Review Date
December 7, 2003

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
Countless

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 5 votes

Reviewed by: Brad, Advanced

Price Paid: $0.00

Summary:
Are you people serious? You can't possibly compare any NC resort to the stuff out West. This is the Dirty South. Skiing is usually reserved for water around here. I've lived in Boone for 5 years now, 30 minutes from Hawksnest, Sugar and Beech, and I've been to these resorts alot.

Sometimes it sucks real bad. It gets really icy, sometimes it rains, weekends are out for me- too crowded, too expensive. Oh yeah, and the snow making equipment here will freeze your eyeballs shut and pop your ear drums. I've ruined 4 pairs of goggles, each in a session with the snowblowers kicking. The stuff freezes to your face when you ride past them, and the only thing to wipe it off with is your glove or the razor you were going to slit your wrist with. There's also alot of attitude from people who think they're hot snuff but really suck dookieballs. Sometimes it's okay. Like when I get sick and don't have to go to work (don't tell anyone) on a weekday after one of the two big snowstorms of the year, the place is nice. There are very few runs, but the longest one is a mile, which is the longest run in the south east. Good value for students. Season passes are ridiculous.

I've been to BC and Vermont, ridden waist deep powder in the backcountry, and can definitely say that riding at Sugar sucks compared to that. But what other option do I have? Usually after one of our two big snows, I drive over to the Moses Cone park to build kickers and ride powder. It's free and there's seldom a crowd of anyone but fat kids on garbage can lids. The drawback is hiking back up, but that's still faster than the yellow lift going to the top of Sugar. I can't believe they haven't put in a quad. They never will. I'll be moving real soon, so that I can get to better snow! Somebody please sponsor me! I'm not real good, but I want to get out of here!

Bottom line: if you live in the southeast already, it's your only option. Then it's pretty good because you obviously don't know any better. I made the mistake of going to good snow, and now I'm going to have to move. If you don't live near here, don't bother. If you're from Florida, go home, we've got enough of 'em already.

Review Date
March 9, 2003

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 2 of 5

Used product for
Once

Reviewed by: Jeff Harper, Intermediate

Price Paid: $0.00

Summary:
The slopes at Sugar are pretty good for NC. Definately not like out west but still fun. The prices are pretty damn high though. $49 for a weekend ticket to board on ice and slush. My buddy and I took a group lesson which was good. The instructor was very knowledgeable and easy to understand. By the second day I was ripping up all the blue runs and hitting the jumps in the terrain park. The "restaurant" at the bottom of the slopes is more like a school cafeteria.

The lodging in the area is TERRIBLE! We stayed at the Sugar Ski and Country Club (http://sugarmountain.com/). This place is a joke. We paid $220 per night for a "deluxe" condo featuring 70's furniture and decorations. Man I would hate to see one of the standard rooms. It was a scary place. I was willing to pay extra to be on the slopes but in hindsight we would have stayed at the Holiday Inn in Banner Elk. We went up to SugarTop (http://www.sugartop.com/) to look around and they showed us one of the condos. To our amazement it was even worse than where we were staying. It's a shame because that place could have been very nice. I wouldn't send my worst enemy to stay there.

Review Date
September 26, 2002

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 2 of 5

Used product for
Countless

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 2 votes

Reviewed by: jay fel, Advanced, from banner elk n.c.

Price Paid: $0.00

Summary:
I have a place on Sugar and ski there 60-70 days a year. I am not the brightest individual in the world but I would not buy season passes here every year if it were as bad as some of these folks say. Unfortunately, sking wise, we live in the south. We get 60 inches of snow a year not 600. We are at 5000 feet elevation not 12,000 --what do folks expect? Many days in North Carolina get above freezing only to have the temperature drop well below freezing at night ---thus ice. Not to much sugar or any other resort can do about this-however the quality of snow making and grooming has gotten much better even in the last 2 years and the number of ice DAYS have really decreased. Personally night sking can be an adventure anytime you go. You really don't know what you are going to get---I still like it! Many people will tell you that the hard pack is what makes the North carolina skier better. It has been my experince that people who love to ski, and know how to ski, pretty much enjoy their day here. Those who cannot have to blame it on the snow and talk about how great they are out west. Well I have heard all this talk for many years here in North Carolina and if some of these so called skiers are great out west then me and some of my buddies would be Olympians. For the out of towner who shows up and we have bad weather that influnces the conditions, I am truely sorry. If you want a good trip read www.skinorthcarolina.com. This is a very accurate site that will let you make the most of your trip. If you are already in the mountains check the snow quality before you buy a ticket. Sugar and the other resorts will let you check for yourself. No place is perfect but I have never spent as bad a time anywhere when sking as some of the posts on this site supposedly have. Another tip is to buy your ticket from Ski Country the night before you intend to ski and then be at the resort the next morning at 8am in line. Although the resort says that they open at 9 the lifts usally start around 8-8.15. Many mornings I will ski for 3 hours without even having to stand in line(this is on the upper part of the mountain. If you have to stay on the lower half then it will get crowded quicker). If cold expect the snow guns to be on all day. This is what allows us to ski for 3 months instead of 3 weeks.

Review Date
December 30, 2001

Overall Rating
 1 of 5

Value Rating
 1 of 5

Used product for
2-5

Reviewed by: michael tristan, Intermediate, from raleigh, va, usa

Price Paid: $0.00

Summary:
Place stinks. Bad attitudes. WAY OVERPRICED

Similar Products Used:
None

Review Date
December 12, 2001

Overall Rating
 1 of 5

Value Rating
 1 of 5

Used product for
2-5

Reviewed by: marc pitt, Intermediate, from Nashville, TN

Price Paid: $0.00

Summary:
Save your 50 bucks and take your family to the movies. Place is awful, they groom during the sessions.

Similar Products Used:
None