Mid-winter conditions, special events, and lift ticket deals await guests

NORTH WOODSTOCK, NH, FEBRUARY 2012 – The slow snow start of the 2011-12 ski season is now a distant memory with a deep base of snow statewide. The upcoming February school vacation weeks offer kids and families of all ages an opportunity to enjoy the fun part of winter along with special events at the state’s ski resorts.

Thanks to intense snowmaking efforts over the past three months, New Hampshire’s ski areas have made the most of a winter that has brought below-normal snowfall totals to most of the United States. Although many New England residents have bare ground in their yards, most of New Hampshire has natural snow on the ground and alpine areas have enhanced natural snowfall with hundreds of hours of snowmaking. As a result, not only are the downhill conditions surprisingly good, most of New Hampshire’s cross country ski areas are also open with over 450 kilometers of trails available.

“It’s very easy to look out your window at home and assume that the ski areas may not have much snow, which really is an unfortunate misconception. Thanks to cooler temperatures, we’ve retained much of the natural snow that has fallen and ski areas have spared no expense utilizing modern snowmaking technology to pile the snow deep over the past few months,” stated Alice Pearce, Ski NH’s president.

Vacation weeks allow families to enjoy time together and take advantage of the fun part of winter in New England. Ski areas realize that and offer a variety of activities to entertain everyone. Special events are scheduled through the week including fireworks displays, family ski races, apres ski entertainment for adults and kids, and much more. For a complete list visit SkiNH.com.

Among the offerings are Disney’s Get Out and Play with giveaways, games and more at Gunstock on February 18. King Pine at Purity Spring Resort will host Retro Day and a Scavenger Hunt on February 19. The Mountain Dew Vertical Challenge family-friendly race series visits Black Mountain, Crotched Mountain, and Mount Sunapee over the holiday break. Live music and auctions are part of the Childhood Cancer Lifeline Event at Pats Peak on February 25-26.

New Hampshire’s ski areas also continue to offer a wide variety of year-round attractions for guests. Among the non-skiing activities offered are mountain coasters, zip line rides, canopy tours, giant swings, dog sled and sleigh rides, ice skating and much more.

Although it may be considered a holiday period at resorts, many discount offers are still available. Ski NH’s Anywhere, Anytime Lift Ticket Packages offer $11-$21 off of holiday lift ticket rates, are valid anyday, and are fully-transferable so they can be shared with family and friends. Many ski areas also have daily lift ticket specials, discounts for buying online in advance, family deals and much more. Visit SkiNH.com for full details on all of these February vacation offers.

Ski NH is the statewide association representing 38 alpine and cross country resorts and more than 200 lodging and guest service properties in New Hampshire. For more information on ski areas, lodging packages, and updated winter events at Ski NH resorts, call Ski NH at (800) 88-SKI-NH ( 800-887-5464 ) or visit the Ski NH website at www.SkiNH.com . For statewide media relations assistance, visit the New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism’s media room at http://visitnh.gov/media/ or contact Mr. Tai Freligh at 603-271-2343 , option #2.