Hero’s terrain gives a lift to Aspen Mountain
A helicopter flies in a sheave train, which moves the chair, for a lower tower supporting the new Hero’s lift. The Hero’s terrain will feature breathtaking views of Independence Pass for expert skiers.
Jason Charme/Aspen Daily News
Hero’s Terrain gives a lift to aspen mountain
By Jason Charme 09/19/2023. Originally published on aspendailynews.com
The installation of a new chairlift serving the expanded skiable terrain on Aspen Mountain, renamed last week as “Hero’s,” is no simple task.
Crews on Thursday installed lift towers on the upper east side of Aspen Mountain in what has been the ski area’s most anticipated addition since the Silver Queen Gondola was unveiled in 1985.
“Thursday you’ll be hearing helicopters that will be flying towers in, so we are going to start seeing the lifts come out of the ground. Pretty exciting stuff,” said Katie Ertl, senior vice president of mountain operations at Aspen Skiing Co., at last week's “Afternoon Blend” kickoff to the upcoming winter season. The Aspen Chamber Resort Association event was held at Buttermilk.
Aspen Mountain’s skiing and snowboarding acreage will expand by more than 20% when Hero’s debuts this winter, with 1,220 vertical feet and more than 150 acres of new chutes, glades and trails. An opening date has not been announced.
“This area is ideal for holding snow in seasons when natural snowfall is less plentiful,” said an announcement from SkiCo this week. “The terrain and lift will open this winter when conditions allow.”
The announcement highlighted the renaming of what had been known as the “Pandora’s” area of the mountain to “Hero’s,” in tribute to the late Jim Crown, SkiCo’s managing partner who died earlier this summer in a vehicular crash.
The “Hero’s” name also will honor all of those who played an instrumental role in the exploration and opening of Aspen Mountain’s new terrain expansion, according to a news release.
The high-speed quad chairlift, also called Hero’s, will have a vertical ascent of 1,224 feet and will ferry riders to the top in just over four minutes, according to SkiCo.