Local and regional ski/snowboard areas are celebrating the holiday weekend with enhanced snow conditions, new terrain park features and special events.

Seven Springs Terrain Parks and Willi's Ski Shop are sponsoring the "first-ever Lord of the Springs" freestyle competitions for skiers and snowboarders today and March 1. It will be at The Spot, the four-acre terrain park on the front side of the mountain.

Danny Vogel, the resort's action sports director, is expecting skiers and snowboarders "from all over the East Coast to compete for the title. We're expecting a big turnout of sliders, riders and spectators. This event will tie-in great with our exciting Winterfest activities."

Registration is from 8-8:30 a.m. A one-hour practice session begins at 9 a.m. and the contest starts at 10:30 a.m. An awards ceremony will be at about 3 p.m. The registration fee is $5 for boys and girls 16 and younger and $15 for men and women 17 and older.

Seven Springs was working on its Superpipe yesterday and plans to open it this weekend. Its walls are 18 feet high and it's longer than a football field. First time users might find it a bit intimidating.

The resort's annual Winterfest celebration continues today with the Great Media Race at 3 p.m. on the National Standard Race Course on the North Face side of the mountain, a roller-skating party from 7 p.m.-10 p.m. and Salsa dancing lessons from 8:30 p.m.-11 p.m. in the Alpine Room.

For more information, go to www.7springs.com or call 1-800-452-2223.

Boyce Park is having two events tomorrow -- the annual Adam Zebroski Memorial Race at 11 a.m. and the Mini-Junior Olympics at 1 p.m. A giant slalom course will be set up for both events, which are sponsored by the ski patrol and the ski school.

Manager Tom Mettrick said boys and girls ages 13-14, 15-16 and 17-18 can compete on skis, snowboards or both in the Adam Zebroski race. Children ages 5-6, 7-8, 9-10 and 11-12 can do the same in the Mini-Junior Olympics. The top racers will receive plaques; the top Mini-Olympians will receive simulated gold, silver and bronze medals.

Registration begins at 10 a.m. in the Four Seasons Lodge. The entry fee is $5. Proceeds will be used to purchase supplies for the ski patrol, a volunteer group whose members spend countless hours to maintain and improve their first aid skills to help injured skiers and snowboarders.

Mettrick said the addition of the new Snowtubing Park at the Allegheny County-owned facility has become a popular attraction for children and adults. Snowtubers and the tubes they slide on are transported up the hill on a lift similar to a conveyor belt. Gravity brings them down in designated lanes.

The cost is $10 for those 13 and older and $6 for children 12 and younger. Children 9 and younger must be under the direct supervision of an adult.

"No lessons are necessary," Mettrick said. "All you have to do is show up."

Boyce Park is an ideal, close-to-home place to learn to ski or snowboard or to polish your skills, especially on week nights. Weekend lift tickets are $13 for adults 18 to 59, $11 for juniors ages 6 to 17, $10 for seniors 60 and older and $4 for children 5 and younger. Ski rentals are $8.75. Snowboard rentals are $25 with a valid driver's license.

Call 724-733-4665 for updated snow reports, operating hours and costs and 724-733-4656 for additional information.

Blue Knob will have a Big Air contest for skiers and snowboarders Feb. 23. There will be male and female divisions and two age divisions -- 16 and older and 15 and younger. There will be cash prizes for the winners.

The entry fee is $20 and includes a T-shirt. Registration is from 10 a.m.-noon in the ski lodge. A one-hour practice session will begin at 11 a.m.

For more information, go to www.blueknob.com or call 1-814-239-5111.

Despite precipitation that went from snow to rain to snow to freezing rain and back to snow in the past week, conditions at local and regional ski/snowboard areas range from good to excellent.

The combination of natural snow -- up to 10 inches in the Laurel Highlands -- and machine-made snow -- more than a foot at some areas where the overnight temperatures dropped into the single digits -- combined to provide good base depths.

Some examples: Blue Knob, 25-35 inches; Hidden Valley, 28-56 inches; Mystic Mountain at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa, 12-24 inches; Seven Springs, 24-36 inches.

For more information, see the Web sites and phone numbers listed above and then go to www.myhiddenvalleyresort.com (1-814-443-8000) and www.nemacolin.com (1-800-422-2736).

To get an idea of what the natural snow conditions are in the Laurel Highlands, especially at Laurel Ridge State Park, go to the Pennsylvania Cross Country Skiers Association Web site at www.paccsa.com.