Aspen Mountain | Aspen, Colorado

Some of Aspen's most beloved landmarks aren't mountains or buildings. They're the chairlifts that carried generations of skiers into the mountains.

For decades, the Bell Chairlift was part of the fabric of Aspen Mountain, its long, steep ascent etched into the memories of countless locals and visitors. Before its retirement and replacement with a modern high-speed quad, I captured this quiet view of the old lift stretching up the legendary Face of Bell, photographed from the Silver Queen Gondola.

At first glance, the scene appears almost entirely monochromatic. Fresh snow blankets the mountainside, frosted evergreens stand motionless along the run, and a procession of empty chairs disappears into the distance. Yet this is a color photograph, with the faintest hints of evergreen green emerging from an otherwise winter-white landscape.

There is a beautiful stillness to the image, a moment suspended between Aspen's storied skiing past and its ever-changing future.

A farewell to an old friend, and a tribute to the countless journeys it carried up the mountain.