Founded by Walt Disney, Sugar Bowl is one of the oldest resorts at Lake Tahoe and the oldest chair-lift-served resort in California.

Founded by Walt Disney, Sugar Bowl is one of the oldest resorts in the Lake Tahoe region, and the oldest chairlift-served resort in California. Although it is keeping pace with the modern ski era—with high-speed lifts, excellent grooming, and a plethora of terrain parks and features—the resort is, ironically, not suffering from "Disneyfication." From the moment you step out of your car and board the gondola to ride down across a valley to the lifts, you feel like you're stepping back in time. The snowbound Village is a small collection of old ski chalets, the Inn at Sugar Bowl (which also serves as a base lodge), the child-care center, and a ski shop. Period. No Starbucks. No fancy truffle shop. You can feel your body clock slow as soon as you step off the gondola.

People come to Sugar Bowl for one reason: To ski and ride. And those who aren't spending the night at the Inn should park at the Mt. Judah parking area, thus avoiding the slow Village Gondola. From Mt. Judah, your mountain adventure begins quickly thanks to two high-speed quads. If you're looking for the classic Sugar Bowl experience, head to the top of Mt. Lincoln and ski Silver Belt to Steilhang. As you dive under the first cliff and into the natural gully, imagine yourself racing the infamous Silver Belt giant slalom, which attracted the world's best skiers from 1940–1975. In 2000, the race was revived as a very gnarly invitation-only skiercross event.

Despite its wide variety of terrain and laid-back feel, Sugar Bowl is another of Tahoe's overlooked ski areas. We recommend Sugar Bowl for a day's change of pace from the larger Tahoe resorts. However, remember that it's one of the first ski areas on the drive from San Francisco, Oakland and Sacramento and gets its big crowds on weekends.

Sugar Bowl has three peaks—Mt. Judah, with its own parking lot and base lodge; Mt. Lincoln; and Mt. Disney, reached initially by the Village Gondola. The three peaks are connected. This is one of the few ski areas where we agree with virtually all their trail ratings. Most of the lifts are high speed and a skier can pack in lots of vertical very quickly.

The resort made $10 million of improvements in the 2005-06 season that include a 14,000-square-foot expansion to the Mt. Judah Day Lodge; an upgrade of the Christmas Tree quad to a high-speed quad; a regrade of the learning terrain and the addition of a moving carpet in the White Pine area; creation of a kids' learning area with a moving carpet and expansion of the child-care program now available in the Village and in the Mountain Sports Learning Center.

The Ski Tahoe North Interchangeable ticket (1 877-949-3296) allows guests to ski/snowboard at Alpine Meadows, Diamond Peak, Homewood, Mt. Rose, Northstar, Squaw Valley and Sugar Bowl and accommodates those looking for the best conditions. There are wind holds on some mountains on some days and snow conditions vary from resort to resort. The ticket is $58 per person, per day for two-or-more-day tickets, is valid all season and doesn't need to be used on consecutive days. Tickets are two-for-one at Homewood and Diamond Peak.

Summit elevation: 8,383 feet
Vertical drop: 1,500 feet
Base elevation: 6,883 feet

Expert: ++
Advanced: +++
Intermediate: +++++
Beginner: ++++
First-timer: +++

Address: P.O. Box 5
Norden, CA 95724
Area code: 530
Ski area phone/reservations:
426-9000
Snow report: 426-1111
E-mail: info@sugarbowl.com
Internet: www.sugarbowl.com

Number of lifts: 14—1 gondola, 5 high-speed quads, 2 quads, 3 doubles, 1 surface lift, 2 moving carpets
Snowmaking: 25 percent
Skiable acreage: 1,500 acres
Uphill capacity: 13,755 per hour
Parks & pipes: 3 parks, 1 pipe
Bed base: 460
Nearest lodging: Slopeside
Resort child care: Yes, 3–5 years old (toilet-trained)
Adult ticket, per day: $60–$70 (07/08)

North Lake Tahoe
Area Facts:

Toll-free reservations:
(888) 434-1262 (North Lake Tahoe);
(800) 468-2463 (Incline Village/Crystal Bay);
(888) 448-7366 (Reno)
Internet: www.mytahoevacation.com (North Lake Tahoe); www.renolaketahoe.com (Reno)
E-mail: info@mytahoevacation.com (North Lake Tahoe)
or info@renolaketahoe.com (Reno)

Dining: +++
Apres-ski/nightlife: ++ (near the lake), ++++ (Reno)
Other activities: +++