Buttermilk | Roaring Fork Engineering

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Buttermilk Base Area Redevelopment

Civil Infrastructure Redevelopment for the Buttermilk Base Area

Aspen Skiing Company holds its facilities to the standard its guests expect. When Buttermilk’s base area, including the ticket office, restaurant, and public plaza, needed a full redevelopment, Roaring Fork Engineering served as the civil engineer of record on a project team that included CCY Architects, FCI Construction, and Design Workshop.

Challenges & highlights

Alpine site work introduces constraints that don’t exist at lower elevations. Temperature swings between summer and winter can exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit, placing significant demands on buried infrastructure. All pipe systems must be installed below frost depth to prevent freeze damage — a requirement that shapes utility design throughout the project. Critical pedestrian areas, including accessible ramps and high-use transitions, were designed with in-slab hydronic heat to maintain safe, clear surfaces during the winter operating season.

Drainage design for a ski area base requires careful accounting of snowmelt, rain-on-snow events, and the concentrated runoff that comes with dense paving and roof areas at high elevation. RFE analyzed the overall drainage for the Buttermilk basin and designed systems that handle those loads reliably. Our work included erosion prevention and new retaining walls to create an environmentally friendly space that’s optimized for user safety and access. Utilities serving the new ticket office and dining facilities were also extended and connected to serve the expanded program, coordinated with the Aspen Skiing Company’s infrastructure team.

The results

The result was a base area that reflects the quality Aspen skiers expect and the functionality the operation requires.

The completed Buttermilk base area now easily serves the volume of guests the mountain attracts while delivering the quality of experience Aspen’s brand demands. The infrastructure functions as intended across the full range of mountain conditions from summer events to peak winter operations.

The project reflects RFE’s longstanding relationship with Aspen Skiing Company, built on a track record of delivering quality civil work on a campus where the expectations are high, and the operating environment is unforgiving.

Elevation: 9,900

Location: Pitkin County, CO

Creation of environmentally friendly and sustainable erosion control measures
Engineered plaza improvements and paving extensions
Design of new retaining wall between Skier Services Building and the Hideout
Design of stairs, ramps, and pavement entries to ensure user safety

Build infrastructure that holds up

If your municipality is planning roadway improvements, utility expansions, or system upgrades, we are ready to support your team.