This Couple Met and Fell In Love on a Chairlift
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Heather and David met on a ski lift at Black Mountain in Jackson, N.H. (Photo: Heather Littlefield)
Who: Heather Littlefield and David Day
When: 2011
Where: A ski lift at Black Mountain
Relationship status: Married
Since she was a lifelong skier, heading to a mountain to go skiing was not out of the ordinary for Heather. Most days were spent relaxing on the slopes without anything remarkable really happening. But, on Feb. 12, 2011, that would all change.
On clear day, Heather and her friend decided to head to Black Mountain in Jackson, N.H. not just for a day of skiing, but to attend the annual “Chairlift Speed Dating” event. “I’d never done any kind of speed dating before, let alone one on a chairlift,” says Heather. “It was something new, and I thought I’d give it a shot.” The two made their way to the mountain with few expectations besides having a good time and to try something new.
On arriving at the ski lodge, Heather noticed a cute guy, but didn’t think too much of it. She and her friend took a couple of spins on the mountain together, and prepared themselves for the event. “We had to stick hearts on our helmets, so the chairlift operators would know who was part of the event,” says Heather. “I happened to be the first person to arrive at the chairlift.”
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The couple learned that they had both skied on Black Mountain as kids. (Photo: Heather Littlefield)
The event works by pairing a guy and a woman who have hearts on their helmets on the same chairlift, dubbed the “Lift of Love,” so they can ride up to the top of the mountain together. If you hit it off on the ride up, you can ski or ride down together. If not, you can head back to the lift for another opportunity to meet your soulmate.
When Heather arrived to take her ride up the mountain with her potential suitor, she recognized a familiar face: the cute guy from the lodge. Knowing now that he was single, Heather scooted towards a moment that would change her life. “They paired us up,” says Heather. “And up we went, on the lift.” Before the lift took off, a local photographer who happened to be there took a picture of the first couple to take a spin. He snapped a photo of David and Heather moments after they first met, and it ran in the local newspaper shortly after.
This photo was taken right before Heather and David boarded the ski lift. (Photo: Heather Littlefield)
The cute guy, she would come to find out, was named David Day. “We started talking, and realized we had a lot in common,” Heather says. “We found that we had both learned to ski here as kids and went to the same university, but never met each other there.” David echoes this sentiment, saying, “The ride up was amazing. It was one of those — like ‘Jeez, this went too quick.’”
Both realizing that they should probably take a few more trips down the mountain, since this was the first one of the day, they decided to separate and head off with friends to go skiing. “We split up at the top of the mountain, agreeing we would meet back at the lodge for the party that was being hosted for the event,” says Heather. “And I didn’t see him the rest of the time I was skiing.”
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Once the event concluded, David and Heather reconvened at the lodge as agreed, and continued the conversation they had started on the lift. Recognizing that the spark between them was real, they decided to take their encounter beyond the mountain and set up a real date. There was one problem. “We had a little geographical challenge,” Heather says. “We lived an hour and a half from each other, and we both had full-time jobs. So it took us a few weeks to finally get that official first date.”
The couple on their wedding day in 2014 (Photo: Thamer Photography Studios)
As predicted, the date went off very well, but then another obstacle hit. “David got really sick right after that, so we didn’t see each other again for another three weeks or so,” Heather says. As their conversations continued, they got to know each other even more, and the couple was in a full-fledged relationship by April.
They spent the next three years in a long-distance relationship, before finally deciding to get married. “We bought a house together last spring,” Heather says. “And we got married this past fall.” The newlyweds have returned to the scene of the crime many times since their first meeting, considering it their special place. They intend not only to return as often as possible, but to take their kids there one day. “When we have kids, we want to take them to Black Mountain and be there as much as we can,” says David.
“It’s a great place,” adds Heather. “We look forward to making many more memories there.”
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