiing. It's hard to make that jump! Sugar Bowl has a fair amount of terrain that will ease you in. They don't groom every run, so there's plenty of places where you can practice your off-piste technique.
There's also a ton of advanced terrain and great access to the backcountry. I haven't gotten to ride any backcountry yet, but that's a goal for 2016!
Sugar Bowl is not usually very crowded, so it's also a great place to learn. I know that when I was learning, other people stressed me out way more than steep terrain, so Sugar Bowl seems like a great place to learn.
They have the best Bloody Mary in Tahoe. Sugar Bowl also has their own beer, Sugar Bowl Pale Ale. Their food prices have gone up in the last couple of years. You used to be able to get a beer for $5! It's still pretty reasonable compared to most resorts.
Cons:
Sugar Bowl doesn't have all the the amenities of the bigger resort chains, so no apres party with Heavenly Angels or EpicMix for tracking vert or free hot chocolate or heated chair lifts.
Obviously, I love Sugar Bowl, and I think there are way more pros than cons. It's my favorite resort in Tahoe, but I look forward to exploring more to compare.
How to get there: Sugar Bowl is off of old Highway 40. If Highway 40 is closed, you can get there via I80. The resort is about 20 minutes from downtown Truckee, 90 minutes from Sacramento and under 3 hours from San Francisco.
Where to eat: Here are my favorite Truckee restaurants.