After receiving final approval from the U.S. Forest Service on Tuesday, Aspen Skiing Co. announced it will replace and realign the High Alpine lift on Snowmass. Currently, the 30-year-old fixed-grip chairlift is slow, taking nearly 11 minutes to cover the distance up the hill. The new, $8 million high-speed quad has a much faster ride time of 5.6 minutes and will be realigned to allow guests to ski from Rock Island, AMF, and the Cirque without dropping to the lower mountain to access the High Alpine area.
The USFS also approved plans to install snowmaking equipment on two existing trails and implement additional trail and glade construction projects this summer. This will add about 120 acres of bladed terrain to existing gladed areas including Sneaky's, Freefall/Glissade, Reidar's, Castle and Long Shot.
All improvements will be ready to go for the 2015-2016 ski season.
· SkiCo to install new High Alpine lift this summer [ADN]
· Squaw Valley Plans Gondola Connecting Alpine Meadows [Curbed Ski]
· Colorado's Purgatory Announces New Lift [Curbed Ski]
· Copper Mountain's Future Includes New Lifts, Terrain, Dining [Curbed Ski]