The 2024-25 ski season is set to be the last hurrah for the chairlift known as the longest-operating in Colorado.

That’s how Sunlight Mountain Resort has known the Segundo lift, tracing its origins to 1954 in Aspen before its move to the small Glenwood Springs ski area in 1973. Sunlight recently announced plans to replace Segundo along with the Primo lift, which has been the main ride up the mountain since 1966.

Sunlight Mountain Resort Marketing Director Matt Ericksen said “some of the prep work” is happening this summer. “Trying to get some of the tower bases in and a couple of other things,” he said. “Just getting ready to go for next spring.”

That’s when the resort anticipates receiving a state-of-the-art quad lift from Leitner-Poma to replace Primo, a fixed-grip double. The two-seater Segundo, meanwhile, will be replaced by the former Lenawee lift, the triple chair that ran at Arapahoe Basin from 2001-2022.

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The two replacements are expected to debut for the 2025-26 season. Together, they will represent Sunlight’s largest-ever investment, Ericksen said.

“I think it’s a new era for Sunlight,” he said. “We’ve had these lifts obviously a long time. Having the distinction of the oldest lift in the state is, I think, something we’re proud of — we’re proud of the longevity, we’re proud of what we’ve gotten out of the lift.”

Ericksen added: “They’re in great mechanical shape, both lifts. But we’d rather get ahead of it.”

The Segundo replacement will increase uphill capacity from 970 people per hour to 1,400 people, according to a U.S. Forest Service review authorizing the project. The Primo project “is pending final approval,” a Sunlight news release noted, but “we are moving forward confidently and excitedly.”

Both replacements are aimed at meeting Sunlight’s future demographic, Ericksen explained.

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The customer base has been largely local. Vacationers have been drawn by “ski and soak” marketing, combining Glenwood’s hot springs, while others have come on the multi-resort Indy Pass and Freedom Pass — products taking customers to humble destinations, away from crowds.

“It’s that personal touch, that intimacy,” Ericksen said. “We’re appreciative of those who find Sunlight, and those who do seem to want to come back.”

Which has led operators to take a hard look at infrastructure in recent years. A new lodge and trail expansions could be “further down the road,” Ericksen said.

But first the lifts — a final winter for Segundo. For regulars, Ericksen expects a season of nostalgia.

“Seeing what’s really a throwback in the ski industry be retired, it’s kind of a poignant moment,” he said.