Snowmass Village, Colorado — After being the beneficiary of a major lift upgrade this ski season, more improvements are on tap at Snowmass. This week, Aspen Snowmass announced nearly $80 million in improvements, most of which will be occurring at Snowmass.
Here’s a breakdown of what’s coming to Aspen Snowmass next winter…
New Lifts: Two new lifts are planned at Snowmass for the 2025-26 season. The first project will replace the Elk Camp high-speed quad chairlift with a detachable high-speed six-pack. This will not only be a capacity increase for the winter, but also for summer operations. The new chairlift will have carriers that double the capacity of the bike haul. This chairlift services mostly intermediate terrain, but the top terminal is a small hike away from a mix of intermediate and advanced glades.
The other project will be the replacement of the Cirque surface lift with a new T-Bar. Going from a platter lift to a T-Bar will basically double the capacity of each carrier, which will reduce lift lines in The Cirque.
“The areas of terrain served by these lifts are some of the most popular on our mountain,” said Susan Cross, Mountain Manager at Snowmass. “These updates allow for guests to more smoothly access Snowmass’ classic wide-open slopes and sweeping vistas at Elk Camp, and the incredible variety of high-alpine terrain we have off The Cirque. I am proud that we continue to invest in making this mountain the best that it can be, and having high-speed, higher capacity lifts is critical to the Snowmass experience.”
Lodge Improvements: Work will begin this offseason on the demolition and rebuilding of the Ullrhof lodge. This has been the mid-mountain lodge at Snowmass for the past 54 years. The new electric-powered building will feature more than 500 seats, an expanded bar and lounge, and more. This is a project that will take two offseasons, with the goal of opening it during the 2026-27 season.
The Elk Camp Restaurant will also see an expansion. The plan is to add an outdoor deck, which will add another 120 seating spots to the facility. There will also be a covered umbrella area that bears a resemblance to The Cabin at Snowmass. However, this project needs to be approved first by the Town of Snowmass Village.
Other Projects: While the large majority of the money is going towards projects at Snowmass this winter, there are some projects planned at Aspen Snowmass.
Snowmaking upgrades are planned at Aspen Mountain, Snowmass, Aspen Highlands, and Buttermilk. These low-energy, high-efficiency snow guns will lead to earlier terrain openings. Forty acres of forest health projects will help produce more quality glade skiing at Alpine Springs at Snowmass, Temerity at Aspen Highlands, and Hero’s on Aspen Mountain.
All these changes continue Aspen Snowmass’s growth over the past few years, which has included the Hero’s expansion at Ajax, the base area renovations at Buttermilk, and the Coney Express chairlift at Snowmass.
Image Credits: Aspen Snowmass
