Aspen Mountain is scheduled to close on April 18, 2027. The airport closes at 11 p.m. on April 4. For the last two weeks of the season, the lifts on Ajax will run while the runway sits closed, with no terminal access and no commercial or general aviation flights in or out.

That gap shapes the whole winter. The front half is packed with firsts: a new lift, a hotel's first ski season, new places to eat, and a reshuffled pass lineup. The back half is a run of lasts that all land within a few days of each other in late March and early April. If you live here, the season you are planning for really ends on April 4, even though the trail map says otherwise.

Two dates bookend the winter

Opening day is four weeks away. Here is how the full season lines up, from the first chair to the closure that comes after the airport's:

Aspen Skiing Company publishes all of its closing dates "as conditions allow." Buttermilk's last day falls on the same day as the airport's last night of operations.

Opening day starts at Gondola Plaza

The biggest change on the mountain is the Nell Bell chairlift. It is a high-speed detachable quad that replaces the Bell Mountain lift, built in 1957, and the Little Nell lift, built in 1986. It runs from Gondola Plaza straight to the top of Bell Mountain, a vertical rise of 2,656 feet. According to The Aspen Times, Aspen Skiing Company says the new chair cuts the trip to the top of Bell from 21 minutes, the combined time on the two old lifts, to eight minutes.

Aspen Snowmass lists Nell Bell as "new this season" on its Aspen Mountain page, which also shows the mountain opening Nov. 26. The resort has not said whether the chair will run on opening day itself, so check the lift status board before you count on it for Thanksgiving morning.

Nell Bell is the only new lift in the valley this winter. The Elk Camp Six-Pack and Cirque T-Bar at Snowmass were last season's upgrades, according to Aspen Snowmass's recent improvements page. Snowmass's big change this year is a building. The rebuilt Ullrhof reopens with more than 600 seats and is the company's first fully electric restaurant, The Aspen Times reported.

December holds the anniversaries

The milestones are packed into the first three weeks of the season. Wintersköl turns 75 from Dec. 10 to 13. The weekend includes Soupsköl, a beer festival, a bonfire, a torchlight descent and fireworks over Aspen Mountain, plus a drone show this year to mark the 75th and Colorado's 150th.

Aspen Snowmass is also celebrating its 80th anniversary. The resort will sell a limited number of lift tickets at the original 1946 price, and it is discounting lift tickets to $80 on Saturday, Dec. 12, and Sunday, Dec. 13. Dec. 12 is also opening day at Highlands and Buttermilk. That puts the $80 tickets, the Wintersköl weekend and two mountains opening onto the same Saturday, so expect a busy town.

The places that weren't here last winter

Most of the town's new options are in hotels or right off them:

• White Elephant Aspen opened June 15, 2026, at Main and Garmisch streets in the West End, and this is its first ski season. Its restaurant, Lola 41, makes its winter debut along with a new lounge, 41 Below.
• Eddy's at 315 E. Hyman Ave. pairs a grab-and-go market and coffee shop, open daily from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., with a sit-down kitchen open Thursday through Monday from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
• 73 Café, named for the year The Gant opened, serves breakfast and lunch off The Gant's lobby, Thursday through Monday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Petit Familia, Chef Ludo Lefebvre's rooftop concept at MOLLIE Aspen, reopens Nov. 25 with a new firepit on the Roof Terrace.
• Angelo's and Duemani bring back their winter yurts from Dec. 20 to Jan. 4.

The Aspen Chamber Resort Association's winter preview also lists The Grove Aspen, a new local member club and events space launched by Buckhorn Public Arts.

A pass lineup built around fewer days

If you bought a Valley Pass last year, it's gone. Aspen Snowmass dropped the Valley Pass and the Alpine 1-Day Pass for 2026-27, according to its 2026-27 season pass page. In their place are a Flex Pass with no blackout dates, sold in four- to seven-day versions, and a Weekday Pass that covers unlimited weekdays plus certain early- and late-season weekends, The Aspen Times reported in April. People who held a Valley Pass in 2025-26 get 33% off a 2026-27 Flex Pass. Eligible valley teachers have new discounted options, and eligible military members get 50% off Premier passes.

Prices have gone up since those programs were announced over the summer, so get today's numbers from Aspen Snowmass before you buy. Premier Pass holders get 20% off full-season parking at Aspen Highlands and Two Creeks. The Weekday Pass's late-season weekends also run into the stretch when getting here by air means flying into another airport.

Late March, when the lasts start

The Gant closes March 29, 2027, for the biggest renovation in its history, covering the exteriors, grounds, pools and shared spaces. To mark the final winter before the work starts, the resort is planning a Last Chair offer and a Last Splash Winter Pool Party. That means 73 Café, new this season, has a run of about four months before its building closes.

Six days later the airport shuts down. Pitkin County's closure announcement sets the window from Sunday, April 4, 2027, at 11 p.m. to Friday, Nov. 19, 2027, at 7 p.m. During that time the existing runway will be fully rebuilt to current FAA standards, and work on a new commercial terminal and FBO will begin. When the runway reopens in late 2027, flights will keep using the current terminal until the new one is finished in 2029. The project team's community summary aims to finish runway construction by the end of September 2027, leaving time for FAA inspections.

Until then, the airport runs as usual. American Airlines adds daily service between Charlotte and Aspen starting Dec. 17, 2026, and Snowmass Tourism calls this winter business as usual at ASE. If you have family coming for the holidays, nothing changes. A spring break trip in April is a different story.

How April arrivals will work

For anyone flying in after April 4, the main alternative is Eagle County Regional Airport. Airlines have already moved flights there. American is increasing its peak-summer EGE schedule from 21 to 49 weekly flights, and United is going from 25 to 63, including six daily flights from Denver instead of three, The Aspen Times reported in August. Combined, EGE goes from 46 weekly flights in summer 2026 to 112 in summer 2027. Delta, ASE's third major partner, had not announced added Eagle service as of early October.

The open question is the drive from Eagle. A shuttle is planned but not final. According to The Aspen Times' Oct. 8 report, RFTA has asked for bids on shuttle service from Eagle and Denver. Organizers are aiming for a fare of about $50 to keep rental cars from flooding the valley, and they expect to need a subsidy of about $600,000. Half would come from the Elected Official Transportation Committee, and ACRA, RFTA and Aspen One have all tentatively offered to cover part of the rest. In the same story, Silbernagel explained why public money is involved:

"If there was a free-market solution, a private solution, it would already be happening."

The presentation said shuttle service to Eagle could begin as early as this ski season. ACRA's transportation subcommittee has recommended an upper-valley shuttle to EGE with several stops along the valley, and it expected to choose a provider by the end of October. The airport's travel page for the closure also lists Denver, Grand Junction and Rifle. Bustang and RFTA connections are listed for Denver and Grand Junction, while Rifle handles private jets, with AERO jet charter service planned for summer 2027. Closer to home, the Owl Creek Road realignment next to the airport moves the road about 30 feet west over roughly 1,800 feet. You may hit alternating one-lane closures there, but the county says the road and trails will not fully close.

If you own a second home here and usually fly in for the last weeks of the season, or you're planning a spring sale or move around the closure, Duncan Gals Real Estate can help you set your April 2027 timeline around the dates above, from showings to moving day. Schedule a Complimentary Concierge Consultation, and we'll map out your spring before the shuttle schedule is final.