Aspen Mountain Hero’s Expansion: A Game-Changing Project Worthy of the Name
The Hero’s lift serves Aspen Mountain’s first terrain expansion in 23 years.
This past season, Aspen Mountain, which is the town hill for the namesake Aspen Snowmass complex, got its first terrain expansion since the year 2000. This modestly-sized Colorado mountain, known locally as Ajax, brought a 153-acre upper-mountain expansion known as Hero’s. This project adds a number of new intermediate and expert trails served by a brand-new high-speed quad. With the expanded terrain, Ajax’s skiable footprint has increased to 828 acres.
One of Aspen Mountain’s biggest drawbacks has historically been how hard it’s been to lap much of its terrain, especially when it comes to expert slopes. The Hero’s expansion finally introduces some terrain that cuts right at the heart of these issues, and in the process, brings some substantial resort benefits.
Experience Changes
The Hero’s area was previously a very popular backcountry area, and after spending some time here, it’s clear why the resort was so eager to add it to the ski boundary proper. The expansion brings some really interesting terrain within the resort boundaries of Aspen Mountain, including some awesome glades, moguls, and bowls.
The Hero’s expansion brings some very cool glade, mogul, and bowl terrain, much of which is rated expert.
But importantly, unlike the rest of Aspen Mountain’s expert terrain areas, the Hero’s area is actually easy to lap. Ajax’s decidedly strange lift layout historically meant that lapping any of its expert terrain involved a trip down the full vertical descent of the resort—which could get incredibly annoying if you wanted to spend a lot of time on this type of terrain—but it’s now possible to exclusively lap expert terrain over and over again through the Hero’s lift. In addition, the expansion’s expert-oriented nature has seemed to keep crowds down, and the area has seen minimal lines even during busy times; this is a far cry from popular Ajax lifts such as the Silver Queen Gondola and Ajax Express quad.
Unlike many of Aspen Mountain’s lower-elevation areas, the Hero’s pod is actually easy to lap.
The Hero’s expansion isn’t perfect. While this area does have some intermediate terrain, it’s limited in nature and mainly consists of traverses in and out of the expert zones. In addition, there are a few flat terrain sections required to get back to the chairlift, especially if you’re coming from skier’s right of the Powerline trail. But these are minor qualms compared to the benefits the area brings.
While the Hero’s area does have some intermediate terrain, it’s mostly relegated to traverses.
Final Thoughts
Aspen Mountain is still quite a bit smaller than prominent destination competitors, and without Snowmass and Highlands nearby, it probably wouldn’t be worth it for a dedicated ski trip. But overall, Hero’s is a surprisingly effective addition to Ajax. The expansion substantially improves the resort’s flow for experts, provides a haven from the rest of the resort’s logistical issues—and, at least for now, allows an escape from the crowds.
Considering a ski trip to Aspen Mountain this year? Check out our full Colorado rankings, as well as our comprehensive Aspen Mountain review. You can also check out our analysis of the major 2022-23 ski resort upgrade projects in video form below.
