Aspen Mountain Flies in Towers for New High-Speed Ski Lift
In Colorado, the air’s humming with the sound of helicopter blades as Aspen Mountain constructs its new Nell Bell lift.
The high-speed Leitner-Poma quad replaces the Little Nell and Bell Mountain lifts, which served Aspen Mountain for decades and, together, brought skiers to an upper terminal just above the base of the Ajax Express. In recent years, they served as secondary lifts, according to Aspen Mountain’s trail map, and they didn’t run simultaneously very often.
“Nothing about building a lift is light,” Aspen Snowmass wrote in a social media post showing off the airborne action.
The Nell Bell upgrade combines the old lifts’ path into one lift that runs from the Gondola Plaza to the top of Bell Mountain.
“The purpose of the proposed project is to enhance the guest experience at Aspen Mountain by providing shorter chairlift ride times, improving skier circulation, and replacing aging infrastructure,” a Forest Service document about the Nell Bell reads.
The document added that the new high-speed quad would relieve pressure on the Silver Queen Gondola, which, during peak days and the morning rush, tends to have long lift lines. The Nell Bell would also serve as a key alternative when the Silver Queen isn’t running.
It’s the sort of upgrade that, instead of unlocking new terrain, simplifies and speeds up access to the existing slopes. The Nell Bell is set to open next winter and, with it spinning, Aspen Mountain skiers will have three straightforward ways to venture up the mountain and towards the summit: the Silver Queen Gondola, the Nell Bell, and Shadow Mountain.
The construction of the Nell Bell follows the debut of the Elk Camp and Cirque T-bar lifts at another Aspen ski resort, Snowmass, last winter. Both replaced existing lifts.
And, in case you were worried about the historic Little Nell and Bell Mountain lifts vanishing entirely, Aspen Mountain ran an auction last summer to get the chairs into the hands of eager skiers. While that auction is now closed, don’t be surprised if you see the chairs in Aspen or further afield—skiers tend to like showing their nostalgia pieces off to the world.
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