New Heaven’s Gate Chairlift Highlights $12.6 Million In Capital Improvements At Sugarbush
Sugarbush Resort has announced $12.6 million in capital improvements through next summer. Leading the highlights is the replacement of the Heaven’s Gate Triple with a new fixed grip quad, which will be slightly realigned to lower wind exposure and have slatted seat backs to help minimize the opportunity for wind holds. Construction on the new lift is tentatively planned for the spring of 2024 and be ready for the 2024/25 winter season.
The resort also continues to invest heavily in snowmaking upgrades with another $3 million dedicated to enhancing snowmaking infrastructure, much of it focused on Mt. Ellen for this winter. These investments cap a multiyear effort to improve snowmaking systems at Mt. Ellen including upgrades to Northstar, Inverness, and the Summit Quad terrain with new energy efficient infrastructure. These improvements, combined with new pumps, now allows Sugarbush to make snow more efficiently all over the mountain, using less energy while being able to open terrain faster and recover from weather events more quickly. These improvements come on the heels of multiple other snowmaking projects at Lincoln Peak that were completed within the last year including adding snowmaking to the newly recut Reverse Traverse (now combined with the old Heaven’s Gate Traverse to simply all be called Heaven’s Gate Traverse), installing a new weir at the Lincoln Peak Snowmaking Pond, and overhauling snowmaking pipe and guns on Easy Rider and Pushover among others.
Further improving the guest experience are planned investments in dining and activities. At Lincoln Peak, the resort will be adding a new container bar in the Lincoln Peak Courtyard while also adding a new separate dining space for seasonal program participants in the Valley House Lodge. At Mt. Ellen Sugarbush is expanding the dining offerings at Walt’s at the Glen House while upgrading the interior of the lodge with new furniture, paint, carpet, bathroom upgrades, and opening the downstairs as additional seating for the restaurant. The Sugarbush Health & Recreation Center is installing several new sports simulators in what were the racquet ball courts, where guests can privately rent out a court with the simulator by the hour and enjoy games like golf, dodgeball, soccer, and more.
On the lodging side, Sugarbush has completed well over $1 million in renovations to the Sugar Lodge, now called The Lodge at Lincoln Peak, with 24 rooms including two suites, and The Black Sheep Pub, which opened this past winter. Additional investments also include a new winch cat and two new free groomers added to the grooming fleet as well as energy efficiency improvements to base lodges and the Sugarbush Health & Recreation Center.
All of these projects bring the resort’s total capital investiture since Alterra Mountain Company acquired it in 2020 to over $30 million, the largest investment over that period of time in decades. That number doesn’t even include the two workforce housing projects the resort is in the planning phases for on the Sugarbush Access Road, with the hope to potentially begin construction next year.
“It has been incredible to see the continued commitment from Alterra Mountain Company towards improving the infrastructure and operations here at Sugarbush,” said John Hammond, President and Chief Operating Officer at Sugarbush. “These most recent investments will further improve the guest experience for years to come.”
