Lovely day at Sugar Bowl. I went to scout the area, on behalf of my kids
I parked early at Judah, and off I went. Got a ticket, full price, ouch. Grabbed breakfast in a very empty lodge (there were probably 6 more tables occupied). Headed to the lifts.
Sugar Bowl has a very well thought out lift system. Very little traversing on catwalks (thank you), and for the most thing, you ski top to bottom, like in Deer Valley. I explored quite a bit of the mountain for the few (four) hours I spent. My last run was close to 1pm and it was nasty slush. I don't need an injury, I simply left.
The run of the day was Van Ruiten's run, off of Christmas tree. I overheard someone said that they set the gates there? In any case, it was holding up much better than most, and I took a lot of runs to improve my carving a bit. Some of the better skiers were there, ripping it, running drills, etc.
I also enjoyed bumps. I can't believe I would ever say that. Thank you
@Mark Downing for the suggestion and
@lswedish for the bumps lesson. There were soft, moderate bumps in some of the mild single blacks (Donner's way and Steamers), and in a mild bowl to the right of Christmas Tree, as you go up. I took a few of those runs. Not as much rithm and flow as I should have, but it will take some time and I am loving it.
Disney and Mt Lincoln have some naughty terrain. Some stuff I should venture into, yet.
Overall, it seems to me that this mountain offers a lot more to the intermediate than Mt Rose. Which doesn't mean I don't still love Rose. It's just that there is a lot of mild terrain labeled as blue, rightly so, but on the mild side of blue. Which is great to develop skills. Most blues in Rose are steeper. Overall, I like the landscape better in Rose, and I don't know why. I somehow feel more inserted in a mountain. The train horn goes off now and then in Sugar Bowl and that's not ideal. Not a deal breaker, but I didn't quite feel as connected with the mountain.
The vibe was really good. Lots of locals, as it turned out from my conversations. I spoke to a bunch of people, since I went solo.
Ok, some pics.
TOP OF JEROME HILL EXPRESS LIFT:
DONNER'S WAY RUN:
MT LINCOLN EXPRESS LIFT:
TOP OF MT LINCOLN:
VAN RUITEN'S RUN:
THE BOWL OFF CHRISTMAS TREE (Mentioned above)
LUNCH