![Semmering at night](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Semmering_at_night.png)
Night skiing is the sport of
skiing
Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...
or
snowboarding
Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...
after sundown, offered at many
ski resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North ...
s and mountains. There are usually
floodlight
A floodlight is a broad-beamed, high-intensity artificial light. They are often used to illuminate outdoor playing fields while an outdoor sports event is being held during low-light conditions. More focused kinds are often used as a stage ...
s – including
LED lamp
An LED lamp or LED light bulb is an electric light that produces light using light-emitting diodes (LEDs). LED lamps are significantly more energy-efficient than equivalent incandescent lamps
and can be significantly more efficient than mos ...
s – along the
piste
A ''piste'' () is a marked ski run or path down a mountain for snow skiing, snowboarding, or other mountain sports.
This European term is French which allow for better visibility. It typically begins after a resort's skiing-day ends (
sunset
Sunset, also known as sundown, is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon due to Earth's rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth (except the North and South poles), the equinox Sun sets due west at the moment of both the spring ...
), and ends between 8:00 PM and 10:30 PM.
Night skiing offers a few last runs for busy skiers who don't have time to ski during
daylight
Daylight is the combination of all direct and indirect sunlight during the daytime. This includes direct sunlight, diffuse sky radiation, and (often) both of these reflected by Earth and terrestrial objects, like landforms and buildings. Sunligh ...
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.
While the invention of night skiing is often credited to Webb Moffet in 1945 who used to own
Snoqualmie Summit Ski Area near
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, Washington, night skiing actually originated with Clare Bousquet at
Bousquet Ski Area
Bousquet Mountain is a local ski area serving skiing and snowboarding located on a northern summit of Yokun Ridge in Pittsfield, Massachusetts within the Taconic Mountain Range. It is now owned by Mill Town Capital and has a consulting contract ...
in
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfieldâ ...
in 1936 thanks to a local partnership with
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
.
"Bousquet"
Destination 360
References
External links
*
{{Skiing
Types of skiing
Lighting
Skiing
Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...