If you’re a true skier, then you’ve gone night skiing. That is to say, you’ve pizza’d your way down a dimly-lit slope, eyes watering because you shed your goggles in an effort to see where in the hell you were headed, teeth chattering from frigid temps and your only salvation being the thought of sipping hot cocoa in the jacuzzi. But, night skiing doesn’t have to be a miserable experience. In fact, many opportunities for shredding after the sun goes down are downright incredible. For your reading pleasure, this spread highlights 10 such examples.
1. AFFORDABLE ASPEN
Aspen for $10 or less?! Yes, it’s real. Ski-tour up a glow stick-laden route at Buttermilk and ski down under full moons from December through March (1/12/2017; 2/11/2017; 3/12/2017). A mountaintop dinner is available for varied prices on those special evenings as well as free boogying to live music. Another local option: Check out activities like snowbiking, s’mores roasting and music at Snowmass’ “Ullr Nights,” every Friday from December 23 to April 7.
3. STEAMBOAT SPRINGS’ NIGHTTIME KITTY
Steamboat Powdercats offers a full moon skiing and dinner tour for 12 guests. $3,600 (that’s $300 each) equates to three pow laps and a three-course meal at a cabin on Buffalo Pass, near Steamboat. Or, you can go huge. Rent the kitty for the entire day at $9,600. Yes, it’s pricey, but 18 blower runs from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. with a catered breakfast, lunch and gourmet dinner is life changing.
4. COLORADO’S EURO BACKCOUNTRY SKI HUT
Located at the top of Ophir Pass in southwest Colorado, the Opus Hut is a solar-powered, European-themed backcountry cabin. Starlit slopes right out the front door offer mellow nighty-night turns after a day spent getting extreme in Paradise Basin. The hut comfortably sleeps 16 people. Reservations run the gamut of $640 per night for the entire hut to $40 per individual, dorm-style spot.
5. SLEEP WITH GARRETT RUSSELL
OK, not really. But for $750 your crew can crash at the cabin formerly owned by the family of pro skier Garrett Russell. In the 1970s, Russell’s father built The Observatory in Alta Lakes next to Telluride, Colorado. The cabin is a local favorite backcountry skiing HQ and full moon parties there have become legendary, where sacrifices to Ullr, safe moonlit turns, naked back ips and general weirdness occur.
6. AN EVENING OF JAPOW
January in Japan is stupid deep. We’re talking about 300 to 400 inches of white fluffy goodness in a single month. It just doesn’t stop snowing, so why not extend the pow day? At resorts like Niseko, Rusutsu and Kiroro, lifts run until 8 or 9 p.m. from December through April. Twelve hours of face shots in snow up to your smile sounds pretty good.
7. MAINE’S WICKED DINNAH, GUY
At Sunday River, guests are treated to full moon dinners at the mid-mountain North Peak Lodge. After arriving to a red carpet cocktail reception via the chondola, chowdah-heads enjoy five-star dining while sipping on champagne. Priced at just 39 clams, it’s not a bad way to cap off skiing from 4 to 8 p.m. on a Friday or Saturday night.
8. THE LATE LATE SHOW IN WISCONSIN
Trollhaugen is a tiny ski hill located on the Wisconsin-Minnesota border with a reputation for building crazy-fun terrain parks. Its Franken-rails and features, like multi-humped rainbows and quadruple-kinks, are rearranged weekly, so things never get old. From November until March, an “All Night” ticket at Trollhaugen is just $20 and the rope tows spin from 9 p.m. until 3 a.m. Ya just gotta love the Midwest.
9. HOWL AT LA LUNE
For the last 12 years, La Clusaz has been thumping the French Alps with lunar-party vibes. During full moon shindigs, the resort’s slopes, terrain park and on-mountain restaurants and bars are open until 1 a.m. But le party doesn’t stop there. At base area nightclubs, DJs spin techno beats until 7 a.m. so you can scream “viva la France” while you do the Euro-twerk.
10. UTAH’S LATE NIGHT BBQ
Southern Utah’s Brian Head offers $20 lift tickets for night skiing from 4 to 9 p.m. But for a mere $10 more on Friday and Saturday nights, owner John Grissinger serves up homemade cornbread and tasty BBQ, smoked in his 750-pound smoker. Work off the all-you- can-eat gullet stuffing and meat sweats while grooving to live music at the Last Chair Saloon.
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