SAM Magazine-Aspen, Colo., April 16, 2008-The Aspen Skiing Company is replacing the Sheer Bliss double at Snowmass with a new Leitner-Poma high speed quad, to the tune of $7 million. The new lift will be realigned to provide easy access to the entire Big Burn and Sheer Bliss areas. This region of Snowmass encompasses nearly 700 acres of terrain and is the most popular terrain at Snowmass.

The new quad will carry riders 2,212 vertical feet, 155 feet more than the old Sheer Bliss chair. With a ride time of just over nine minutes and hourly capacity of 2,000, the new lift will transport double the number of riders in just over half the ride time as the old lift, which was built in 1975. The new lift's lower terminal lift will be downhill and on the opposite side of Cabin trail, to reduce congestion. The new upper terminal will be on the west side and above the Cirque Lift bottom terminal, making it easier to do laps in the Cirque, as well as providing direct access to Sneaky's trail.

"The overall renewal of Snowmass has now seen on-mountain investment of more than $50 million over just the past three years since the approval of the new base village project. The lift infrastructure of Snowmass has been dramatically overhauled, with new lifts at Village Express, Skycab, Elk Camp Gondola, Elk Camp Meadows, Assay Hill, Campground and now Sheer Bliss," said David Perry, senior VP, mountain division.

"We have been looking at replacing the Sheer Bliss lift for sometime," says Rich Burkley, vice president mountain operations, Aspen Skiing Company. "It seems that sometime has finally arrived."

The lift is complemented by additional improvements scheduled for this summer, which are expected to total more than $16 million. These projects include a new restaurant at the top of the Sam's Knob lift and a new restaurant in the base village at Snowmass. \