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Night skiing is the sport of skiing or snowboarding after sundown, offered at many ski areas. There are floodlights – with metal halide, LED or magnetic induction lamps – along the piste which allow for better visibility. The night skiing session typically begins around sunset, and ends between 8:00 PM and 10:30 PM.

Night skiing offers reduced price access versus daylight hours. Trails at night are normally not as busy as during the day, but there are usually fewer runs available. The trails also tend to be icier than during the day, due to melting and refreezing.

Starting in 1997 Planai in Austria has held a World Cup slalom competition at night.

A few ski resorts offer opportunities for night skiing wearing personal headlamps, or by the light of the full moon.

History

Processions of skiers holding torches, lanterns or flares while skiing down a slope at night has been a scheduled event of winter festivals such as the Nordic Games since at least 1903. The dramatic spectacle of torchlight ski descents is a program element at the Holmenkollen Ski Festival, and ski resort holiday celebrations.

A torchlit ski race was held in Switzerland in 1920. In the 1925 Winter Carnival at Rumford, Maine, night ski jumping was included.

Chicopee Ski Club in Ontario Canada had lighted night skiing in 1935, with lights powered by car batteries.

Lighted slope skiing at Bousquet Ski Area in Pittsfield, Massachusetts began in 1936 thanks to a local partnership with General Electric. Other early lighted slopes include Fryeburg, Maine (1936), North Creek, New York (1937), Rossland, British Columbia (1937), Jackson, New Hampshire (1937), Hyak, Washington (1938), Juneau, Alaska (1938), Lake Placid, New York (1938) and Brattleboro, Vermont (1938).

References

1. Seeing the Light Ski Area Management 2018
2. Nelson, Janet (1984) Outdoors: Night Skiing an Invigorating Experience NY Times
3. Fast, Annie (2022) Night Skiing traveloregon.com
4. Lovitt, Rob (1986) Skiing After Dark Skiing Vol 39 #4:229-234
5. Nightrace Schladming
6. Headlamp night skiing at bigskyresort.com
7. Skiing in the light of the full moon Switzerland Tourism
8. In the World of Sports NY Daily Tribune 1904-11-14
9. End of sports N.D. Pioneer Express 1903-03-13
10. Torchlight Skiing at mabeyski.com
11. ENGADINE: course de ski nocturne (1920) Gaumont film
12. Spectacular Ski-Jumping Lewiston Evening Journal Feb 10, 1925 front page
13. Chicopee Ski Club timeline
14. Puliafico, Laurie. "Clarence J. "Clare" Bousquet: The founding of Bousquet Ski Area, Pittsfield, MA". teachski.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-10. Retrieved 2018-03-10.
15. "Bousquet", Destination 360
16. Jockey Cap New England Lost Ski Areas
17. Schniebs, Otto (1938) Stars of the Ski D.C. Evening Star p10
18. "Ski Spills" Rossland Miner January 7, 1938
19. Spruce Mt. Ski Tow New England Lost Ski Areas
20. Lundin, John W. (2021) Ski Jumping in Washington: a Nordic Tradition Arcadia Publishing p 109
21. Evening Skiing Daily Alaska Empire January 14, 1938, Page 2
22. Snow Sports D.C. Evening Star 1938-12-18
23. Moonlight Snow Train Waterbury Evening Democrat 1938-01-11

External links

• Media related to Night skiing at Wikimedia Commons

• Types of skiing
• Lighting
• Night