Industry News
For over 85 years, Sugar Bowl Resort, California, has been a destination for top-tier snowsports athletes. This legacy continues with the launch of ‘Sugar Bowl Parks | CA,’ a fully reimagined park experience designed to deliver world-class athlete training for freestyle skiers and snowboarders. Sugar Bowl Parks offers a seamless progression, from junior development to elite-level performance, providing the foundation for athletes to achieve their goals at national and international competitions.
“Our vision is to offer a full-size progression facility that can bring young freestyle athletes onto the world stage.”
— Bridget Legnavsky, CEO, Sugar Bowl
At the core of Sugar Bowl Parks is a commitment to tailored progression. The park features are built for athletes at every level, allowing them to develop skills that can take them from local competitions to the global stage. The new terrain park isn’t just about jumps and rails—it’s about creating a California-based training ground that allows athletes to reach their peak potential.
The full-sized progression facility includes:
- Golden Eagle: Large jump lines and rails (40’, 50’, 60’)
- Peregrine Ridge: Medium jump lines and rails (25’, 30’, 35’)
- The Condor: Big Air (70’)
Skogan Sprang, Freeski Sport Director for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team, highlights the significance of ski resorts investing in terrain parks: “Lake Tahoe has such a rich history of producing incredible freeskiers and snowboarders. As an athlete who grew up in Lake Tahoe during the golden era of park skiing—when top-tier parks were at every resort here and across the country—there’s nothing I want more than to see Tahoe back on the map as a hotspot for park skiing. For the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team to continue excelling at the Olympic, World Cup, and X Games levels, we need more resorts investing in world-class parks and pipes. This will not only help our athletes progress but also inspire the next generation of young skiers to get involved and have fun.”
Location
Sugar Bowl Parks is positioned at the heart of the resort, at Christmas Tree, at the base of Mount Lincoln. With the Christmas Tree Express Lift, lap times are faster, and the surrounding terrain provides ideal slope angles for freestyle training.
World-Class Design & Expertise
Sugar Bowl has partnered with some of the industry’s best, including veterans like Charles Beckinsale and Steve Petrie. New Park Manager Mike Shipani and Head Designer Brandon Dodds bring over four decades of combined experience in designing and building world-class terrain parks. While leading the development of Sugar Bowl Parks, Dodds shares his excitement about the project: “I’ve been in terrain parks for 26 years and I’ve done a lot of high performance camps and training. I’m really excited to bring kids here and provide a place for them to progress their skills.”
Since 1939, Sugar Bowl has been at the forefront of snowsports, hosting elite events from the original Silver Belt Classic in the 1940s to the modern Silver Belt freeride competition. The new Sugar Bowl Parks marks the next chapter in this legacy, furthering their commitment to athlete development. Whether through ski racing on the Hannes Schroll Speed Venue, big mountain events like the Tahoe Junior Freeride Series, or new terrain park competitions, Sugar Bowl continues to push the boundaries of snowsports.
For more information on Sugar Bowl Parks, visit www.sugarbowl.com/terrainpark.
