Legends of Sugarbush

From Old School to New School

‘Legendary.’ It’s an overused word (we know), but it’s the only one that’s been invented that describes the epic personalities who have called Sugarbush home since the lifts started spinning on Christmas Day 1958. What other word would you use to describe the man who started the whole Park and Pipe scene? Well, maybe that’s a stretch, but Stein Eriksen was wowing crowds with his signature flips back in the early Sixties, well before the phrase ‘terrain park’ was even conceived. The Olympic Gold medalist and Sugarbush Ski School Director from 1964 to 1968 would entertain the après hordes of Martini-swilling skiers on sunny afternoons with his high-flying aerials. His lack of respect for gravity set the tone for the future of what would become Sugarbush’s Adventure Learning Center.

Since Stein’s day, the ‘Bush’s vast terrain has produced eight Olympians. Two-time Olympian Doug Lewis partnered with pioneering adventure skier John Egan a few years back to reinvent the way people learned to ski and ride. Using a combination of racer discipline and adventure-skiing excitement, the co-directors of the ALC created a novel and dynamic learning style that allowed people to greatly improve their on-snow abilities. Doug is now the ALC’s speed specialist while we let Egan become the sole head of the Center, so long as he promised NOT to teach people how hang upside down while moving through a bump field. We could not, however, extract that promise from a future legend of the ‘Bush.

U.S. Ski Team member David Babic became the only person ever to land an off-axis 1080 (three complete rotations while being almost completely upside down) in mogul competition last year. Now the Sugarbush native hopes his patented ‘Tuna Can 1080’ will take him to new heights.