Snowmass, Colorado— Following a hiatus this offseason, the lift-building boom at Snowmass will resume next year.
The Aspen Daily News reports that Snowmass Village and the Aspen Skiing Company have agreed on a deal to replace the Sky Cab gondola.
Currently, the “Skittles” lift is a pulse gondola with pairs of three cabins that travel together. This setup can carry up to 510 guests per hour. It goes from Snowmass Base Village to the Village Mall, serving mostly non-skiers and riders. It also serves a mellow set of trails for less experienced skiers and riders.
In its place will be a detachable gondola. The cost of the project will be split in half between the village and Aspen Skiing Co. It’s expected to have a capacity of 1,000 passengers an hour. The cabins will also be six inches taller than their predecessor, leading to a more comfortable riding experience. It will maintain a color variety similar to the current design that gets it compared to Skittles. However, the blue gondolas will be replaced by purple ones. This is because there are no blue Skittles in a traditional package. The more you know!
“As far as guests are concerned, they will think it is exactly the same,” Mak Keeling, vice president of mountain planning for Aspen SkiCo.
The plan is to begin construction in August 2027, with completion expected around Thanksgiving of the same year. This timeline is to minimize impact to tourists who visit.
The last few years have seen several lift replacements at Snowmass, which followed the approval of the ski resort’s Master Development Plan. This has included replacing the Elk Camp chairlift with a high-speed six-pack, the Village Express and Coney chairlifts with a six-pack, and the Cirque platter lift with a T-Bar.
Aspen Projects
The news comes as Aspen is putting a lot of money into its namesake mountain. This offseason, work is underway to replace the Little Nell and Bell Mountain fixed-grip chairlifts. In their place will be a new detachable high-speed chairlift that goes from the base to the top of the former Bell Mountain chairlift. Also in the works is a replacement for the Shadow Mountain chairlift. However, the timeline for that project will likely span multiple years.
Image/Video Credits: Tucker, Aspen Snowmass
