I’ve had an interesting 7 weeks as an ankle sprain before Christmas took me off the hill. My story tax: I was indoor bouldering when I fell off and missed the mat. I, of course, landed on my ankle in a nice twisty fashion, removing myself from my snowboarding boots for the near future.
Now that I’m finally starting to get back on the hill while still taking it easy, I realize why the Gate House terrain is so popular. These trails are a joy to ride, allowing for relaxing carves down immaculately groomed slopes.
The Gate House Express
The Gate House Express Quad is one of our most popular lifts and was installed in 1995. It replaced the old Carlevaro-Savio Gatehouse Double, adding two seats to each chair as well as shortening the ride time to 4.6 minutes.
The current Gate House lift is a Doppelmayr detachable quad and utilizes more than 1 and a half miles of steel rope as the main line. Riding the lift will have you rise 832 feet up and move 3961 feet forward, allowing for quick laps on gently sloping terrain. It is a great lift if you’re looking to score some quick vertical on a lunch break too!
The Gate House Terrain
The Gate House Terrain was first cut in 1963 to bring more novice and intermediate terrain to the mountain. This is actually the same season that Glen Ellen Ski Area at Mt. Ellen first opened, which Sugarbush later purchased in 1978. It’s fun to think about how some of the trails at Sugarbush are more than 60 years old!
Once brand new skiers and riders have practiced turns off our Welcome Mat and loading a lift on the Village Quad, they may find themselves looking for the next step. The Gate House terrain provides this step with mostly greens and blues that are easier than the Super Bravo trails. For those who aren’t new to skiing and riding but are new to Sugarbush, we recommend that you start out on Gate House to see how steep our slopes are compared to where you may be used to skiing before venturing out to more difficult terrain.
The lift is named properly, as Gate House is your gateway to becoming a more advanced skier or rider. Whether it’s enjoying an easy Pushover, trying out a progression park on Slowpoke, enjoying the timeless Sleeper, or venturing out into your first gladed terrain in the Deeper Sleeper woods, Gate House has something for everyone. I hope to see you on the hill sometime soon, as we all continue the endless pursuit of being better here.