Aspen Snowmass Announces $80 Million Summer Spend Including Rare T Bar

Aspen Snowmass has announced big spending plans this summer, with the biggest upgrade announcements focussed on their Snowmass ski area, but with the famous Colorado resort’s other three resorts seeing some investment too.

A sizable chunk of the $80 million spend is going on two new lifts, one of them a high-speed six-seater chairlift, and a complete reconstruction of one of Snowmass’s longest established on-mountain restaurants. It’s the first time in nearly two decades that Snowmass has added two new lifts in one season.

"We have a huge summer ahead for on-mountain developments here at Aspen Snowmass," said Geoff Buchheister, CEO of Aspen Skiing Company, who added, "I'd like to extend my gratitude to our dedicated teams and partners for their hard work and collaboration to see these projects through to completion."

The new chairlift will see the existing Elk Camp quad chair at Snowmass replaced by a new state-of-the-art, high-speed six-seater chairlift that services popular terrain and should reduce peak season queues.

Aspen Snowmass’s highest lift, the Cirque platter lift, will become a rare North American T-Bar, reducing wait times at one of the highest lifts in North America, which accesses some of Snowmass' best extreme high alpine terrain. This replacement will effectively double the capacity of this lift, as it will go from a single-rider to double-rider capacity.

"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."

In addition Ullrhof, the mid-mountain restaurant on Snowmass, will undergo a complete rebuild and is set to re-open for the 2026-27 winter season. The 56-year-old building will be dismantled and completely replaced by a brand-new, state-of-the-art restaurant with a modern mountain design that celebrates its storied history and reflects the surrounding natural environment. The new Ullrhof will double its original occupancy to boast more than 500 seats, an expanded upstairs bar and lounge, and updated menu, as well as major upgrades for operational efficiencies.

The new Ullrhof building will be Aspen Snowmass' first all-electric on-mountain restaurant, reflective of the resort’s dedication to sustainable building design and operations as part of its wider approach to sustainability.

These upgrades join other major on-mountain investment projects across Aspen Snowmass' mountains in recent years, including The Cabin and Coney Express upgrades at Snowmass this past winter, the Hero's terrain expansion at Aspen Mountain and the Buttermilk base area renovation, both completed in 2023.

Outside of Snowmass, Aspen Snowmass will continue to improve its snowmaking infrastructure across Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, and Buttermilk (as well as Snowmass). The latest  upgrades include additional investments in automation and new technologies to make snowmaking more energy efficient, as well as continuing to expand snowmaking coverage at the mid- and upper-mountain areas to ensure skiable terrain during early- and late-season time periods.