What's New for the Snowmass 2026-27 Ski Season
At the base of the Big Burn lift there is now a three-story mass-timber building where the old Ullrhof used to be. It covers about 28,000 square feet, Bull Stockwell Allen designed it, and it will be the first fully electric restaurant Aspen Snowmass has run. According to the company's own restaurant page, it reopens in November 2026. Snowmass Mountain opens Thursday, Nov. 26, which is Thanksgiving Day.
Ullrhof is the clearest example of a broader pattern. Most of what is new at Snowmass for 2026-27 is capacity to receive people: places to eat lunch, rooms to sleep in, flights to land, and a pass product that gives a new group of skiers access to this mountain only. The terrain and lifts are largely the same as last winter. For someone who skis Snowmass all season, the changes worth tracking are about who will be on the mountain and when.
The old Ullrhof was a deck-and-burger stop. The rebuild keeps that identity. The Aspen Snowmass listing still describes it as a burger joint serving burgers, fries and shakes all day. Inside, the building works differently. When the design went to Snowmass Village's Planning Commission in October 2024, the Aspen Times reported a high-volume burger bar on the main floor, an upstairs bar and lounge, and an outdoor deck serving brats, hot dogs and draft beer. The plans also called for kiosk and mobile ordering and a third-floor grab-and-go bar.
The seat count differs by source, and the differences come from different points in the project:
| Source | Seat figure | When |
|---|---|---|
| Town Council approval, per the Aspen Daily News | Up to 725 indoor and outdoor | Dec. 2, 2024 |
| Aspen Times construction coverage | 690 | June 2025 |
| Aspen Snowmass improvements page | 600+ | Current |
The company's own figure, "600+," is the safest number to plan around until the doors open. Under any of the three figures, Ullrhof is a far bigger lunch operation than the one that closed for the rebuild in summer 2025. The Snowmass Tourism winter release calls the project part of a "multi-year initiative" to add restaurant seating across the mountain.
That wording explains the rest of the season. Skico is building for more people at lunch, and this winter also brings a new way for more people to get here.
For 2026-27, Aspen Snowmass joined the Ikon Base Pass. Holders get five days at Snowmass only, and the pass does not cover Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands or Buttermilk. Of the four mountains, only Snowmass is on the Base Pass. Ikon Base holders also need no lift reservations at any Aspen Snowmass mountain, and they get 25% off 10 Friends & Family lift tickets valid at Snowmass. When the change was announced in March, the press release, as quoted in the Aspen Times, listed Ullrhof's reopening and The Cabin as reasons for those skiers to come.
Ikon Base days are blacked out on these dates at Snowmass:
So the blackouts cover the peak weeks that were already the busiest. On every other operating day between Nov. 26 and April 11, Ikon Base holders can use their five days here. No local reporting so far estimates how many extra skier days this will add, or how Skico plans to handle parking or lift lines. Any number would be a guess. What is known is that the new visitors are spread across ordinary weekdays and non-holiday weekends, the days that were quieter in past seasons.
The timing has context. In June, Colorado Ski Country USA estimated 10.5 million skier visits statewide for 2025-26. That was down 3.3 million from the prior season and the lowest since 1991-92, after one of the warmest and driest winters on record, as reported by the Aspen Times. Those are statewide numbers, not Snowmass numbers. Still, the new pass products launched in the spring after that winter.
The supply side in the village points the same way, and much of it arrives at once in mid-December.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Nov. 26 | Snowmass and Aspen Mountain open |
| Dec. 12 | Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk open |
| December | Stonebridge Inn reopens after a $15.7 million renovation |
| Dec. 17 | American Airlines begins daily Charlotte–Aspen service |
| Dec. 26–30 | First Ikon Base blackout at Snowmass |
| April 11, 2027 | Snowmass closes for the season |
The Stonebridge Inn opened shortly after Snowmass welcomed its first guests in 1967. Its 93 rooms, managed by CoralTree Hospitality, come back after what the Snowmass Tourism release called a "top-to-bottom transformation." The Timberline Condominiums finished the last stage of a $25 million multi-year renovation, which covered siding, common areas, infrastructure and guest amenities at the ski-in/ski-out property. The new Charlotte route joins American's existing flights into Aspen/Pitkin County Airport from Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago O'Hare, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin.
None of these is a brand-new hotel or a new airline. They are refreshed rooms and an added route, and together they add capacity in the same weeks the mountain is building up to its first holiday rush.
Two of the most visible improvements at Snowmass are now in their second winter. The Elk Camp Six-Pack, a high-speed six-passenger lift that replaced the Elk Camp quad, and the Cirque T-Bar, which replaced the platter lift and doubled capacity to the expert terrain, were both 2025-26 projects. Aspen Snowmass said at the time that this was the first season in nearly 20 years with two new lifts debuting together.
The Cabin, formerly the Lynn Britt Cabin, is in the same pod as Ullrhof. Its renovation added about 80 seats, according to the Aspen Daily News, and the company dates that work, along with the Coney Express upgrade, to the season before last.
Anyone who skipped Snowmass last winter will find these new. For a regular, they are better read as part of one sequence: faster lifts up Elk Camp and the Cirque, then The Cabin, now Ullrhof. In the same pod around Big Burn, the company has added lift capacity, then seats, then more seats.
The nearest date on the winter calendar isn't opening day. The new Flex Pass, which covers four to seven days across all four mountains with no blackout dates, must be bought by Oct. 30. It replaces the Valley Pass. The Valley Pass and the Alpine 1-Day Pass have been discontinued, while the Premier and Alpine 2-Day passes remain, along with a new Weekday Pass for Monday through Friday.
Several local programs announced in June change the math for people who live and work here, as the Aspen Times reported:
Those prices date from June, and early-season pricing ended Sept. 18, so the current figures should be checked on the Aspen Snowmass pass page before buying. Aspen Skiing Company CEO Geoff Buchheister described the pass changes as adding flexibility for different kinds of skiers. Taken with the Ikon Base change, this season's pass structure is a set of smaller, more targeted products for both the people who live here and the people who visit.
Some of what's new this winter is aimed at the community and not at visitors. The Collective Snowmass is adding Collective Conversations, where community members present on topics they care about, and Lunch & Learn workshops over the midday hour. It is also adding wellness sessions with sound healing, breathwork and New Moon events. Toddler Time returns on Sunday mornings from 9 a.m. to noon in the Game Lounge, free for families with kids under 5. Karaoke with DJ Tenza, Chess Club, Mahjong Nights, Two-Step dancing and On the Rise Open Mics continue.
Further out, the town of Snowmass Village, Snowmass Water & Sanitation District and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science plan a 2027 dig at Ziegler Reservoir. It ties to an expansion that adds 40 million gallons of storage at the site of the 2010 Snowmass Ice Age Discovery. Researchers will analyze ancient soils for preserved proteins and environmental DNA.
If you own on the mountain or are thinking about how a winter like this one affects rental demand and owner use, The Burggraf Group is following Snowmass's opening weeks closely. Connect with Will & Sarah for a private consultation.
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