Do you night ski?

[ga2ski]

I raced at night at Pat's last year. Before that i hadn't ski at night in about 10 years. Oh wait I skied on powder night at GunRock the season before, but before that i hadn't night skied since 1993 when i graduated high school.

 

[TwinTips21]

Just about every week night I don't have to work at mountain creek. Just a 25 minutes ride from here and the pass is only 149 thorugh my school's ski team.

 

[Terry]

I ski 3 to 4 nights a week at Shawnee Peak and really enjoy it. I will be racing with Thaller1 this winter. Looking forward to it! :beer:

 

[thetrailboss]

What, no Jiminy Peak?

No, I have not been....it's always been too far away for me.

 

[bvibert]

Count me in for night skiing. Actually that turned out to be most of my skiing last season, if it wasn't for night skiing at Sundown I wouldn't have hardly skiied at all. I've also been to Mohawk a few times, which doesn't seem quite a busy as Sundown.

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

All skiing is good skiing for sure, but I'll wager the vast majority of us would rather ski in the daytime then at night. I actually now high school students in my ski club who have never skied in the day light. I think that's kinda sad, but they think it's normal. Any of you know anyone who is strictly a night owl?

 

[bvibert]

All skiing is good skiing for sure, but I'll wager the vast majority of us would rather ski in the daytime then at night. I actually now high school students in my ski club who have never skied in the day light. I think that's kinda sad, but they think it's normal. Any of you know anyone who is strictly a night owl?

I agree the day time is better. When I was in school I was like the students in your ski club, the only time I got to ski was during our town's ski club at night. I was just happy to be on skis.

 

[ski_adk]

I loved night skiing (once the kiddies get back on the bus to go home). Had the 6/7 pass to Jiminy for the last couple of years and man did i rack up the vert. I also gained tons of experience points too. Powder nights are an amazing experience. Windy nights can lead to some nice soft drifts if you know where to look. And even boiler plate nights that cause sparks to fly off your edges (yes, it really happens and is quite cool) can provide quite a fun thrill. Although, when starting off on the head wall of Whitetail, when the entire slope is firm and shiny, be sure you've set a good, stable edge. Slipping there can lead to a slide for life that can be longer than a football field(thank God I didn't lost my poles, or else I never would have had anything to dig into the ice in my attempt to self-arrest).

 

[shwilly]

Any of you know anyone who is strictly a night owl?

Yes. I have a good friend who only does night skiing at Wa wa. Some years he does a weekend day or two somewhere else; some years 15 Wednesday nights at Wa wa are it.

Wachusett being what it is, he just bombs down Smith-Walton again and again and looks for stuff to poach. He says ski patrol recognizes him and our other buddy by their shells, and keeps an eye on them for going too fast.

I have no idea what they get out of this. I'm trying to talk him into getting an ASC pass this year, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

 

[Lostone]

I've done night skiing, mostly as a group from work.

I don't like it. I don't like flat light, and it don't get much flatter.

I find it is much colder on a night than aeven the cloudiest days.

I've done Wa and Crotched.

I consider it more partying with breaks to take a few runs.

If there was nothing else, I guess it woud have been better, but I've always taken all my vacation time as days to extend my weekends. So my mid-weeks have been pretty short, and I've been able to wait for the 3 or 4 day weekend. 8)

 

[2knees]

I don't like it. I don't like flat light, and it don't get much flatter.

maybe cause i ski without my glasses and dont see that well anyway, but i usually find the lighting at night to be more than sufficient. Much better than an overcast day to be honest with you. Not to sound like a broken record, but bumps at night can be easier due to the shadows cast as opposed to flat afternoon light where its difficult to gauge the depth of a trough. Overall, i ski at night out of convenience. Dont prefer it, but its there and it beats watching the tube or doing household bs after work.

 

[Greg]

I don't find the light during night skiing to be flat at all. Just the opposite really. Certainly better than a cloudy day late in the pm. If a light is out or if the positioning is poor (spaced too far), night skiing can be a challenge though. Night skiing definitely adds another element of difficulty.

 

[JimG.]

I don't find the light during night skiing to be flat at all. Just the opposite really. Certainly better than a cloudy day late in the pm. If a light is out or if the positioning is poor (spaced too far), night skiing can be a challenge though. Night skiing definitely adds another element of difficulty.

The key to good night skiing vision is to have clear lenses for your goggles.

Because with any other color lens you might as well put a blindfold on.

 

[Greg]

The key to good night skiing vision is to have clear lenses for your goggles.

Because with any other color lens you might as well put a blindfold on.

Agreed! And I bought a pair of cheapy googles with clear lenses late last season; that's just easier than swapping lenses. Haven't had the chance to use them yet.

 

[Grassi21]

Agreed! And I bought a pair of cheapy googles with clear lenses late last season; that's just easier than swapping lenses. Haven't had the chance to use them yet.

This sort of ties two threads together. What do you think of the lighting set-up at Sundown?

 

[Angus]

I've skiied Crotched, Wachusett and Nashoba at night.

Two seasons ago I did midnight madness. It was fun. My observations a) I was probably the only person not drinking b) very social - lot's of people at the bonfire, take a run, go in for a beer or two and then another run - very easy going pace. c) I got home at about 3 and got up relatively early the next morning - felt like I'd been out drinking all night! d) as you ride the lift up the hill, you keep thinking how it would be nice to be in bed right about now

My wife didn't want me to leave the mountain any later than 12:30 AM that night - around 12:15, it started snowing, beautiful light flakes - it was a blast to ski is such light snow under the lights and the 1-2" of snow on relatively empty mountain was fantastic. I stayed until 2.

 

[Greg]

This sort of ties two threads together. What do you think of the lighting set-up at Sundown?

Very good. The only spot I have trouble is the Canyon Run runout before the last drop to the lifts on Exhibition. I'm usually just bombing through that part anyway though so no bg deal. Nor'easter is lit up well which is what I'm most concerned with:

The summit is very bright and the lighting on the rest of the mountain seems pretty good. Small mountain so the lights are probably easier to maintain. I've seen some bad lighting at Jiminy though...

 

[AHM]

A new twist on night skiing................

For you who have backcountry gear, a great way to night ski is to skin the area in the dark and then flip on the headlamp for the ski back down. Tons of fun and great exercise. Gets you ready to tour as well. Just don't overdrive the headlights (lamp). Skiing down in very very limited light is quite challenging, but tons of fun.AHM

 

[Grassi21]

Very good. The only spot I have trouble is the Canyon Run runout before the last drop to the lifts on Exhibition. I'm usually just bombing through that part anyway though so no bg deal. Nor'easter is lit up well which is what I'm most concerned with:

The summit is very bright and the lighting on the rest of the mountain seems pretty good. Small mountain so the lights are probably easier to maintain. I've seen some bad lighting at Jiminy though...

I'm not a bumper (yet) but that pic is killing me. I'm enjoying my summer, but I'm really looking forward to this winter.

 

[Terry]

One thing to watch out for is wildlife. A couple of years ago I was bombing down a trail at Shawnee Peak and turned a sharp corner and almost hit a deer! Jumped right in front of me. I cut right and the deer kept going so I went behind it but it got my attention! That would have been a news item. Skier sustains injuries in deer colision! :beer: