Do you like night skiing?

[Lefty Lucy]

Hi ladies!

I broke my ankle 3 weeks ago while mountain biking at Whistler, so the bike season is officially over for me and right now the only thing that's keeping me sane is obsessive thoughts of the upcoming ski season! Only 2 months to go! I recently bought my first ever season pass (Snoqualmie/Alpental in Washington State for those who know it) and since that hill is only 45" from where I work, I'm hoping to get in a lot of night skiing on weeknights. I have only tried night skiing once, and it wasn't that great because it was all foggy and icy, but lots of people go night skiing on a regular basis, so it can't always suck, right? How do you all feel about it?

 

[abc]

I bet those who night ski a lot probably can ski in dense fog better than the rest of us.

No, I've only done it once and it wasn't very appealing. Not living near a resort to ski at night to repeat it to get at least a second data point, I can't say it's good YET! ;-)

 

[Jenny]

I'm usually too cold to ski at night!

 

[Solincia]

Night skiing is all I used to do. When I was younger, we would always go at night, and even remarked how skiing in the daytime seemed odd when we did it.

The few trips I took to New York and Vermont, however, were full of day skiing, which is fun too of course.

Where I ski they have late nights on Friday and Saturday until 2am... I'll be hitting that up quite a bit this year.

There is just something very serene about the cold and the stars, and the wind hitting your face as you make your way down.

We have a small hill for skiing though, so there are lights in most areas. Fortunately they aren't too glaring.

 

[num]

I love it!

Icy, yes. But it also has the big perk of not being crowded. I love having a lot of the hill to myself, and that's generally the case for me with night skiing. It's nice to just ski, as opposed to human slalom. Even more relevant to me than the emptiness is the accessibility. If it weren't for night skiing, I wouldn't get to ski midweek. My home hill is open til 11 pm every night, and that means I can get out there after work a few nights a week to keep the ski fixes coming. Sometimes the conditions are good, too. Nothing like skiing in fresh snowfall on an uncrowded hilll after a long day at work

Plus, skiing at night makes you appreciate skiing during the day more. Day skiing is always some kind of treat for me.

 

[num]

Sorry to hear about your ankle. Wishing you a speedy and full recovery!

 

[CMCM]

I always thought I would hate it, but last season we went a couple of times...the lighting was fairly good, there was a nice layer of powder, no crowds, and it was actually wonderful. When it's extremely cold/stormy, however, it has no appeal to me at all! I'm not sure what kind of goggles to wear....my usual daytime rosy ones seemed too dark. I suppose there are clear goggles. In any case, I felt I needed my eyes covered.

 

[oragejuice]

Powder skiing at night is amazing. I've had several awesome nights. I'm actually really bummed, because Bachelor doesn't have night skiing.

It's fantastic!! Once I can get into my groove, I think I ski better at night, something about letting go, and not worrying about what's in front of me so much (besides trees....).

 

[Shellski]

Not really, it's in the 'been there/done that' category for me. Doodling up and down groomers isn't really my prefered mode of skiing, and that's all most night skiing seems to consist of. Plus, if I still have enough energy to ski at night, I haven't worked hard enough during the day.

However, I'm talking on vacation where I've been skiing all day already, in your situation - eg work during the day, ski at night - why the hell not??

 

[SnowHot]

Oh No! Bummer on the broken ankle :( Please get back in shape for ski season!!!

As for the night skiing thing.........Depending on the conditions, Night skiing is awesome!!!

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Really sorry to hear about your ankle, LL :( Get well soon!! Ouch!

I love night skiing! I learned how to ski at night!
Missed it a ton when I moved to northern New England, but I've started going to a nice place a mere 20 miles from home that has night skiing, and I've "rediscovered" it in the last couple of winters. Probably the reason that a lot of people who are daytime skiers don't like it is because they don't have the right goggles. Makes a difference.

I guess it's an "acquired taste."

 

[Jilly]

We have night skiing locally here. It's a small bump so it doesn't take long to get down. So I teach nights mostly. I've night skied in the Ottawa Valley and the Laurentains north of Montreal. You can even buy a 4 hour ticket. I've always wanted to do the night skiing thing on New Years Eve at St. Saveur. But not yet.
As for general thoughts- its colder usually, and sometimes darker than sunlight. I wear clear lenses for night skiing, depends on the lighting. And not all trails are lit in some areas. But usually its not as crowded and cheaper if you're buying lift tickets.

 

[leenski]

I haven't been night skiing in decades. My intro to skiing was with the high school ski club at the now gone Mt. Tom in Holyoke, MA. It's sad to see the small areas disappear. My real memory of it was being cold, dark and icey. It's a wonder I continued with the sport! As time went on and I was able to ski during the daylight on weekdays, I never went back to night skiing. There is an area close to me where I could ski at night, and sometimes think about it. I think my main reason for not doing it now, is the fact that I really am not a night person. If the time did come where my only option would be to ski at night, I would certainly adjust and do that.

 

[Severine]

I pretty much only ski at night. I can't fit it into my schedule otherwise. I don't mind it. Less people on the hill, which is a HUGE plus for me. I actually prefer skiing when it's colder (it's easier for me to get the layers right) so that's kind of a plus, too. Clear or yellow goggles are helpful at night.

Sorry about your ankle! Take it easy and heal. Skiing will always be there when you're whole again.

 

[sicurobin]

I have only been out skiing at night once - the conditions were not so hot, and it was wicked cold. I think that I am more of a daytime skiier. Sorry to hear about your ankle -hope that your recovery is a speedy one

 

[skihub]

Sorry to hear about your ankle! Ouch.

If the conditions are right, night skiing is my favorite time. It is less crowded and I feel I can see the terrain better in the night lights (maybe I am using the wrong goggles for day time skiing!). It does get icy sometimes, so early evening is best. But if you are careful not to go out on frigid cold nights, it should be lots of fun!

I remember riding up the chairlift last season at night and it was sub-zero temps (didn't check the weather outlook before I made plans _ ) Anyway, I was bundled up perfectly so I was warm in my little world. It was so cool to see ice crystals in the air but yet feel warm. I felt like I was looking out a window. Of course, I took about 2 runs before I decided the ice crystals weren't so great any more. Brrrr, but a neat experience!

 

[altagirl]

Yeah - blue lenses are supposed to be best for night skiing (they're supposed to filter artificial light well) and clear are probably your next best bet.

I do like night skiing. I don't go much since we moved here - it's convenient enough that going during the day isn't that difficult and it's warmer, and the places I've always had season passes here don't do night skiing.

But it is fun. It can be a little exhilarating when you can't see everything as well if the lighting isn't great or it gets icy, but it's fun in it's own way.

 

[Gloria]

The only night skiing we have are race nights around here, which I used to love to do. Sadly I had to give it up because I have a form of macular dystrophie that had gotten to the point that I would get sick every night when I got finished. I used to sub a little, but now I have hard time driving home in the dark if it is snowing, so I have to pick my battles wisely.:Cry::Cry:

 

[Lefty Lucy]

Thanks for the varied replies and all the ankle sympathy! Sounds like at least some of you enjoy it, so that's encouraging. I hadn't thought about the goggle issue and I never would have suspected that blue goggles would be best for night skiing, so I will definitely look into that! I'm going to operate on the theory that any skiing is better than no skiiing, and of course skiing on weekends will also hopefully be happening a lot this year.

 

[SnowflakeADK]

It used to be that the only time I was able to ski was at night. I suppose because that was the majority of my ski time I never considered that it was significantly different.
I'm lucky enough to now have 4 days off each week to ski.
However, I still do alot of night skiing. Fortunately we have a hill approx 10 min from my house that offers it AND 5 hr lift tickets for $15 on Monday and Tuesday nights. If we didn't ski those nights we would rarely ski w/ our group of friends. We always look forward to it as a fun social night out. Get some runs in and then to the lodge for beer and wings!
As for goggles, I wear contact lenses and they are a MUST, I have always used clear or yellow tints. The blue tint is one I haven't heard of....will have to look into that.