Lorenzo Semple spent his summer watching a chairlift go up. In an Aspen Times column published Oct. 22, he wrote that he had been "downright consumed" by the construction for about five months. He described a helicopter doing laps above town with a cement hopper, then with towers dangling from a wire. By the Monday before his column ran, the cable was spliced and taut, and crews were hanging chairs.

That lift is Nell Bell, a high-speed detachable quad built to carry skiers from Gondola Plaza to the top of Bell Mountain. According to Aspen Snowmass's Oct. 29 winter announcement, it is set to open early in the 2026/27 season. Most coverage calls it a nostalgic farewell to the old Bell chair. The bigger change is practical. Once Nell Bell opens, Aspen Mountain will have a second fast way up from the base for the first time since the Silver Queen Gondola and the Little Nell lift both started running in 1986. The gondola will no longer carry every morning by itself.

Two Lifts That Seldom Ran on the Same Day

Until last spring, the route Nell Bell now follows took two lifts. The Little Nell four-pack ran on the lower mountain. The Bell Mountain double, first installed in 1957, loaded near the top of Little Nell and was technically Aspen's oldest lift still running. So many of its parts were replaced in the 1980s that Chairlift.org called it "a true Frankenlift."

Keeping that lift running was expensive. Lift mechanic Michael Blakeslee wrote in public comment to the U.S. Forest Service, as reported by the Aspen Daily News, that parts were getting hard to find for both lifts, especially Bell:

"the amount of man hours that my crew spends on the Bell chair can exceed the man hours that [are] required to maintain almost all the other lifts on Aspen Mountain combined."

As a result, the Bell chair ran on few days. The Aspen Daily News reported in April that the two-lift connection worked only on the rare days both lifts were running. Riding the old double on closing day was a spring tradition, as was the rowdy "Buck-Off" of hot-dogging skiers on Ridge of Bell below it. POWDER noted that the trail map treated both lifts as secondary in recent years. For most skiers, the gondola was the only practical way up.

One Ride Where There Used to Be Two

Nell Bell is built parallel to the Silver Queen for much of its length, along an alignment of nearly 8,690 feet. About 520 feet of that crosses National Forest System land, and the rest is private. The comparison:

The Aspen Times reported in December 2025 that the lift is designed to carry up to 1,800 passengers an hour. Semple heard it may beat the gondola to the top. The Aspen Daily News reported a more modest claim: the ride will be several minutes faster than taking the gondola to the summit and skiing down to the same terrain.

Why a Second Way Up Matters on Busy Mornings

Aspen Skiing Co.'s vice president for mountain planning, Mak Keeling, gave city council the shortest pitch, according to the Aspen Daily News. He called the lift "a cheat code" to Ajax Express, Hero's and F.I.S. Under the old setup, getting from the base to those upper-mountain lifts meant the gondola or the rarely aligned two-lift shuffle.

Two benefits should follow. SkiCo expects shorter lines at the base on busy days. The Forest Service project document quoted by POWDER says the lift should take pressure off the Silver Queen during the morning rush. Nell Bell will also offer a way up when the gondola stops for high winds or mechanical problems. Keeling told council the chair runs closer to the ground and may be less likely to close in wind than the gondola, though gusty days could still affect it.

The location came out of recent changes on the mountain. Aspen Mountain's 2018 master plan considered a Bell replacement that loaded farther uphill. Then skiers flocked to the Hero's lift and terrain that opened in 2023, and SkiCo removed the nearby Gent's Ridge chair in 2024. A Pitkin County review memo, cited by the Aspen Daily News, said running the lift all the way to the base was a "better alignment for the overall skier experience."

The lift does not open new terrain. Coverage of the project has framed it as faster access to slopes that already exist. Nell Bell has no mid-station, so every rider will unload at the top of Bell Mountain's bumps and steeps. The Aspen Times reported that Aspen's mayor raised the missing midway stop at council, since riders could end up on terrain beyond their ability. Before approval, Aspen Daily News columnist Roger Marolt predicted more laps on Ridge of Bell, Face of Bell, Sunrise, Sunset and Hang Man. That was a columnist's forecast. This winter will show whether he was right.

What the Little Nell Slope Gives Up

The bottom of the mountain gives something up. With the new alignment, night skiing on Little Nell is no longer possible. SkiCo told council it may look at night skiing on other mountains in the future.

The Little Nell lift also served the town's oldest on-snow events: torchlight parades, Ajax Cup races and the Gay Ski Week downhill costume contest. Aspen Mountain Manager Travis Benson told council that unloading higher on the hill shouldn't be an issue for most participants. Many already ski down to the Little Nell run from higher slopes, and a snowcat, snowmobile or toboggan can carry anyone who needs help.

That plan gets its first tests soon. Wintersköl marks its 75th anniversary Dec. 10 to 13 with a torchlight descent, a bonfire and fireworks. Aspen Gay Ski Week celebrates its 50th Golden Jubilee Jan. 17 to 24, 2027.

The old chairs have scattered too. SkiCo auctioned seats from both lifts last summer, and that auction has closed. POWDER predicted the chairs would turn up in Aspen and beyond. Other parts of the Bell Mountain and Little Nell lifts are slated for recycling.

The Calendar From Here

Aspen Snowmass says Nell Bell will open early in the season, without a specific date. The dates around it are firmer:

1. Nov. 23: RFTA's winter bus service begins, and the Woody Creek and Aspen Cross Town routes return.
2. Nov. 26, Thanksgiving: Aspen Mountain opens. The Little Nell serves Thanksgiving dinner at Element 47 and casual mountain dining at Ajax Tavern, and also offers Thanksgiving To-Go.
3. Dec. 10 to 13: Wintersköl's 75th anniversary. The Aspen Chamber lists a "Stories in the Sky" drone show at Wagner Park at 7 p.m. on Dec. 11.
4. Dec. 12 and 13: Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk open on Dec. 12. To celebrate the 80th anniversary, lift tickets at all four mountains cost $80 both days. Dec. 13 is also the last weekend day included on the new Weekday Pass until weekend access returns April 5.
5. April 18, 2027: Aspen Mountain's scheduled closing day.

The base area keeps changing after closing day. Aspen Snowmass says The Little Nell hotel will close in April 2027 for a full renovation of its guest rooms, public spaces and restaurants, with reopening planned for early summer 2028. This is the first season with a new chair rising from Gondola Plaza, and the last before the hotel beside it goes quiet for more than a year.

The approvals came quickly. Aspen City Council approved the project on second reading in early December 2025 after Pitkin County signed off. The Forest Service signed its decision on March 19, 2026, and its project page now lists the project as completed. SkiCo CEO Geoff Buchheister told council that "a lot of people love the Bell chair, but I don't think we can continue to run that any longer." Less than a year later, chairs hang on a new cable stretching from Gondola Plaza to the top of Bell Mountain.

When you're planning this winter in Aspen, whether that means a stay close to Gondola Plaza or a longer season at the base, Lori Guilander would be glad to help you find the right place. Let's connect and look at Aspen listings and luxury rentals near the new lift.