A hot topic around the Sugarbush Marketing office recently has been how different generations compare and contrast. Our team ranges across multiple generations, more often then not, having some in the same generation but on completely opposite sides of it. As Millennials versus Gen Z versus Gen X are all anyone is seemingly talking about these days, it made us think. We see guests on our mountain ranging from 2 to 99. As the ski industry shifts and changes, slowly but surely, we were curious how each new generation of skiers and riders changes alongside it. We came up with questions and gathered some fiercely loyal bush-goers to hear what they had to say. From Generation Alpha to Baby Boomers, we asked the same questions and they provided some VERY interesting answers…
Meet the Skiers
What is your favorite Sugarbush Memory?
- Lucy – Gen Alpha: “One time I skied in a rainsuit and my friend skied in her t-shirt. That was so silly. And one time I biked in the parking lot before skiing when it got warm.”
- Eleanor – Gen Z: “My favorite Sugarbush memory is skiing with my grandfather in the morning before school.”
- Lucy – Gen Z: “Skiing in the Slide Brook woods with my UVM pals😊”
- John – Millennial “Driving a Porsche 911 through the snow on Crackerjack at Mt. Ellen. Don’t worry it was an actual event we had, not just me driving my car up the mountain! I mean where would I even get a Porsche 911 myself anyway?”
- Cheryl – Baby Boomer: “Historic 2007 Valentine’s Day Blizzard laps on Pushover with fresh powder on each run.”
- Chris – Baby Boomer: “Closing day at Mt Ellen, listening to The Detonators and watching the sun set behind the hill after a fantastic day on skiing”
If you ran a ski resort for a day, what is the first thing you’d do?
- Lucy – Gen Alpha: “Go Skiing”
- Eleanor – Gen Z: “If I ran a ski resort for a day I would give out free lunch to all the local high schoolers.”
- Lucy – Gen Z: “I would sled down on the little butt sleds with the snowmakers.”
- John – Millennial “Throw a mid-mountain spring party at Allyn’s Lodge. Think Val d’Isere’s La Folie Douce.”
- Cheryl – Baby Boomer:“Have a serious Pow-Wow with Mother Nature, offer jobs to Elsa, Anna and Olaf.”
- Chris – Baby Boomer: “I would do a lot of grooming early morning.”
Best idea for a trail name?
- Lucy – Gen Alpha: “The Dog Trail”
- Eleanor – Gen Z: “If I got to name a ski trail I’d name it Eleanor’s Run.”
- Lucy – Gen Z: “It would be a traverse and it would be called “Use it or Luce it”
- John – Millennial “Middle Earth is an underrated trail name. Props to whoever was reading Tolkien in the late 50s/early 60s. Its remoteness does give you a sense of the fantastical.”
- Cheryl – Baby Boomer: “Since Sugarbear is already used, I suggest Bear Paw.”
- Chris – Baby Boomer: “Diablo”
Favorite spot to grab a bite/favorite lift snack.
- Lucy – Gen Alpha: “Any kind of candy…and gummy bears!”
- Eleanor – Gen Z: “My favorite food for the mountain is a waffle cabin waffle.”
- Lucy – Gen Z: “I just tried the Lunch Box NYC Chopped Cheese for the first time recently and I think I transcended. But usually it’s a pocket PB&J for me!”
- John – Millennial “Walt’s grilled cheeses are hard to beat, but there’s no dining venue I won’t indulge in here.”
- Cheryl – Baby Boomer: “Healthy snack-mozzarella cheese stick, decadent snack-chocolate.”
- Chris – Baby Boomer: “Mountainside courtyard on a sunny spring day.”
Groomers or moguls?!
- Lucy – Gen Alpha: “Moguls!”
- Eleanor – Gen Z: “Moguls.”
- Lucy – Gen Z:“Moguls!”
- John – Millennial “Give me both, but if you don’t like moguls you’re probably at the wrong mountain.”
- Cheryl – Baby Boomer: “Groomers in reality, but moguls in my imagination.”
- Chris – Baby Boomer: “My joints say groomers, my brain says moguls.”
What is your pre or post ski/ride ritual?
- Lucy – Gen Alpha:“After skiing, I always have hot chocolate with marshmallows.”
- Eleanor – Gen Z: “My post ski ritual is getting a waffle cabin waffle.”
- Lucy – Gen Z: “Well naturally, I begin every ski day by calling the snow phone. I mean…if you’re not calling the snow phone…what are you doing?! Then I acquire a very large coffee and probably a bagel too. And because a good ski day is always made better with a fun carpool, I either grab the homies or the homies grab me, and then we’re off. One friend and I have made it tradition to listen to ABBA’s Chiquitita at least 3x on the drive to the mountain. For whatever reason it gets us pretty fired up.”
- John – Millennial “If I’m working, it’s hightailing it back to the office. Nothing beats the feeling of leaving the mountain after several runs when others are just getting there for their first. If I’m not working, it’s a beer in the Courtyard, especially when the sun’s out. OK, maybe a couple beers.”
- Cheryl – Baby Boomer: “Pre – Stretch, hydrate and stretch, Post-Hydrate, stretch and hydrate.”
- Chris – Baby Boomer: “Pre – stretch, stretch, stretch, Post-Sit by the fire with my sugar bear and recap the day.”