As a way to help outdoorsy Alaskans meet their match in time for Valentine’s Day, the Alyeska Ski Resort in Girdwood hosted its first-ever Lifts for Love chairlift speed dating event Thursday night.
Among the 91 Valentine’s Eve participants was Connor Flud, who’s a member of the military. He said there are not a lot of ways to meet potential dates with his busy schedule.
“Mainly just dating apps,” Flud said. “Because, you know, not many females where I work. So dating apps are kind of my best way to try to get out there. And so far, it hasn't really worked out.”
Now, Flud is taking his chances to find the love of his life on a chairlift. He’s even sporting some new gear.
“I got a new bib for this, so I'm going all out,” he said.
Alyeska’s plan is simple: Skiers and snowboarders pair up and take a chairlift up part of the mountain, and take the time to get to know each other, before heading down the slope together. Organizer Abbey Brau said there are two spots to get off.
“Kind of at the top of that little hill right there, is where the midway point is,” Brau said. “So people might, like, hop off there and come down here. Otherwise it kind of doubles the length. It's like a long cat track up to the next stop.”
Hopping off at the midway point gives the couples roughly six minutes to chat, while going all the way to the top is about 14. Organizers divided the participants into four groups.
“Mountain maverick, mountain maven, snow bunny and powder prince,” Brau said. “It's the different age categories so we know who to match.”
Mountain mavericks and mountain mavens constituted the men and women above the age of 30, while powder princes and snow bunnies were between the ages of 21 and 30.
After about half an hour of participants enjoying drinks and mingling, organizer Arab Ginnett gathered everyone together to lay out the rules. Each person was numbered off, and at the end of each run would write down each other's numbers and check a box if there was a connection.
“Tonight, we're going to work our magic,” Ginnett said. “We are going to make all of our matches, and then you're going to get an email from us later today that says who your potential matches are.”
With a hefty cheer from the crowd, people were paired off and headed up the chairlift.
Merit Paramo was one of the younger snow bunnies looking for her powder prince. She’s a doctoral student who’s been single for a couple years, and her dating life has been almost nonexistent since.
“Well, I was in Oregon for a while, and that was not the vibe,” Paramo said. “I need an Alaskan man.”
Christopher Jordan is in construction, and said it's been slim pickings trying to find someone to be in a relationship with.
“I'm not saying that I'm older, but, you know, almost 30,” Jordan said. “I'm not quite a mountain maverick, still a snow prince today. So that's good, but, yeah, I just want someone who wants to have an actual relationship and actually get to know me.”
Serena Murdock works for a Head Start program and said it’s been hard to find new people in a small community. She recently got divorced last March.
“This looks like something fun to get back out there,” Murdock said. “I’m pretty into skiing. So whoever I meet should be into skiing too, right?”
As for what she’s looking for, Murdock said, “I just want someone that can make me laugh, someone I know, like, cares about me genuinely. I'm pretty easy to please.”
After about nine runs, Flud, the servicemember, said he found a lot of outdoorsy ladies, which is what he was looking for. But he worries he may have had a red flag for some of them.
“Some of them were a lot older than me, and so, you know, they don't like that,” Flud said with a laugh.
For doctoral student Paramo, she found a few guys who she wouldn’t mind seeing again.
“Oh my goodness, one of them was an older brother, and he was really nice,” Paramo said. “Oh, one guy was really silly and was making good jokes. And we were wearing the same outfit. It was a guy with the same outfit. A silly man. Love a silly man.”
Jordan, the construction worker, said he met so many great women, though one made a comment that gave him pause.
“There's one who said she didn't like dogs, and I was just like, ‘What?’” Jordan said, incredulously. “That's insanity. You don’t say that on a first date, right? They're all a little different, but that's it. Otherwise, no, they're all beautiful, they're all great.”
And of course, the million dollar question: Did he find the love of his life?
“Oh, man, I sure hope so,” Jordan said. “You know, it sounds great to me, absolutely. This will be a great start to everything, you know. Great story to tell our kids.”
Even event organizer Brau, a single lady herself, got a chance to mingle with some of the participants as she headed up the chairlift.
“I definitely took a few runs,” Brau said. “Met some great people. Took two runs with one person. So hey, that's a good sign.”
Brau said the event exceeded her expectations. She’s already planning for next year, when she hopes to have opportunities for LGBTQ+ Alaskans to find their match on the Alyeska trail as well.
