Top station from above.This lift is from the Riblet-SLI merger era and contains components from both.Top breakover.View down the line.Lower part of the line.Lower terminal overview.Maze area and loading.This lift replaced Aspen’s original single chair that started a few hundred yards lower.Drive/tension carriage.SLI towers, Riblet sheaves, SLI chairs, Riblet insert clips.
Odd this one doesn’t have safety bars. Most other lifts in the Aspen merger have them, the only other one that doesn’t is Panda Peak over at Buttermilk.
Because it’s a perfect lift and “progress” often leads to a lesser experience for people who actually ski rather than preen at the local hip après bar.
It is so perfect that the vast majority of skiers choose to utilize Gondola Plaza as their portal to the mountain, resulting in an incredible imbalance among liftlines and crowds…
Shadow Mountain needs to be replaced, as Aspen needs a better second portal. There are absolutely legitimate questions over how to do it, but denying that something needs to be done is denying that Aspen has grown and changed in the past 30 years.
Lift Blog 
Odd this one doesn’t have safety bars. Most other lifts in the Aspen merger have them, the only other one that doesn’t is Panda Peak over at Buttermilk.
LikeLike
Why is the replacement of this lift so controversial?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Because it’s a perfect lift and “progress” often leads to a lesser experience for people who actually ski rather than preen at the local hip après bar.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ehhhh eventually old stuff and low capacity needs replacing, even for those of us who shred. I’d be fine if it was a new fixed grip triple.
LikeLike
It is so perfect that the vast majority of skiers choose to utilize Gondola Plaza as their portal to the mountain, resulting in an incredible imbalance among liftlines and crowds…
Shadow Mountain needs to be replaced, as Aspen needs a better second portal. There are absolutely legitimate questions over how to do it, but denying that something needs to be done is denying that Aspen has grown and changed in the past 30 years.
LikeLike
Because it has so much history as it was the longest lift in the world when built.
LikeLike
Weird towers for being sli and riblet
LikeLike
Have they decided on a plan to replace this lift yet?
LikeLike
Yes, they have decided to make it a 6 gondola, 4 chairlift chondola and will open for the 2022 ski season
LikeLike
As of High Alpine’s upgrade, I believe Shadow Mountain is the only lift in all of Aspen-Snowmass that doesn’t have any Poma or Leitner-Poma parts.
LikeLike
I love the SLI chairs.
LikeLike