a quick top-ten Valentine’s-day-on-the-slopes ideas guide.
What: Romantic Speed Dating
Where: Verbier, Switzerland (and others)
The idea that a chairlift could be a good place to speed date has caught on at resorts around the world in recent years. You essentially jump on the lift and have the ascent time to get to know each other (could be a sticky moment if you don’t like each other, and then the lift jams for half an hour). If Cupid’s arrows strike, however, you can ski off into the sunset, or at least down to the bar, to take things further. If not, ski down to the bottom and try again. In Verbier, singles who turn up at Les Ruinettes from 9am are given a green armband to clearly show they’re single and looking for love.
What: Cookie Poetry Competition
Where: Squaw Valley, California, USA
There’s been a Valentine’s Day Poetry Contest organised by the Wildflour Baking Company at the Tahoe resort for more than two decades. Guests can enter the poetry contest or buy heart-shaped cookies with a short, personal poem inscribed in icing for their loved ones. Squaw gets in the Valentine’s Day mood too with offers like $14 lift tickets in past years (less than £10 for a day on the slopes). It’s not yet known if they’ll do the same again in 2015.
What: The Heart-shaped Wood
Where: Grossarl, Austria
Grossarl, a pretty, traditional village in the famous Gastein valley, has an unusual attraction on its slopes – a small area of woodland shaped like a perfect heart. Located between pistes 3 and 5 on the map, it’s the perfect spot perhaps for a romantic bit of tree skiing with your beloved.
What: Get Married (Or Renew Your Vows) And Get A Free Lift Ticket!
Where: Loveland, Colorado, USA
“Marry me and ski for free!” are the words all love-crazy fools hope one day to hear, and at the 24th Annual Mountaintop Matrimony at Loveland ski area in Colorado, that offer can become a reality. Participants in the resort’s mass wedding at The Ptarmigan Roost Cabin, 12,050 feet up in the Colorado Rockies, receive two lift passes for the price of one as long as they pre-register. There’s a Honeymooners’ Après Party for all participants with wedding cake, spirits and even a best-dressed contest.
What: Romantic Cup Cakes
Where: Various Resorts In The Alps
Valentine’s Day provides a catering challenge for chalet operators in the Alps but none take to it with more dedication than Esprit Ski, who cook up romantic meals and bake delicious desserts for guests in their chalets across the Alps. The company takes it so seriously they’ve even published a special Chalet Valentine Cup Cake recipe – they promise it’s not because they’re soppy about Valentine’s Day but because their company colours are pink. Another Esprit ski advantage is optional Sunday arrivals – Valentine’s Day is on a Saturday this year, so you can build up to it through the week, but don’t have to travel on it.
What: Romantic Bungee Jump
Where: Whistler, BC, Canada
Whistler is one of the few resorts to have a full Valentine’s Day section to its website, although there is a clue of dangers ahead to innocent young lovers in that it has a “Related Pages” section with one entry: “Childcare”. On the long list of ideas for 14 February in Whistler is the chance to enjoy a romantic tandem bungee jump from the bridge 53m above the Cheakamus River.
“We recommend that the couple do not weigh more than 350lbs combined unless you don’t mind getting a little wet,” say Whistler Bungee (whistlerbungee.com).
What: His And Hers Massages
Where: Courchevel
Supertravel Ski have a Valentine’s Week package that includes two things you’ll both love – a free Courchevel lift pass and complimentary his and hers massages, along with champagne reception on arrival, breakfast, afternoon tea, canapés and pre-dinner drinks, four-course dinner including cheese and port, coffee and chocolates, and wine. Arriving Sunday, 8 February, the package is £1399pp (saving £250pp), flights extra.
What: Kama Ski-Tra
Where: Park City, Utah
We’re not sure if they’re doing it again this February, but last year the upmarket Waldorf Astoria Park City in Utah got a touch more racy than usual by offering a special “Kama Ski-Tra” package. This provides a special night-skiing experience and special turndown service while you’re out on the slopes. Instead of a choccy on the pillow, you’ll find adult games, champagne, and essential body oils and a printed copy of the Kama Sutra. Oh, and there are chocolates.
What: Romantic Gondola Ride
Where: Les Gets, France
Les Gets does Valentine’s Day better than most resorts, and on the evening of the big day (6.30–8.30pm) “dresses” the cabins of the Mont Chéry gondola with romantic decor to provide a warm, romantic atmosphere. You are served an aperitif or appetiser each time you pass through the lift station, and there’s the added bonus of a stunning night view over the village.
What: Fall Over And Fall In Love
Where: Nevis Range, Scotland
Closer to home, Nevis Range ski area near Fort William has been offering special St Valentine’s Day packages for some years. Last year, a gondola ticket, winter-warmer hot drink and Valentine’s treat were offered for only £14, but in previous seasons, the centre ran special ski classes for single people who had never skied or snowboarded before. The theory was that if you fell over together, your chances were higher of falling in love (as well as getting a sore bottom).
“The idea of excitement/fear being related to developing emotional attachments or love has been about for a long time. The classic studies in this area showed that a young woman became twice as attractive to men under conditions that we might now describe as being ‘extreme sports’ – they were on rope bridges,” Dr Niall G. MacFarlane of Glasgow University said, to back up the Nevis range case.
He added: “You might say that the excitement of skiing – whether that means a novice on a nursery slope or an experienced skier going off-piste – has the potential to make us more attractive to possible suitors.”
If things go really well, Nevis Range is also now a licensed venue for staging weddings.