February 10, 2009 E-MAIL PRINT

Around the Region: Look for love on the lift

Ride the lift at Black on Feb. 14 for a chance to find a soulmate. (photo: Black Mountain)

Don't miss the opportunity to meet the ski bum of your dreams during the eight minutes it takes to ride the lift from bottom to top at Black Mountain in Jackson, N.H. New this year, love potions from the bar and a special aphrodisiac Valentine menu created by the chef will be available to enjoy afterward with your favorite date on Feb. 14. Enter the contest for the best pickup line and perhaps win a grand prize.

Among the list of Valentine's Day activities is the Heart Hunt at Mount Sunapee, Granite Gorge Valentine's Day Race and Maine Ski Heritage Classic at Sugarloaf with its Pine Tree State memorabilia.

Vermont's Okemo will celebrate Feb. 14 with a Sweetheart Scavenger Hunt and a Find-the-Liftie-with-a-Heart contest. Ten red hearts will be hidden along trails throughout the resort on Valentine’s Day. When a skier or rider finds a heart and takes it to Okemo’s Learning Center Desk at the Okemo Clock Tower Base Area, they’ll win one of 10 prize packages. One of Okemo’s lifties will be wearing a bright red heart on his/her uniform. Skiers and riders who report the name of the lovable liftie to the Okemo Clock Tower Base Area Ski + Ride School desk will win a sweet treat.

Big air is on the menu Feb. 14 for the Attitash Freeride Series, Loon hosts the Salomon Jib Academy contest and Waterville Valley celebrates its 42nd birthday.

The seventh annual Presidents Rail Jam returns to Killington Resort’s Bear Mountain in the Outer Limits Rail Park on Feb. 15 with a $1,000 purse and prizes to top skiers and riders. The competition, beginning at 10 a.m., will feature an open jam on three rails for 30 minutes. The top three skiers and riders from each session will compete in a one trick showdown judged by the competitors. Feb. 15 is also the day for Gunstock's Toni Buttinger Race.

Looking ahead, Jay Peak in northern Vermont is preparing for its seventh Mountain Mardi Gras Feb. 23-28. The week-long event includes authentic Cajun- and New Orleans-style lunch and dinner specials and live music.

“The event gets better and better every year,” Jake Webster, VP of real estate development for the resort and founder of Jay Peak’s Mountain Mardi Gras, said in a release.

Almost all the events are free admission.

Inspired by sheer determination and will to thrive, the Diana Golden Series travels to Sugarbush Feb. 22 to offer an introductory alpine ski racing experience for people with physical disabilities. Participation in this series, created in memory of Olympic Champion and member of the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame Diana Golden, is the first step toward racing in the Paralympics for many athletes.

"Diana Golden is an inspiration to many of our athletes, not just for her incredible skiing career but for the hurdles that she overcame throughout her life," Maggie Burke, program coordinator for Vermont Adaptive at Sugarbush, said in a statement. "She proved that a person with a disability can thrive in life, despite that disability."

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Around the Region: Look for love on the lift

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