Snow sports: Upcoming upgrades at classic Sugarbush in Vermont will be worth wait for skiers

When Alterra Mountain Corp. started to build its roster of major ski areas seven years ago, it sought out iconic mountains that held a special legendary status and then went on to name its megapass, Ikon, based on that concept.

Sugarbush, the classic 65-year-old resort in Warren, Vermont, certainly lives up to that iconic status with its stark Alpine setting, two huge mountains linked by the world's longest chairlift (and shuttle bus), vertiginous steeps like Stein's Run and F.I.S., the ungroomed wildness of the Castlerock zone, and wide, wide, well-pitched intermediate cruisers that recall Western skiing. Ad copious snowfall to all that.

But many of Sugarbush's lifts are aging and slow, and some are unreliable. Its lodges are charming and functional, if not modern.

Due for big upgrades

Yet Alterra has not yet given this sprawling and sometimes mysterious ski area dramatic upgrades since it bought the resort in 2019. Meanwhile, at the other big Vermont ski area it acquired in 2017, Stratton, Alterra quickly spent on a major lift upgrade, substituting a high-speed quad for the old fixed-grip Snow Bowl lift and in the process overhauling the ski and ride experience on that side of the mountain. Alterra also has invested in new beginner lifts at Stratton.

I skied at Sugarbush one afternoon last week, staying on the gorgeous Mount Ellen side, though the two high-speed quads there weren't operating. The alternative was two long and slow chairlift rides to the summit, but it was for great conditions on great terrain, so I'm not complaining too much.

However, even if the high-speed lifts were spinning that day, the fact remains that the Mount Ellen summit atop Vermont's third-highest peak at 4,003 feet, is not served by a high-speed lift. In contrast, all of Sugarbush's peers other than Sugarloaf in Maine, possess high-speed chairs, gondolas or trams to their summits. These resorts include Stowe, Killington, Jay Peak, Sunday River, Saddleback, Stratton, Okemo, Mount Snow, Bretton Woods, Loon, Attitash and Wildcat.

Technically, you could argue that since Gadd Peak, one of Sugarbush's five peaks, is served by the high-speed Super Bravo Express Quad. Sugarbush has a high-speed lift to a summit, but Gadd Peak is really a sub-peak of 3,795-foot Mount Lincoln.

In the meantime, though, Alterra and Sugarbush are starting to make advancements, both in lifts and behind the scenes with snowmaking and other improvements.

In October, Sugarbush unveiled a plan to spend $12.6 million on capital improvements, leading with the replacement of the old Heaven's Gate triple chair to the summit of Mount Lincoln with a new fixed-grip quad.

Construction tentatively is scheduled to start this spring, with the lift expected to operate for the 2024-25 season. The lift will be realigned a bit and will sport slatted seat backs to minimize wind exposure and wind holds that it causes.

Sugarbush also earmarked $3 million for snowmaking improvements including energy-efficient snowguns and new pumps, mostly on Mount Ellen, but also on Northstar, Inverness and Summit Quad terrain.

While it may seem Sugarbush is moving slowly on lifts, the ski area says Alterra has invested more than $30 million since it acquired the resort. That includes new snow grooming machines, improvements to the Lodge at Lincoln Peak and energy improvements at the base lodges and the Sugarbush Health and Recreation Center. That number does not include two workforce housing projects now in the planning phase.

Sugarbush skiing is so good that progress is well worth waiting for.

Bolton Valley

On my northern Vermont swing last week in the depths of our season's longest cold snap, I also got another chance to experience some alpine touring in the beautiful Bolton Valley backcountry that I have been visiting the last three or four years.

The Bolton Valley woods — always a snow magnet — had been refreshed by a couple of feet of new snow since the devastating pre-Christmas rains all but wiped out the outstanding early-season base.

With the temperature hovering around zero amid a stiff wind, old friend and skiing partner Larry Sher of Arlington, Virginia, and I bundled up, slapped climbing skins on our skis and headed up toward the Bryant hut and beyond on the Heavenly Highway trail in Mount Mansfield State Forest. We transitioned to downhill mode at the top and spent a delightful 10 or 15 minutes wending our way down amid the generously spaced trees in the low-angle Moose Glen glades. That dumped us onto the pretty Lower Turnpike section of the regular resort's Wilderness Peak area for the descent to the resort base.

For our second and last lap of the day, we hit Turnpike itself for the up and down. By then, it felt like well below zero.

Bolton Valley was a pioneer in Northeastern backcountry skiing. Its setup is unique, with a separate Nordic and alpine touring center and $20 to $25 dedicated day passes for that as well as on-resort touring. Next to the comfortable, homey center with its expansive Nordic and Alpine touring rental operation, indoor pool and tennis and pickleball courts is a full-fledged groomed Nordic ski complex, and above that, the famed Bolton Valley backcountry with dedicated uphill trails and innumerable downhill routes through the trees.

The Alpine section of the family-owned resort lies across a big parking lot and base lodge. It's a favorite with Burlington, Vermont-area families and college students, with night skiing, good grooming and snowmaking and ample terrain, though no high-speed lifts or fancy amenities in the lodge, though the Inn at Bolton Valley offers slopeside hotel accommodations.

The backcountry operation offers private guides and tours, lessons and weekend group clinics — for all levels.

If you're into Alpine touring at your local resort for fitness and fun and want to take it to the backcountry level, you have got to visit Bolton Valley.

Stowe

I went back to Stowe — about a half-hour drive from Bolton Valley and 50 minutes from Sugarbush — for my second trip this season. But this time there was a lot snow compared the pre-Christmas week I was there, when the resort was just recovering from massive rains.

Sher and I met up with my skiing friend John Stobierski of Deerfield, Mass., who owns a home in Stowe and is a great guide to the ski area and a fast, elegant skier. Stobierski sometimes notes that his surname contains three of his greatest passions — Stowe, beer and skiing. He's accomplished at all three.

He took us all over the resort, from the moderate long cruisers off the top of Mount Mansfield and the new Sunshine high-speed six-passenger chair, to just-opened Nosedive, to the wickedly fast and wide cruisers off the gondola at the chin of Mansfield, to some hidden powder stashes on Spruce Peak. The latter was particularly fun as we negotiated a sketchy tight woods traverse from upper Sterling to Spruce Line near the top of a nearly empty Spruce Peak.

Unfortunately, most of the legendary super-steep runs were closed, but for Goat Trail. I opted not to test its human-height-sized moguls.

We were skiing Stowe last Friday, and Stobierski called Friday "the new Monday" at the resort because Fridays can be quite uncrowded, in large part because of Stowe's $30-a-day parking fees, which kick in Friday to Sunday. Locals show up starting Monday when they can park for free.

Corporate owner Vail Resorts maintains that since the inception of paid parking a couple of years ago, traffic congestion on the Mountain Road leading to the resort has been markedly reduced and that Vail reinvests all proceeds into parking operations. Indeed, public transit has become quite popular, with buses stopping at many convenient locations along the access road, including several large free parking lots.

I think that's a good thing. It reduces pollution and congestion. And if you carpool, the cost becomes pretty nominal.

As for the Sunshine sixpack, which opened last season, Stobierski said it is accomplishing its intended effect. That is reducing crowding on the FourRunner summit high-speed quad and moving non-advanced skier and snowboarder traffic

"This lift has changed Stowe, for the better," he said. "It provides something for intermediates and beginners and takes them out of the terrain on the Forerunner and gives them a dedicated lift."

More about Stowe's future later in the season.

Meanwhile, though, with the Sunshine sixpack, Stowe now has high-speed lifts to all three of its summits and serving every inch of its expert and intermediate slopes. And the Spruce base village – served by the free Easy Over gondola, is the most glamorous base complex in New England.

Rangers return at Wachusett

In December 2022, I reported in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette and telegram.com that Wachusett Mountain was forced to suspend its semi-volunteer ranger program — what some call "the eyes and ears of the ski patrol'' — after a disgruntled former ranger complained to the state attorney general's office that Wachusett was violating state labor laws with the unpaid rangers.

A little more than a year later, the rangers have returned, about 40 of them, according to Wachusett spokesman Chris Stimpson.

Stimpson said the Princeton ski area has been legally cleared to resume the operation. As before, rangers are compensated with two free unlimited season passes and significant food and beverage and gear discounts.

Some night shifts are still available. But know that this is a tough job. Rangers not only have to sometimes confront unsafe skiers and snowboarders and maintain their composure while they do it, but they also have to lug ropes and signs around, making it a physically demanding undertaking. But rangers ski free and ski a lot.

The state accepted Wachusett's contention that rangers fall under the ski area's 1981 lease with the state, which specifies that Wachusett can use paid or volunteer ski patrollers and that rangers are effectively a type of patrol.

The attorney general's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In any event, this is good news.

The rangers are hard workers who help maintain order and safety on Wachusett's busy slopes and are an invaluable asset for the ski patrol by, among other things, calling in crashes and accidents that the patrol might not be on hand to see.

—Contact Shaun Sutner by e-mail at s_sutner@yahoo.com.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Upcoming upgrades at classic Sugarbush will be worth wait for skiers