As resorts around the west ramp up parking lot capacity, base attractions, and chairlift power, Sugar Bowl sees its unique terrain and beautiful location as the main driver of its success, and hopes to continue giving skiers plenty of room on the hill for decades to come.
“We have maintained a focus on keeping ample amount of elbow room on the hill, and not a heavy focus on development,” said John Monson, Sugar Bowl’s director of sales and marketing.
Sugar Bowl, which is still independently owned, is the closest Tahoe resort to the Bay Area and the resort with the highest average snowfall in Tahoe. Despite these assets, it usually has short lift lines even on powder days. Though it has been a team effort, much of these bragging rights can be traced to a yodeling Austrian in the ’30s with friends in high places.
Goofy Goes Skiing: the Start
In July 1937, Austrian Hannes Schroll, a prolific ski racer and instructor, eyed the 30-foot snowpack that still remained on Mount Lincoln on Donner Summit. He wanted to build a ski area but needed investors. One of Schroll’s ski students was Walt Disney, who soon agreed to write Schroll a check for $2,500 to get the ball rolling.
When Sugar Bowl opened on Dec. 15, 1939, skiers rode California’s first chairlift to the top of Mt. Disney (formally Hemlock Peak) with a day ticket costing $2.
The Austrian influence shined in the early years with architecture, entertainment, and much of the staff being distinctively Austrian. It also spawned America’s only snowbound village, accessible to this day only by gondola or a five-minute walk from the base of Mt. Judah.
Through the decades, as dozens of resorts sprouted up around the Basin, Sugar Bowl intentionally kept crowds away by not creating a huge parking infrastructure.
“We designed the mountain to never be or feel too crowded. We could have built more parking but we think it’s a nice balance, and one that has ultimately worked out,” said Rob Kautz, Sugar Bowl CEO, who started in 1975 as a ski patroller.
Sugar Bowl was also home to the high-profile Silver Belt Race, an event that lasted from the 1940s to the 1970s, and attracted some of the best ski racers of the time. The giant slalom event was held on the Silver Belt Gully down the middle of the resort, and was one of the three most heralded races in the country before a shift in racing culture pushed it to the wayside.
In 1992, a $22 million, 10-year improvement project upgraded many of the old facilities and installed new buildings and lifts.
The Modern Era: Fat Bikes and Big-Mountain Alpine Racing
In 2009, Daron Rahlves, decorated alpine ski racer, Olympian, and Sugar Bowl local, started the Banzai Tour and resurrected the Silver Belt spirit. The races are a melding of gate racing, big-mountain skiing, and skiercross as the course is not groomed and is typically a very wild ride. The grand finale of the three-stop circuit, the Silver Belt Banzai, is held on the same terrain as the original race and carries the tagline “Where it all began and where it all ends.”
California’s first and only snowkiting school is also held at nearby Royal Gorge, which Sugar Bowl acquired in 2012, and a fleet of fat-tire bikes for on-snow riding are available for rent. Royal Gorge is North America’s largest cross-country ski resort with 200 miles of trails.
In 2013, Sugar Bowl unveiled a new chairlift to the previously hike-accessed Crow’s Peak. But for those that like to hike, the Backcountry Adventure Center offers guiding services, education, and more to help people explore the heralded terrain that begins immediately out of the resort’s gates.
To keep the tradition of Schroll and Rahlves alive, the neighboring Sugar Bowl Academy enrolls 70 students at the college prep school and trains them competitively in the racing, Nordic, and big-mountain disciplines, and they often go on to high-level competitive careers.
Trevor Tanhoff, the head freeride coach at SBA, has stayed at Sugar Bowl for its core values. “Sugar Bowl doesn’t forget why people come to the mountains in the first place,” said Tanhoff.
For a full list of events and offerings at Sugar Bowl, visit sugarbowl.com.
