Aspen, Colorado — As it stands, Aspen Highlands is a beloved ski resort for tenured skiers and riders. It’s also well regarded by those who love spending an egregious amount of money at Cloud Nine. While it’s already an excellent ski resort, there are always ways to make the mountain better for skiers and riders, as well as offseason visitors.
Aspen Journalism reports that the Colorado ski resort recently revealed its 2025 Master Development Plan. While a master plan serves as a wish list for a ski resort, we have seen Aspen One (also known as Aspen SkiCo) implement many of its projects quickly, as demonstrated in recent years at Snowmass. This Highlands plan includes major lift upgrades, glading work, and other infrastructure improvements.
Here’s a breakdown of what could be coming to the Highlands.
New Lifts
Most of Aspen Highlands’ lifts are from the 1990s, with the last lift installation being Deep Temerity in 2005.
A key focus of the master plan is to improve the lift network around the base area. The Exhibition high-speed quad chairlift would be replaced by a new two-stage gondola with ten-person cabins. The first stage of the Maroon Bells Gondola would end next to the current location of the Exhibition top terminal, and the top station would be next to the Cloud Nine restaurant. Having a gondola was part of the founder’s (Whip Jones) dream, who originally wanted one from the base to the top of where Deep Temerity currently ends. While this would be under a different alignment, it would still be cool to see it happen based on that historical anecdote.
The other big base area replacement is Thunderbowl. Currently, a fixed-grip triple chairlift could be replaced by a detachable high-speed quad chairlift.
Meanwhile, a new Apple Strudel chairlift would provide access to mid-mountain terrain that’s currently underutilized. The plan is to add a new high-speed quad chairlift that ends near the Merry-Go-Round restaurant.
Lastly, a beginner rope tow is also planned on the Smuggler trail. It would mostly be for the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club.
Other Upgrades
A few lodge upgrades are being planned. For the Merry-Go-Round restaurant, an indoor space expansion is planned to add approximately 220 seats. Cloud Nine would also be expanded to include a to-go counter, a larger outdoor deck, and more indoor dining. Both these expansions would add around 40 seats to each part of Cloud Nine.
Forest health projects are another priority, with work planned for approximately 845 acres of wooded areas. This would reduce wildfire risk and also lead to better tree skiing. Their priorities include Grey Area, Child’s Play, Northwoods, Temerity, Steeplechase, Enigma, Sherwood Forest, Cloud Nine, and Moment of Truth.
Another notable change would be the widening of the cat-track that takes skiers up a portion of the Highland Bowl.
Other referenced projects include a snowmaking infrastructure expansion up to Cloud Nine, adding two more uphill routes, widening the Broadway trail, improvements to a few catwalks, regrading around the lift mazes of Deep Temerity and Cloud Nine, purchasing tarps to preserve snow, and adding summer activities.
The Interconnect
One critique of Aspen Snowmass is that its four mountains are not connected, making it challenging to ski two or more of them in a day. The master plan stated that a lift connection has been considered for decades, but has so far proven tricky to implement. However, with recent innovations in lift infrastructure, they believe building a connector lift is possible. The document mentions that there could be a connection created between Ajax, Buttermilk, and Aspen Highlands. They labeled this as in the study stage, so it’s a long way off. If there were a first phase to this interconnect, it would likely involve Highlands and Buttermilk because of their proximity.
The U.S. Forest Service will review the master plan to determine whether it aligns with its goals. It should also be noted that even if the plan is approved, each project would still have to undergo another review by the Forest Service (unless it has already received approval). Click here to read Aspen Highland’s 2025 master development plan.
Image/Video Credits: Ricky Beron, SRG Skiing, Aspen Highlands
