My ankle sprain is healing and I’m moving on from beginner terrain to steeper slopes! Like all Sugarbushers, I’m trying my hardest to be better here. Thankfully, we’ve got some of the best intermediate level terrain in the East off the Super Bravo Express.
If you’ve ever spent the day at Lincoln Peak, you know that Super Bravo is our bread and butter lift. This is one of our fastest chairs and brings skiers/riders to an ideal position for accessing a majority of Lincoln Peak’s terrain. Both Heaven’s Gate and the Castlerock lift loading areas are accessible from the top, usually making this the first ride of the day for many.
Bravo by the Numbers
The Super Bravo Express Quad shoots skiers and riders up 1,530 feet at 5.08 meters/s or about 11 miles/hr. It only takes 6.3 minutes to ride the lift, and the total distance you move forward is 5,689 feet. The lift uses a 2.1-mile-long steel cable as the main line and can bring 2,800 skiers up the mountain every hour. It is a Doppelymayr detachable quad and was installed in 1995. It replaced what used to be the Sugar Bravo Triple, which is now actually the North Lynx Triple.
Super Terrain
The Super Bravo terrain mostly consists of intermediate trails with a few notable exceptions. Stein’s Run is one of Sugarbush’s most popular trails and is our only double black diamond accessible from a base area lift. Unfortunately, being injured has taken me away from one of Sugarbush’s best skiing areas due to its difficulty. Check out Stein’s woods or Christmas Tree Woods if you ever get the chance for some steep tree skiing.
My first run down Super Bravo this year was Lower Jester as it has a perfect slope for relaxing carves. The Jester saga starts all the way from the top of Heaven’s Gate. But you can ride the lower portion of this famous run from the top of Bravo for easy laps.
Another Bravo classic is Murphy’s Glades, a fan-favorite trail on a powder day named after former GM, Jack Murphy. It’s a super wide run with a scattering of trees in the middle providing some classic New England scenery. Looking down the hill from the top of Murphy’s Glades on a powder day is a joyous feeling, knowing there are so many ways you could carve all that snow.
Accessible from Super Bravo and Valley House, the top of Spring Fling is known for its phenomenal view of Clay Brook and the Mad River Valley. The soft sun-soaked snow on Spring Fling is a Sugarbush sunny day must. Eden is one of our guest’s favorite glades due to how open and forgiving it is. I’d recommend first time wood skiers check out one of the mountain bike trails by dropping in on Lower Snowball and sticking to the path until you get comfortable!
Bravo is the key to accessing Lincoln Peaks upper mountain lifts and acts as the heart of our trail system. Come join me at Sugarbush sometime soon for fun trails and the endless pursuit of being better here.