Snowmass, Colorado- After nearly 38 years of service, Snowmass’ terrain park chairlift is being replaced.
Yesterday, Aspen Snowmass announced that they will replace the Coney Glade chairlift with a new high-speed detachable quad chairlift. The new Coney Express chairlift will service intermediate runs and their world-renowned terrain parks. This chairlift will also connect guests to access Sam’s Knob and Big Burn easily. Construction will happen this summer, with an expected opening during the 2024-25 season.
The new chairlift’s bottom terminal will begin where the Burlingame lift once began, and the top terminal will be around where the Coney Glade lift currently concludes. The detachable quad will be around 7,300 feet long and travel at about 1100 feet per minute, likely taking a little over seven minutes to ride. There will be a mid-angle station where guests will be able to load.
The lift will provide quicker access to Snowmass’ famous terrain park and reduce lift lines at the Village Express. Around 60-75% of guests start their ski day at the Snowmass Mall, so reducing lift lines at that base area is a priority for the Colorado ski resort.
Susan Cross, who is the General Manager of Snowmass, described the importance of this new chairlift to the Aspen Times in June 2023:
“This lift will take pressure off of the Village Express and the Elk Camp Gondola, especially during the morning rush, and give guests a third alternative for accessing the upper mountain. Operationally, this is a key project and the perfect first step for the new mountain master plan.”
In terms of that aforementioned master plan, some potential future projects include new lifts, trails, summer activities, and restaurants. Click here for a breakdown of those plans.
Image Credits: Jeremy Swanson (Featured Image), Matt Power Photography (Header Image), Aspen Snowmass
