After a 71-year run, a trusty two-seater ski lift is about to spin off into the sunset — but not before one final hurrah. Sunlight Mountain Resort will throw a retirement party for Segundo, the oldest operating lift in the state, after the rest of the ski area closes down today.
The first (and only) Segundo Day will feature live music, food, and a lot of nostalgia. It will be the only lift open, taking people on a 12-minute ride up the west side of the mountain, just as it has since 1973. Segundo was first installed in Aspen in 1954 — but was moved and lived out most of its life at Sunlight, a smaller, independent resort that has carved out a niche for itself as a mountain for residents nearby.
Although this historic lift is a piece of steel, “I bet you if you asked most locals, they’d say Segundo probably has a heartbeat as well,” Sunlight’s Travis Baptiste, director of business development said through a wistful chuckle. He said he often sees the same families every weekend, with little kids learning on the same runs their parents — or even grandparents — skied as youngsters. Since only three lifts serve the resort, he said it’s easy to feel “a heavy emotional attachment (to all of them).”
After this season, a faster triple lift will take Segundo’s place. A quad will replace Primo, another two-seater that has hauled skiers to the top of the mountain since 1966. While the lifts will be gone, their chairs will live on, likely on front porches and in gardens in the surrounding community of Glenwood Springs. Sunlight plans to sell off the chairs, with more on those plans to be released later.
Sunlight is open through April 6, but Segundo Day could be skiers’ last chance to take a ride on the storied lift. That’s because as the season wears on, the base snow level sometimes gets too low for Segundo to operate. Baptiste is hopeful Segundo will at least run on closing day and possibly in the week beforehand — but nothing is certain.
What he does know, however, is that Segundo will at least be up and running for its goodbye party, allowing skiers and boarders to take their final rides. While Sunlight is kind of famous for its lack of lift lines, Bapiste would love to see “a crazy bottleneck of skiers.”
“I'll be there ear-to-ear smiling, high fiving people and handing out stickers in line. I'll tell you that,” he said.
Segundo Day is from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Friday, March 28. Anyone with a season or day pass can attend. Those without one can purchase a Segundo Day pass for $20.
