Ain’t No Sunshine

[highpeaksdrifter]

Lots of threads in lots of ski forums about flat light and the overall dislike of skiing in it. There are some trails that hardly ever see a ray of sunshine because of their exposure. Some of those trails are dang good skiing and must be skied anyway. What one comes to mine for you?

The first one that comes to mine for me is Annapurna at Hunter. Most of the season that is one dark trail, but a very good trail.

 

[millerm277]

Almost all of Blue Mtn in PA, there is rarely much light on most of the trails because of the Northern exposure.

Annapurna as well, and parts of Belt Pkwy.

 

[mattchuck2]

The King Pine Area at Sugarloaf never seemed to get much sun that I remember (especially late in the day), but still had some fun trails.

 

[jimmer]

the whole darkside at gore [ high peaks area] , but the ride back up in the sunshine sure is sweet.

 

[sledhaulingmedic]

A lot of Magic is shadowed by the Ridge(s) for a large part of the day. The Eastern half tends to be tough in the morning. One plus to the Northwest exposure of the Western side is the light is a little better later in the day. Mmmmmmm, Master Magician!

 

[kingslug]

Grand Foghee er Targhee......no sun.
And yes, Anapurna is the dark side of the moon.

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

the whole darkside at gore [ high peaks area] , but the ride back up in the sunshine sure is sweet.

I like it over there, but usually don't ski there much because of the flat light unless the liftline is open.

 

[Greg]

Most mountains have a lot of flat light in December...

 

[eastcoastpowderhound]

we can't get away from flat light in New england..especially at the northern resorts from Nov to Jan...but you can be prepared for it with the right goggles. Smith's "Sensor" lens allows 70% of the visable light through...rose based lens with a blue flash...will still offer enough protection when the sun comes out. Oakley's Hi Intensity yellow lens allows 81% of the visable light...yellow tint, blue flash..but its a little too bright if the sun pokes out...like in the movie gremlins. Both are fantastic on snowdays as well. The average VLT (visable light transmission) is around 30-35%. I've always got at least two goggles in my bag for varying light conditions. I'm always amazed at the number of people I see on a low light day wearing mirrored lens goggles...with ~20% VLT...makes me wonder how they can see anything. So get some new goggles with a low light lens and see what you've been missing on those flat light trails. Yes, I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night...

 

[AHM]

Flat light............buyer beware..........

HPD: Flat light can be an interesting issue for a skier, but not so much in the east. It just means it might be a bit slick. And, for an eastern skier, a bit slick should not be much of a problem. Flat light can bite you in slough situations, when you either can't 5 and fade or when you fade you no longer can see the snow surface and that can be a problem. Flat light is something you need to pay attention to in the backcountry because the shot you are considering may not get much sun, so may soften slower and harden up faster when the sun goes down.

 

[koreshot]

Agreed that flat light out west is far more challenging for a skier. It took me over an hour to ski Jackson Hole top to bottom in flat light. A small storm moved in as I boarded the tram and by the time i got the to top, the light was flat, the visibility was getting low and it was starting to flurry. Very tough skiing.

It seems the West is affected more by this because of what seems to me more frequent changes in pitch, lack of reference points (more wide open bowls) as opposed to narrow trails cut through trees, and those annoying cat tracks that just fall off into into junky or rocky snow.

On the other hand, I have seen many skiers bomb down the superstar headwall in flat light. They looked great until they hit the point where the headwall flattens out somewhat at which point the crazy compression on their body pushed them into the back seat and eventually into a crash.

 

[Goblin84]

Smugs can be tough during certain parts of the day