High winds affected lift operation, open terrain at all SkiCo mountains

High winds from the weekend’s storm shut down lifts across all four mountains this weekend.

Several lifts in Snowmass Ski Area closed due to wind, especially higher up the mountain, and the Silver Queen Gondola on Aspen Mountain closed all day Saturday, Aspen Skiing Co. Vice President of Communications Jeff Hanle said. 

“In our valley and around the West, we’ve had these storms that have been accompanied with high wind, and high wind impacts lifts just in their ability to operate safely,” he said. “We have parameters that we follow, and when certain conditions are met, we slow the lift down when we need to; and if we see the wind continuing to pick up, we get everybody off, and we shut the lift down.”

Conditions that require closing the lifts rely on a number of factors, including the direction and speed of the wind. When the wind blows across the lifts rather than up or down the mountain, lifts must be slowed or closed, like many were this past weekend. 

Because the Silver Queen Gondola is higher off the ground and less shielded by the rest of the mountain, it is more vulnerable to wind closures. Wind gusts of 36 mph were recorded at the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport. on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.

Snowmass has the least lifts open of all mountains as of Tuesday afternoon; 80% of lifts were open and 78% of terrain was open. While the weekend’s storm brought high winds, it also brought much-needed snow that will help open more terrain in the days to come across all four mountains. 

“We operate in an environment that’s influenced by weather all the time,” Hanle said. “Every season we have wind closures …Usually not all day, but in that instance when the gondola closes, we have other ways to get people to the top of Aspen Mountain.”