The Pallavicini “Pali” chairlift at A Basin has a long and beloved history. When the Colorado ski resort announced in 2020 it would be replacing the lift with a new one, murmurs were that you could take a chair home. And indeed, you finally can — via an online auction. Most of the chairs were claimed or auctioned long ago, but A Basin has put the last two up for bidding, with 100% of the proceeds going to chair-ity. (See what we did there?)
The auction for the two chairs will each take place in 2-week increments, and once they’re gone, they’re gone. Why now? To be honest, according to A Basin’s COO Al Henceroth, the Basin “planned on auctioning off two more [chairs] when the original [Pali] was removed,” but “fell a little behind.” Then COVID happened. So now, a few years later, two iconic Pali chairs are back up for bidding.
About the Pali Lift Chairs
The Pali lift was installed at Arapahoe Basin back in 1978; it’s a two-seater Yan lift, no lap bar. It’s always been a slow but steady ride up to the top of the Pali Outpost, where you can reach frontside expert terrain, the Pali Cornice, the West Wall, and the pick-your-poison Steep Gullies.
It’s a breathtaking view, and has been named multiple times as one of the most iconic chairlifts in the U.S. In fact, the COO of Arapahoe Basin Alan Henceroth went so far as to say, “It’s my favorite chairlift, anywhere.”
The beloved original Pallavicini lift retired in 2020, and was replaced with a newer 141-chair Leitner-Poma fixed-grip double chairlift. It’s not any faster, and maintains the two-seater charm — but with a safety bar.
The Auction: Own a Piece of Pali
The first Pali chair auction runs now until September 29, while the second chair e-bidding auction will open on September 30 and run to October 14, 2023. Nonprofits receive 100% of the funds — which will be split evenly between the local Family Intercultural Resource Center, Summit Community Care Clinic, and the Summit Foundation.
And hey, if the price of a chair is too steep for you (or you have nowhere to put it), you can still take home a piece of the legendary Pali lift! That’s right: A-Basin is also selling sections of the cable rope for keeps. The 3-foot cable rope sections are a reasonable $20.
If you are a diehard A Basin Ski Area fan looking to grab a piece of the Black Jewel, look no further.
Editor’s note: At the time of publishing, the auction site reported some issues with the link that it was investigating.
