In case you really want to feel like you’re on top of the world on your wedding day (and who wouldn’t?), Loveland ski area will hold its 29th annual mountaintop matrimony event at noon Friday, which also happens to be Valentine’s Day.
The “mass wedding,” as Loveland puts it, will take place at the Ptarmigan Roost cabin on a slope beneath the soaring ridge of the Continental Divide at an elevation of 12,050 feet. The cabin is located 1,250 feet above the base area in a massive sweeping cirque above timberline.
Couples are required to sign in that morning and are asked to be at the cabin by 11:30 a.m. To participate, lovebirds and their guests must be able to ride the lift and ski or snowboard back down the mountain. An after-party — OK, you can call it your reception if you want — will take place at 1:30 p.m. at the base lodge.
, you can snag two-for-one lift tickets the day of the wedding for $89. You won’t forget the ring, of course, but remember you must bring a valid Colorado marriage license to be officially hitched. There will be a prize for the best-dressed couple.
If getting married is not quite in the cards this year, here are some other Valentine happenings at Colorado ski areas.
Arapahoe Basin will offer a (with lessons!) from 7-10 p.m. at the 6th Alley Bar and Grill in the base lodge. Dinner includes a choice of lobster tail with rock shrimp risotto and baby vegetables or rack of lamb with smoked cheddar polenta, baby vegetables and red wine demi-glace. The cost is $70 per person and reservations are required.
Copper Mountain has a series of events through the ski season, and the Valentine’s edition will fall on Saturday. After checking in at 3:45 p.m. (reservations are required), you will ride up the American Eagle chair at 4:45 p.m. to Copper’s mid-mountain restaurant, Solitude Station. With the rest of the mountain closed, you can get in a few runs off the Excelerator lift (sunset is at 5:40 p.m.) before things get rolling in Solitude at 5:45 p.m. There you will find a gourmet buffet — including oysters on the half shell, bacon-wrapped beef filet and pan-seared sea bass — along with live music. Afterward, you can ski back down to Center Village (with a headlamp, which is required) or ride the gondola down. The cost is $125 per person. Full disclosure: There won’t be any moonlight this time as the moon rises after midnight that night.
Steamboat has something Friday night thatap not being touted as a Valentine’s Day celebration, but it could be pretty romantic. The is described as an “evening of sensory delight” featuring six hot air balloons illuminating the Mountain Village from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Stroll among the standing balloons or observe from a slope-side restaurant. Other options including night skiing and rides on the mountain coaster. The party winds up with fireworks and a torchlight parade.
Monarch Mountain is staging a for couples on the Freeway racecourse. Two-person teams will race, with each getting two runs in order to determine the fastest sweethearts on the mountain. The race will take place Friday between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., and the cost is only $5.
