Aspen Snowmass, CO, Celebrates 80 Years with Discounted Lift Tickets

This year marks the 80th year of Colorado’s beloved Aspen Snowmass, and the resort is marking the occasion with steep discounts on lift tickets, lodging, and more. Aspen Snowmass is offering heavily discounted lift tickets on December 12 and 13, with a separate throwback ticket price on December 14 that already sold out — plus rental, food, and lodging discounts running through the whole weekend.

To celebrate 80 years, lift tickets on December 12 and 13 are currently $80—62% off the original price of $209. Rentals on those days will also be $80, and food and drink specials will be available for $19.46. Specials on lodging at Limelight Snowmass, Limelight Aspen, and The Little Nell are available.

The resort also offered lift tickets on December 14 for $3.75 as a homage to the resort’s 1946 ticket pricing. Those tickets sold out in less than a day as keen internet sleuths discovered the massive discount and shared the excitingly low price on Reddit. “Turns out, 1946 pricing moves fast,” the resort wrote. “$3.75 lift tickets for December 14 are officially sold out. But you can still join us December 12 and 13 with $80 lift tickets across all four mountains.”

Alongside the discounts on tickets, rentals, and lodging, skiers at Snowmass that weekend will have the opportunity to experience the resort’s Wintersköl celebration, Aspen’s annual “toast to winter” dating back to 1951. Celebrating snow, community, and mountain life, Wintersköl guests can enjoy torchlight descents on Aspen Mountain, live music in Wanger Park, SoupSköl™, bonfires, fireworks, and snow sculptures on December 10-13. The event spans all four Aspen mountains — Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk, and Snowmass — offering early-season laps for skiers of all levels.

• Related: Aspen Snowmass Announces Winter 2026-27 Season Dates and Pass Discounts

On December 14, 1946, Aspen Mountain was founded by Friedl Pfeifer and Walter and Elizabeth Paepcke. They opened Aspen Mountain with the world’s longest chairlift and daily lift tickets starting at $3.75. In 1950, Aspen hosted the first FIS Alpine World Championships outside of Europe and by 1957, the resort boasted five lifts and was logging over 50,000 skier visits per year.

In the 1980s, the Aspen resorts really began taking shape. In 1981, Denver billionaire Marvin Davis bought 20th Century Fox, and the Aspen Skiing Corp became the Aspen Skiing Company, which owns the resorts to this day. Five years later, the Silver Queen Gondola opened, reducing the ride time to Aspen Mountain’s summit from 45 to 15 minutes. Shortly after, Snowmass allowed snowboarding on its mountain in 1988, and Aspen Mountain finally gave snowboarders the green light in 2001.

Today, Aspen is one of the most famous ski towns in the world. Across all four of its resorts, Aspen offers over 5,700 acres of skiable terrain and over 40 lifts, giving skiers an unimaginably big and comprehensive mountain experience. With each mountain offering something unique, skiers of all levels and interests can find a comfortable place to ski at Aspen.

• Related: Why America’s Bougiest Ski Town is Maybe its Most Sustainable

With its 80th anniversary coming up, Aspen is ready to celebrate its rich ski history with discounts all across the board. From lift ticket discounts to food discounts, skiers at Aspen can enjoy a weekend of early-season skiing alongside the Wintersköl festivities.

“Eight decades in, Aspen is still a place to charge steep lines, chase bold thinking, and live fully,” the resort wrote. “Lifting the spirit, expanding perspective, and leaving an enduring mark on all who come here. This season, we’re Celebrating 80 years with community-centered moments. Here’s to good times, all season long.”

Skiers interested in purchasing a discounted lift ticket should do so soon, as tickets can and will sell out.