Holiday Valley & HoliMont Partner Up for New Event
Holiday Valley & HoliMont Partner Up for New Event
Enjoy Some Uphill Travel & Downhill Fun at “UppenOvr”, March 16th
Local skier and podcast personality Adam Sauerwein hosted an “Intro to Uphill Touring” clinic last weekend, adding to the stoke of the upcoming UppenOvr. Photos / @mradamx
It’s almost time to flip the script at Holiday Valley’s UppenOvr event on March 16th! It’s always been ski down, but have you ever appreciated the beauty of Ellicottville along the way? Why not try going up and over? This scenic excursion starts at the Yodeler Lodge and will take you up Sugarplum, over to the beautiful Spruce Lake, then down and back up Sunset at HoliMont! Racers will finish their journey back at Yodeler for an after-party HV style, with music, food, and fun. Not only is it a great way to get out, exercise, and be social, but it’s also for a good cause. Participation contributes to HV’s Empire State Ride Team, directly benefiting Roswell Park Cancer Center.
The whole event will run from about 3:00pm until 8:00pm, starting with the race. There will be a competitive division and a “just-for-fun” division, so that everybody can participate. You can find the Eventbrite ticket link on holidayvalley.com/events. A race entry fee ticket runs about $30.00.
Obviously, the event seems super cool, and unlike anything we’ve seen in recent years on the slopes. I spoke with Dash Hegeman, the Director of Marketing at Holiday Valley, and he was able to tell me how something like this was dreamt up.
“The person who conceptualized this event is my predecessor, Jane Eshbaugh. Last year she visited a resort out west that did a similar uphill touring event, and after having a lot of fun, decided to make a similar event here at Holiday Valley,” said Dash.
The after-party is sure to be a highlight because we all know that nobody throws a party quite like Holiday Valley. Dash tells us, “There will be live music, raffles, prizes, hot dogs and drinks, and much more.” While some prizes are still being situated, a very special last-of-its-kind style prize is headlining the raffle. Own Your Own Mountain, in Bob McCarthy’s honor, gives you and 11 other friends access to select lifts for one hour before the mountain opens with a special breakfast to top it off. “This is likely the last time that Own Your Own Mountain is available… ever!”
And it would be fantastic enough if this awesome event was just an awesome event, but it of course supports a great cause - Holiday Valley’s Empire State Ride representatives. The Empire State Ride is an annual cycling event across the state of New York that supports cancer research, patients, survivors, and families. “Holiday Valley has had a team of very dedicated and passionate riders participate in the Empire State Ride for at least six years”, commented Dash. “The goal is to raise as much money as possible for cancer research.”
There are so many important things needing support from benefits like UppenOvr, but Holiday Valley recognizes its platform and the largeness of cancer in almost everyone’s lives. “Everyone has been affected by cancer in some component of their life so for Holiday Valley, it’s important to use the platform that we have to help elevate that message of finding a cure”, said Dash. Furthermore, Buffalo and Western New York at large are extremely fortunate to have facilities like Roswell Park to further research to such a powerful extent. And yes, fundraising helps, but “let’s bring a lot of important publicity to the goal of finding a cure,” Dash remarked. Events like UppenOvr are certainly fun and enticing, but it’s really powerful knowing what Holiday Valley is helping at large.
“This is a new event at Holiday Valley and It’s awesome that we get to partner with HoliMont on this to make the race even more interesting”, Dash said excitedly. Interesting indeed, as this uphill travel is going to be a very different way of getting some turns in this season. If you’ll miss the fun on March 16th at UppenOvr, you can check out holidayvalley.com/events to see what other fun events are coming up this month. Dash let us know, “March is a busy month for events here at Holiday Valley.” If you’re free, come party, win prizes, be with friends, race, and get some turns (and a lot of steps) in at UppenOvr!