If your searching for an incredible inbounds uphill experience, look no further than the legendary slopes of Sugar Bowl in Lake Tahoe, California where they have an open boundary policy for those who have an uphill ticket or season pass (either Uphill season pass or downhill season pass).
Uphill access at Sugar Bowl, as with any other ski resort, is a joy but also a privilege that comes with unique rules that guests are incumbent to follow for their safety and the safety of others. Remember to always follow uphill routes, check closures, and be aware of dangers and machinery on the mountain.
“Sticking to the procedures ensures the future of our uphill programs!”
Why Uphill Sugar Bowl?
So you want to take the hard way up, huh? You’ve come to the right place! Here at Sugar Bowl, we’re excited to offer uphill travel on three designated routes. Most of our uphillers are here for one of two reasons, either to access the backcountry or to get a great workout. Whatever your reason for skipping the lift, we’re excited to host splitboarders and ski tourers at Sugar Bowl.
That said, the uphill scene at Sugar Bowl is no free-for-all. Follow the uphill guidelines to make sure that you have a safe uphill experience and the community can keep enjoying these privileges.
Operating hours
Always check the status of your desired route at sugarbowl.com/uphill before you start skinning. Uphill frequently opens and closes due to weather, conditions, and/or mountain operations. When open, uphill hours are:
Judah + Lincoln: 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Disney: 7:00 AM – 4:00 PM (Note, Disney closes early due to winch cat operation on that side of the mountain.)
Early morning workout
If you’re here to work out before the work day, plan to arrive at Sugar Bowl with skins on at 7am. We’re giddy just thinking about the combination of crisp corduroy, the sunrise, and a thermos of coffee at the top. If you’re up for a challenge, it’s possible to skin from the Judah Parking Lot to the summit of Lincoln and ski/ride back in 50 minutes. You’ve still got a whole hour to get to the office if you’re a 9-5er.
Sunset Jaunt
If you’re more of an end-of-the-day adventurer, our uphill hours stretch through the entire day all the way to 7pm on Lincoln and Judah, and 4pm on Disney, due to winch cat operations. When the sunset is hovering around 5pm in the shortest days of winter, you’re primed for an epic Sierra sunset (but you’ll want to have a headlamp in your pocket.) The afternoon uphill experience pairs well with a visit to the Belt Room afterwards.
Backcountry Access
Sugar Bowl has an open boundary policy. Please be mindful of the backcountry access gates and do not exit through the gates if they are marked as closed. If you plan on traveling in the backcountry, you’ll want to equip yourself with a beacon, shovel, probe, and a base level of understanding of how to travel avalanche terrain. A 3-day AIARE 1 avalanche course is a great place to start.
Want to learn to Uphill?
There are a variety of local guide services in North Lake Tahoe that teach uphill and backcountry skills. Sugar Bowl partners with Alpine Skills International, who offers a handy one-day Intro to Backcountry course.
The Basic Rules of Uphill:
- A lift ticket or season pass is required to travel uphill inbounds.
- Review and sign the Uphill Use Policy before traveling uphill.
- Travel is allowed between 7am-7pm, but always check the website to make sure uphill travel is open. (Rule of thumb, if visibility is poor or Patrol is conducting avalanche mitigation work on the mountain, we will close uphill travel… always check! There are many reasons that uphill may close.)
- Use designated uphill travel routes only, stick to the edges of the trail and cross the slope only where directed. See descriptions below.
- Expect to encounter on-snow vehicles like snowmobiles and snowcats, etc. Plan to yield… Are you really in that much of a hurry?
- Sorry, no dogs permitted for uphill at the ski resort. But you can opt for cross country skiing in Van Norden Meadow with your favorite furball. A dog season pass is required and a limited number are sold each season.
A Note about Safety from Patrol:
“Be aware of oncoming traffic. We close uphill when visibility becomes a safety issue, basically during weather events. Always check the Sugar Bowl website to see what the current status of uphill is. And lastly, follow the designated uphill routes.” –Courtney Meyerhotlz, Sugar Bowl Ski Patrol Director
More Details to keep in mind
Parking: we recommend parking at the Main Lodge to access our uphill routes.
Uphill travel is not permitted inbounds outside of the normal operating season (don’t try to sneak in during early November, we’ll ask you to turn around!)
If you’ve gotten this far you should know better but… uphill gear is required. Don’t try to walk uphill, no snowshoes, and you must have skis or a split board with metal edges to ascend. If you are looking for snowshoeing, check out Royal Gorge.
Remember, be an uphill travel steward. Offering this program to our Sugar Bowl community requires the cooperation (and the goodwill) of many departments including patrol, grooming, lift maintenance, snow removal, parking and more. Ignoring the rules is dangerous and will make it impossible for us to continue to offer uphill travel. Safety is a shared responsibility, so let’s work together to keep uphill travel open for the entire community!
