ACRA and SkiCo's Afternoon Blend 2026/2027: What's Ahead for Aspen Snowmass This Winter | Stephanie Kroll | Aspen Snowmass Luxury Real Estate

Aspen Snowmass turns 80 this winter, and it's marking the milestone with a battery-backed chairlift, a brand-new lift on Aspen Mountain, opening-day tickets at 1946 prices, and a snow forecast that's more hopeful than last year's. That was the big picture at Afternoon Blend, the fall gathering hosted by ACRA and Aspen Skiing Company (SkiCo). Here's what we heard, from getting to town to what's happening on the hill.

Getting here just got easier

The road to a shuttle service from Eagle has been a winding one, but it's taking shape. Alongside it, a new traveler help line will support visitors as they plan their trips to the valley.

The county planning team has been working on both marketing and ground transportation, and has produced a toolkit and a guest FAQ so that everyone answering visitor questions is working from the same playbook.

Looking further out, SkiCo is one of about a dozen partners exploring aerial cable transit as part of the Entrance to Aspen conversation.

What's new on the mountains

Elk Camp's new six-pack. The new Elk Camp lift is the first chairlift in the world backed up by a battery.

Nell Bell lift. On Aspen Mountain, a single new lift replaces both the Nell and Bell chairs. The ride takes about eight minutes, it should relieve congestion, and it improves access to FIS.

Ullrhof. A new on-mountain restaurant, built with mass timber.

Alex's Alley. Buttermilk's terrain park has a new run named after Aspen's own Olympic halfpipe skier Alex Ferreira.

Lift One. Work continues on sequencing the Lift One project, which includes a new lift, the skiers museum and guest services.

Up in the Sky. A collaborative planning process aimed at year-round programming.

The snow outlook: El Niño and a reason for optimism

Last winter was a tough one. The 2025/26 season came in at 65% of normal, the fourth-lowest of the past 44 winters, and Independence Pass saw its worst snowpack in 44 years.

This year, all eyes are on El Niño. There has never been one this strong in early October. El Niño shapes how warm winter weather reaches the mountains, especially across the Southwest, and Aspen sits at the top of that band. For us, that points to a season pretty close to normal.

The best comparison is the historically strong El Niño of 1997–98, when Aspen saw 114% of normal snowfall and a 188-inch base. If this winter follows a similar pattern:

Saving snow, water and energy

Snow blankets worked. SkiCo covered snow piles with blankets last spring and saved 85% of the covered volume through the summer. Even when the blankets hit 120 degrees, the snow underneath stayed right around freezing. That saved snow gives terrain parks a head start on their base, means better early-season conditions, and cuts the need for snowmaking, which saves 1–2 million gallons of water and the energy to make it.

Snowmaking upgrades. Thirty new fan guns are in place, and two miles of pipe have been replaced.

Forest health. Crews have about 200 burn piles ready to go once there's snow on the ground, as part of ongoing wildfire mitigation.

Cleaner power. Holy Cross Energy's co-op voted to move to 100% renewable energy by 2030. Because SkiCo's carbon footprint depends directly on that power supply, the switch will shrink it significantly.

Housing and the ballot

The valley is roughly 5,000 housing units short, and building a single employee bed now costs about $1.5 million. SkiCo also highlighted The Shop Snowmass at EJ Crossing in El Jebel.

With election season here, SkiCo urged attendees to vote no on Initiative 82. To get out the vote, join Party to the Polls at TACAW on October 21, 4–7 PM.

Celebrating 80 years

Aspen Snowmass has been welcoming skiers since 1946, and the 80th anniversary comes with throwback pricing. Opening-day lift tickets will cost $3.75, the same price as 80 years ago, and tickets will be $80 on the Saturday and Sunday of Winterskol.

Art in the air. For 2026/27, the ArtUp program, which puts art in unexpected places, features Brazilian artist Beatriz Milhazes with a stained-glass installation on the Silver Queen Gondola.

More snow on your feed. SkiCo is stepping up its YouTube and Instagram strategy, with ten times more snow content planned.

Aspen Gay Ski Week turns 50. AGSW is one of the oldest Pride events in the world and the largest, longest-running annual gay ski week. It's also the only Pride event that serves as a fundraiser, with proceeds supporting AspenOut. Its roots run deep: Aspen's 1979 gay rights ordinance was among the local protections at the center of Romer v. Evans, the Supreme Court case that applied the 14th Amendment's equal protection guarantee to LGBTQ people.

Eighty years in, Aspen Snowmass is pairing its history with new lifts, smarter snow and a hopeful forecast. See you on the hill.Afternoon Blend: What's Ahead for Aspen Snowmass This Winter