Sugar Mountain Resort Installs New High-Speed Chairlift

Fifty years ago the thrill of skiing down the rolling slopes of Sugar Mountain intrigued a group of daring developers. Participating in a sport mostly unfamiliar to the Southern population rapidly took hold and winter fun became a staple for many. Today, the masses flock to Sugar Mountain, not only to feel and see and touch snow, but to enjoy the plethora of activities that only the accumulation of snowflakes can produce.

To celebrate Sugar Mountain’s first 50 years, a documentary reporting its five decades debuts in mid-December. A new, four passenger, high-speed, detachable chairlift, engineered by Doppelmayr and specifically for beginners, replaces Sugar Mountain Resort’s original, two passenger, fixed-grip Easy Street chairlift built in 1969. The ceremonial ribbon cutting is scheduled for Saturday, December 14 at 10 a.m. The widening of some sections and the addition of another new, high-efficiency and fully automatic snow making machine to the existing fleet on the Easy Street slope are complete.

Morgan Lecka, a local girl, born and raised in Banner Elk, North Carolina joins the Sugar Mountain team as the director of group sales. With a degree in marketing from East Tennessee State University, her inviting personality welcomes groups from all over the Southeast. Dick Casey, who in the 1990’s worked at Sugar Mountain Resort as a ski patroller, head coach of the Sugar Mountain Ski Club, and later as director of group sales, rejoins Sugar’s management team as the equipment rental & repair manager. 

Sugar Mountain Resort is North Carolina’s largest snow sports resort and provides the best skiing, snowboarding, ice-skating, tubing, and snowshoeing experience possible.