Aspen SkiCo takes step toward new Ajax chairlift

The Pitkin County Board of County Commissioners weighed in on proposed plans on Wednesday from Aspen Skiing Company staff, considering a new “Nell Bell” chair that would replace both the Little Nell and the Bell Mountain chairs. 

In a 3-0 vote, the board approved the plans. Commissioners Patti Clapper and Jeffrey Woodruff were not present for the vote. 

“We think that it will drastically decrease (lines) on those powder days, like, for example, before Thanksgiving last year, when there was 27 inches of snow, and the line wrapped around the block,” said Mak Keeling, vice president of SkiCo Mountain Planning. “This will drastically help. It will be a great experience for anybody looking to get up as quickly as they possibly can.” 

The proposed 8,297-foot long chair would be a high-speed quad, which would be capable of carrying 1,800 people per hour and would have an eight minute ride from bottom to top.

It would run alongside the Silver Queen Gondola, starting roughly at the same spot as the Little Nell chair, according to drawings presented to the Board of County Commissioners. 

SkiCo is planning on beginning construction for the chair in 2026, pending further approvals from White River National Forest through an environmental review and from the city of Aspen. 

The construction of the new chair would bring about the end of the Bell Mountain chair, a legacy single-post two seater that was installed on Aspen Mountain in 1986. 

It would also bring about the end of the Little Nell chair, which assists with several special events throughout the winter, including the New Year’s Torchlight Parade, the World Pro Ski Tour, and the Gay Ski Week parade, among others. 

According to SkiCo staff at the meeting, despite its assistance with several popular special events, the Little Nell chair only runs about 25 to 30 days a year and has limited ridership when open. 

Commissioners did bring up concerns that the new lift could potentially hinder Aspen’s ability to continue running those popular community events throughout the winter.

“If all of these events all go by the wayside at some point, you know, then there’s no support required,” said Commissioner Kelly McNicholas Kury. She asked if there is a possibility to include a commitment to continuing to provide support to these events in the future. 

Travis Benson, Aspen Mountain manager, was confident that Aspen would be able to operate its events with the new chair. 

“The ski ability of most of our (participants in) events in that area like the Pro Ski Tour, Ajax Cup are more than capable skiing Copper to get down there,” Benson said.

He also noted that Aspen already does provide support for those events and would intend to do so into the future. 

“We do run snowmobiles for a lot of the ski races for workers to start setting fences,” he said. “For the Gay Ski Week event, there are some participants that can’t ski from the top of Nell that we actually give toboggan rides from the top all the way back down. We will find a way.” 

SkiCo is hoping that this addition will alleviate occasional congestion at the base by spreading base-area ski demand between the new chair and the Silver Queen Gondola.