New this season, Buttermilk will unveil a transformed base area complete with a new 9,000+ square-foot fully electric skier services building, a renovated and rebranded Buttermilk Mountain Lodge restaurant (formerly known as Bumps), and an expanded bar and outdoor patio, newly named The Backyard. This major renovation will create a more seamless experience for guests as they make their way onto the mountain, with an intuitive skier services building with ski school, rentals and ticketing all in one spot.
Recent Improvements
The following details what’s new at Aspen Snowmass for the coming winter 2022-23 season, as well as major improvements and iniatives from recent years.
Buttermilk Renovation
The base of Buttermilk Ski Area
Resort-Wide
Audi FIS Ski World Cup Returns to Aspen
Aspen Snowmass welcomes the return of international ski racing this season with the Audi FIS Ski World Cup, scheduled for March 3-5, 2023. Racers will compete on the America’s Downhill course on Aspen Mountain, an iconic Audi FIS Ski World Cup venue with decades of racing history.
Aspen hosted the first World Championships held outside of Europe in 1950 and the mountain has hosted innumerable ski racing legends since that time. Aspen has hosted more than 100 World Cup races for both men and women over the years and was home to the Audi FIS Ski World Cup Finals in 2017.
Pandora’s Terrain Expansion
Work began this summer on Aspen Mountain’s upcoming terrain expansion, which will increase skiable acreage by more than 20% on the resort's flagship mountain. The area, called Pandora’s, is set to open for the 2023-24 winter season and will be Aspen Mountain’s first significant addition since the opening of the Silver Queen Gondola in December of 1985. Pandora’s will be accessed via a high-speed quad and will include 1,220 vertical feet of groomed trails and glades ranging from intermediate to advanced terrain. Not only does the addition diversify Aspen Mountain’s terrain mix and offer a great pitch for skiing, but it also acts as a hedge against future climate-challenged ski seasons: with its north-facing, high elevation terrain, Pandora’s is ideal for holding snow in seasons when natural snowfall is less plentiful.
Winter 2022-23 ArtUP Partnership Announced
Aspen Snowmass announces the works of renowned artist Rashid Johnson to be featured on the 2022-2023 winter lift tickets and passes. This marks the 18th consecutive year of Aspen Snowmass’s Art in Unexpected Places (ArtUP) program, which brings acclaimed artists to Aspen to design a limited-edition lift ticket and an opportunity to connect with Aspen’s local and global communities. Six of Johnson’s recent works will be displayed on this season’s lift tickets and will also be featured on a limited collection of skis available at ASPENX in downtown Aspen.
On-Mountain Dining
Over at Snowmass, High Alpine will launch the new Bavarian Saturdays series, featuring classics like warm pretzels and beer served in steins. This series will be a key feature in the larger Aspen Snowmass après schedule, which includes live bands and DJs on-mountain, as well as the Bud Light Hi-Fi Music on the Mountain series. Both High Alpine and the recently-opened Alpin Room will serve updated menus featuring Alsatian and European influences.New this season across all four mountains, Aspen Snowmass will be offering new mixed and pre-made cocktail menu items with partners Twisted Alchemy Pressed Juice from Belize and Please Don’t Tell Cocktail Bar from New York. Dining menus across the four mountains will also offer new signature burgers made with locally-sourced grass-fed Nieslanik Beef.
Full Moon Uphill Dinners
Aspen Snowmass welcomes the return of Full Moon Uphill Dinners to Buttermilk this season, held at Cliffhouse on evenings of the in-season full moons (January 6, February 5 and March 7, 2023). Participants can uphill or hike up Buttermilk and enjoy sunset drinks by the fire pit, food from Cliffhouse’s Mongolian Grill, and a ski down under the light of the full moon.
Ground and Air Transportation Options Increase
Ground transportation services return to Aspen Snowmass this winter with the new Roaring Fork Express, which provides daily scheduled shuttles and on-demand charters to and from Denver International Airport and Eagle County Airport.
Air travel traffic and schedules through Aspen Pitkin County Airport (ASE) will continue with some expansions. Delta Airlines will continue to offer one flight daily from Los Angeles and has added a second flight daily from Atlanta. American Airlines will feature robust schedules from their national hubs into Aspen, with expanded service from Austin, Texas. This route features 78 flights planned for this winter compared to the 58 total from last year.
United Airlines has increased its early December flight capacity by 80% over the last year, with 45 additional flights from November 30 through December 14. United does not intend to resume last season’s nonstop flight from John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California (SNA), but the airline has slightly increased capacity from other hubs to offer nearly identical overall capacity into Aspen.
Lift Ticket Pickup Boxes and the Aspen Snowmass App
Aspen Snowmass continues enhanced digital offerings to give guests a more streamlined and sustainable experience in the resort. Lift tickets and season passes can be purchased online or through the Aspen Snowmass app, and can then be picked up at one of the many self-serve Pickup Boxes located across the resort. The recently-updated Aspen Snowmass App gives users access to all of the information and functionality of the ticket office via their mobile device. The Aspen Snowmass App serves as the in-resort information hub featuring interactive maps, snow reports, parking lot status and lift line wait times, while also offering favorite stats and tracking features like skier days and Bowl laps. Guests can also access rewards and passholder benefits within the app, as well as purchase lessons, gear rentals and even express lift ticket reload.
What's New with Sustainability
