"The Center of the Universe": Iconic Colorado Ski Lift Finally Opens for the Season

Arapahoe Basin’s famed Pallavicini Chair (Pali Chair) will open on Saturday, January 10, 2026, a welcome sign for Colorado skiers that the ski season, which got off to a slow start, is building some momentum in the New Year with fresh snow.

The chairlift, dubbed “The Center of the Universe,” departs from Arapahoe Basin’s base area, depositing riders atop a collection of advanced trails. The resort, in an email, noted that it's “our most beloved lift and terrain.” 

When it opens around noon on Saturday, it’ll serve the Griz Road, West Wall, and Slalom Slope trails, as well as limited openings on Challenger, Scudder, and Radical.

Those limited openings, according to Arapahoe Basin, “are when patrol may open a run for a period of time and then re-close it to keep the snow surface intact.”

An Arapahoe Basin representative confirmed to POWDER that this is Pali's first official opening of the Winter 25/26 season.

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Arapahoe Basin has tallied four inches of snow in the past 48 hours, with a few more flakes expected today. Then, the forecast clear ups, with clear skies and cool temperatures into early next week.

Through the middle of the month, some more light precipitation is possible, but Chris Tomer—a meteorologist favored by skiers—isn’t tracking any major Colorado storms.

Many storms this season have strayed north, hitting British Columbia rather than Utah or Colorado.

Against this meteorological backdrop, snowpacks in basins across Colorado remain well below the median, and many major ski resorts are a good distance from opening all of their trails. For context, last winter, the Pallavicini Chair opened in early December.

Check out the video below of Arapahoe Basin's Lucas Herbert scoring fresh tracks on Pali yesterday, January 8, 2026.

But Arapahoe Basin, and other Colorado mountains, like Copper Mountain and Keystone, are doing what they can to make more terrain available amid the drier weather. At Loveland Ski Area, the Ptarmigan Lift opened for the 2025-26 season this week, another good sign for skiers. 

And here’s a hopeful reminder: it’s never over til it’s over. Arapahoe Basin locals skied powder in May last season, and the ski resort stayed open until June 15, 2025. There’s plenty of skiing left.

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