Night skiing is the sport of skiing or snowboarding after sundown, offered at many ski areas. There are usually floodlights – including LED lamps –[1] 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.[2]
Night skiing offers reduced price access versus daylight hours. Trails at night are normally not as busy as during the day,[3] but there are usually fewer runs available.[4] The trails also tend to be icier than during the day, due to melting and refreezing.
A few ski resorts offer opportunities for night skiing wearing personal headlamps.[5]
Processions of skiers holding torches, lanterns or flares while skiing down a slope at night has been a scheduled event of winter festivals since at least 1903. The dramatic spectacle of torchlight ski descents is a program element at the Holmenkollen Ski Festival,[6] Nordic Games,[7] and ski resort holiday celebrations. [8]
In the 1925 Winter Carnival at Rumford, Maine night ski jumping was included.[9]
Lighted slope skiing originated with Clare Bousquet at Bousquet Ski Area in Pittsfield, Massachusetts in 1936 thanks to a local partnership with General Electric.[10][11] Other early lighted slopes include Fryeburg, Maine (1936),[12] North Creek, New York (1937),[13] Rossland, British Columbia (1937),[14] Jackson, New Hampshire (1937),[15] Hyak WA (1938),[16] Juneau AK (1938),[17] Lake Placid, New York (1938)[18] and Brattleboro, Vermont (1938). [19]
Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night skiing.
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