Snowmaking Articles
Snowmaker's Notes...
See what’s happening behind the scenes this summer in Sugar Bowl’s Athlete Zone. From new snowmaking and terrain shaping to park features and race venue improvements, these projects are building better places to learn, train, and progress.
After a slow start to the snowmaking season, our team was able to fire up the system this week. With turkey-packed bellies turkey, the team had to recover from their food comas and flip this switch around 5:00pm on Thanksgiving night. The frigid temps held up most of the day Friday, allowing the crew to build some base on runs off White Pine and Jerome. Given the lack of natural snowfall so far this year, the team has concentrated on stacking snow in these two zones before expanding further.
After a slow start to the snowmaking season, our team was able to fire up the system this week. With turkey-packed bellies turkey, the team had to recover from their food comas and flip this switch around 5:00pm on Thanksgiving night. The frigid temps held up most of the day Friday, allowing the crew to build some base on runs off White Pine and Jerome. Given the lack of natural snowfall so far this year, the team has concentrated on stacking snow in these two zones before expanding further.
Behind the Scenes: Building the Athlete Zone
Photo: 7/7/26. Snow Surfaces Director Matt Melilli and Terrain Park Supervisor Parker Gokey scout Peregrine Ridge earthworks projects for summer 2026.
Long before the first snowflakes fall, Sugar Bowl’s crews are already building winter.
Since 2024, Sugar Bowl has been making a significant multi-year investment in the Athlete Zone, home to the resort’s race venues and terrain parks. From expanded snowmaking infrastructure and terrain shaping to new terrain park features and race course improvements, every project is focused on one goal: creating better places for skiers and riders to learn, train, and progress.
What is the Athlete Zone?
“The Athlete Zone is where our race venues and terrain parks come together,” explains Terrain Park Manager Mike Schipani. “We’re creating a place where athletes have the facilities they need to train, progress, and reach the next level.”
The Athlete Zone’s transformation began in 2024, when the terrain parks were relocated to the heart of the resort, served by the high-speed Christmas Tree Express and Lincoln Express chairlifts. By creating quick, efficient laps between runs, athletes can spend more time training and less time riding lifts.
“We want the Athlete Zone to feel like home,” says Snow Surfaces Director Matt Melilli. “It’s a place where athletes come every day to train, push each other, and grow. Whether they leave with a podium finish or not, they’re part of this community.”
Whether you’re learning your first rail, entering your first race, or preparing for international competition, the Athlete Zone is designed to help athletes take the next step.
Renown Park Builder Brandon Dodds states, “It’s refreshing to see a terrain park in Lake Tahoe really investing in freestyle athletes.”
That next generation already includes Sugar Bowl Ambassador Micah Rodarte, who has been skiing since he could walk and now spends his winters chasing his dream of competing on the world stage.
“Without a really good park, it’s hard to keep progressing,” says Micah, “Having a park like this close to home is huge.”
More Snowmaking Power
One of the biggest behind-the-scenes investments this summer is expanded snowmaking infrastructure throughout the Athlete Zone. Crews are installing the latest TechnoAlpin TT10 fan guns, bringing state-of-the-art snowmaking technology to Sugar Bowl’s race venues and terrain parks, including Vanderbilt, Peregrine Ridge, and Golden Eagle.
“We’re continuing to build on the work we started last summer,” says Snow Surfaces Director Matt Melilli. “By refining the terrain and adding new snowmaking, we’re creating a more consistent race venue that will serve athletes for years to come.”
These upgrades give the snow surfaces team more flexibility to build consistent race venues and terrain parks, opening training terrain earlier in the season and providing reliable conditions throughout the winter.
“We’re putting a ton of investment into our Lincoln Speed Venue this season,” says Race & Events Coordinator Ava Perryman. “These investments really help us create better training opportunities for the next generation of Sugar Bowl athletes.”
Building Better Terrain From the Ground Up
Great snow surfaces start before the snow falls.
“The goal of the earthwork is to minimize the amount of snow it takes to build the terrain,” explains Brandon Dodds, a veteran terrain park builder with nearly three decades of experience who worked alongside Sugar Bowl, Eco Sign, Charles Beckinsale, and Steve Petrie to help design the Athlete Zone. Today, Brandon is bringing those plans to life with Koah Earthworks.
“It makes the whole process more efficient and creates better flow throughout the park.”
That efficiency benefits both the park crew and the athletes who train here. Less snow is required to build features, allowing crews to open terrain earlier while creating smoother transitions and more consistent conditions throughout the season.
“Even though we can shape snow throughout the winter, there are some things that naturally push the trail a certain way,” says Snow Surfaces Director Matt Melilli. “The earthwork we do in the summer lets us control the flow of our terrain parks and really enhance the experience.”
One of the biggest projects this summer is on Peregrine Ridge, where crews have widened the upper section of the trail and are reshaping the terrain from top to bottom.
“By widening and reshaping the upper section of Peregrine, we’re giving ourselves room to build more creative terrain and get our jumps open earlier in the season,” says Terrain Park Manager Mike Schipani.
The result will be smoother transitions, more creative feature layouts, and terrain that can be built more efficiently throughout the winter.
New Terrain Park Features
The Sugar Bowl Parks team is also adding new features designed to keep the parks fresh, creative, and fun all season long.
“We’re really stoked to add new Arena Snow Park features,” says Parker. “We’re also building custom features in-house.”
New additions include custom purple Peak Boxes that will mark the entrances and exits of each terrain park, a new S rail, and additional custom-built features designed by the park crew.
“The goal is to add more variety and creativity so there’s always something new to ride,” Parker says.
A Multi-Year Investment
The Athlete Zone has been taking shape over several seasons, with each project helping create a more complete training environment for racers and park athletes alike.
“I’m proud to be part of what we’re building here,” asserts Mike. “Every improvement helps create a better place for athletes to train.”
Recent improvements include:
- Building the Lincoln Speed Venue
- Relocating the terrain parks from Mt. Judah and creating a dedicated Athlete Zone centered around the Christmas Tree and Lincoln Express chairlifts, allowing for quick laps and efficient training.
- Building the Golden Eagle jump line with dirt foundations that require less snow to build each winter
- Building Sugar Bowl’s new terrain park brand and identity, Sugar Bowl Parks
- Completing defensible space and hazard tree work
Today’s Athlete Zone is the result of years of thoughtful investment, all focused on one goal: giving the next generation of skiers and riders a place to learn, train, and pursue their biggest ambitions.
Built for the Next Generation
For Sugar Bowl Ambassador Micah Rodarte, those investments have a direct impact on his future.
“Training at Sugar Bowl Parks gets me ready to compete around the world,” he says.
The ability to take quick laps, progress from smaller features to large jumps, and train on thoughtfully designed terrain gives athletes the confidence to keep pushing their skills.
Every race venue and terrain park is built with the same purpose: creating a place where athletes across ages and abilities can progress. For some, that means landing their first rail or entering their first race. For others, like Micah, it’s training for competitions around the world. That’s why these investments matter.
As Mike puts it, “Our community is full of athletes with incredible potential. We’re building a place where they can continue to develop those skills. We’re building the terrain that athletes need to make it to the world stage, both in racing and freestyle.”
We can’t wait to see where those journeys begin this winter.
Snowmaking – Week of 11/26/2023
December 2, 2023 –
Sugar Bowl is open thanks to the strong work of our snowmaking team. Jerome Hill Express is open with both Pioneer and Trailblazer open, along with some great beginning terrain off White Pine and Flume. The team was even able to make enough snow to put up a fun beginner’s terrain park with 4 features. If you see a snowmaker on the mountain, give them a high-five…and perhaps a warm cup of coffee if you have one in your pocket.
As of today, the snowmaking system has operated for 170 hours. We will not be able to operate the snowmaking system for the next three nights due to warm temps and high humidity BUT.. there is 8″ of fresh snow in the forecast! When snowmaking resumes, we will continue to make snow on the open terrain as well as push to Christmas Tree and Nob Hill so we can soon offer skiing from the Village.
Check back next week for an update and keep doing your snow dances, it seems to be working!
Snowmaking – Week of 11/19/2023
November 25, 2023 –
After a slow start to the snowmaking season, our team was able to fire up the system this week. With turkey-packed bellies, the team had to recover from their food comas and flip this switch around 5:00pm on Thanksgiving night. The frigid temps held up most of the day Friday, allowing the crew to build some base on runs off White Pine and Jerome. Given the lack of natural snowfall so far this year, the team has concentrated on stacking snow in these two zones before expanding further.
The forecast is calling for overnight snowmaking temps through at least Wednesday (11/29), and perhaps longer. Our team will be at the ready to make snow at every opportunity.
In the long-range, there does look to be a storm on the horizon. We will keep our fingers crossed and snow-dancing shoes on.
Check out the forecast for yourself:
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