This Tahoe ski resort is getting a new $50 million gondola next winter
Sugar Bowl Resort, near Donner Summit, has embarked on a major revitalization project to update and rebuild its gondola, main lodge, beginner ski area and more. (William Hale Irwin/For the S.F. Chronicle)
A major multiyear renovation at one of the Bay Area's favorite ski resorts is getting underway.
Last summer, Sugar Bowl Resort, one of the closest ski areas to San Francisco, embarked on a $100 million capital improvement project to modernize parts of its 87-year-old property. It started with replacing the resort's historic wooden sundeck with a dining terrace and overhauling the menu and food service.
This offseason, the resort is beginning a more ambitious round of work to significantly improve access to the slopes for both first-time visitors and veteran passholders alike - starting next winter.
There are two big-ticket items.
The first is replacing Sugar Bowl's classic 73-year-old gondola - which shuttles visitors about two-thirds of a mile from the highway parking area over treetops to the heart of the ski village - with a larger, faster model. The old gondola - said to be the first ski gondola on the West Coast when it was built in 1953 - could transport 800 people per hour. The new Austrian-made system runs eight-person cabins and will be capable of carrying up to 1,800 passengers per hour.
A rendering of the village-side gondola terminal, which is being rebuilt and should be complete before the end of the calendar year. (Bull Stockwell Allen / Sugar Bowl Resort)
In an interview with the Chronicle, Sugar Bowl president and CEO Bridget Legnavsky said increasing the volume of skiers on the slopes is not the resort's goal. "The intention is not to put more people in the village but to make getting there a more seamless experience," she said. "We don't want people waiting to get in and out of the resort."
Removal of the old gondola began this month. The whole project, which includes construction of new terminals, towers and a refurbished parking garage, will cost $50 million and should be completed by December, Legnavsky said. It's the fourth evolution of the gondola and "the most significant rebuild," she said.
Sugar Bowl's distinct highway gondola terminal will be rebuilt this summer and a new gondola is slated to be operational before the end of the calendar year. (William Hale Irwin/For the S.F. Chronicle)
Sugar Bowl's operational model is unique relative to other Sierra ski resorts in that it is privately owned and governed by a San Francisco corporation that represents the approximately 170 investors who own homes in the resort village. That insulates it somewhat against industry pressures that have caused some ski resorts to try to attract as many visitors as possible, resort leaders have said.
Still, there's work to be done to keep the resort "current and relevant" and appealing to newcomers, Legnavsky said.
The other large project is a $15 million renovation of the main Judah Lodge, the hub where new visitors arrive to buy day tickets, rent gear, take lessons and participate in ski school.
Right now, visitors walk past a shipping and receiving deck to enter the building, where they'll find a bank of day-ticket windows. Beginning next winter, the interior layout and approach will be modified and rearranged.
A rendering of the resort's main Judah Lodge, which will be renovated to be more welcoming to visitors. (Bull Stockwell Allen / Sugar Bowl Resort)
Visitors will be encouraged to drive up to the entrance to drop off their gear and passengers. The idea is to spare people from having to schlep all their stuff across the lodge's large parking lot. "Welcoming people - especially families new to the sport - is massive for us," Legnavsky said.
They'll enter a large, windowed sports shop with a broad staircase up to the ticketing and rental floor. From there, skiers and riders will be able to step outside to a wide, level snow beach - which has yet to be built - that leads to the base chairlifts and the beginner skiing area. The lodge's third floor will continue to serve as a cafe and dining area.
Legnavsky called the new arrangement "a guest-ination" concept. The basic idea is to create a more natural flow for people who aren't already familiar with Sugar Bowl's facilities.
"We put all the services together so it's easy for people to get all they need before they go out to snow," she said. "The building will feel really different."
A rendering showing the backside of the village gondola terminal and hotel, which are undergoing renovations this summer. (Bull Stockwell Allen / Sugar Bowl Resort)
However, Legnavsky said, the architectural style won't be too much of a departure from Sugar Bowl's charming, European-inspired look.
The overarching vision for Sugar Bowl, Legnavsky says, is to create an environment that is welcoming to new skiers and comfortable to both village residents and season passholders, but also relaxed and uncrowded.
"We'll always be a public resort and we need to constantly replenish and make sure people are coming," she said. "The village owners understand how important it is to make sure it's inclusive and thriving and that we're maintaining the ski resort."
