best night riding [Archive]

foxpuppet

02-06-2009, 09:00 AM

Originally posted by John Deere:
nights are for drinking! No way, home is for drinking. Os snow holidays are for riding! Im sold on niseko, we rode nearly every night at either hirafu or annupurri til last bus back. Night riding in puking snow with no crowds is where it is at! I was just wondering if any other resorts around the world have similar or better night riding facilities? Thinking of going to canada next year, but seeing how we spent so much time on snow at night, japan might be hard to pass up again.

kort

02-06-2009, 01:04 PM

foxpuppet - I guess it depends on what you are after in the snow holiday. I can't speak for all North American resorts, but from my experience, night riding in North America is def. more limited compared to Japan (ie. very little terrain open or night riding only availble on certain days).

One thing I have found in my travels is my tastes have changed as I have gotten older.

In my 20s, it was ALL about just riding and little else. Thus Japan was my preference - more reliable snowfalls. However if the forecast was pretty dry, I found there was little else to do. Things may have changed now, but I found the Niseko was pretty limited activity-wise then the snow stopped.

Now I am in my 30s, my snow holidays are a bit of a balance of riding and other activities. +1 loves the USA because if there is no snow or she does not feel like riding, there is plenty of stuff to do, ranging from hiking, going to the gym, reading a book in the public library or outlet shopping. Whilst the USA may have a slightly lower average snowfall then say niseko (in CO, the average is slightly less), if we want a day off from riding (unheard of in my 20's!) I won't be bored :)

dacraw

02-06-2009, 02:25 PM

Same here kort mid 30's now. Never would have considered a day off on a snow holiday in my 20's. Funny bout that. From what I hear Niseko is as good as night skiing/boarding gets though maybe there is better somewhere in Europe? Night skiing/boarding in Hakuba is crap.

Paul Oberin

02-06-2009, 02:49 PM

At Hakuba you need to go to Cortina for night skiing.

dacraw

02-06-2009, 03:01 PM

Is there as much lit rideable area as Niseko at Cortina?

Donza

02-06-2009, 03:21 PM

Originally posted by dacraw:
Is there as much lit rideable area as Niseko at Cortina? No where near it at all. Maybe 1/10 of the area. None steeper than a storm drain either.
Cortina is wild and wooly.
Niseko is soft and fluffy.

dacraw

02-06-2009, 03:27 PM

That's what I thought, though Cortina can be soft and fluffy too.

Donza

02-06-2009, 03:55 PM

Originally posted by dacraw:
That's what I thought, though Cortina can be soft and fluffy too. Oh yeah the snow is.
Though the lifts etc
:D

kort

02-06-2009, 04:00 PM

Originally posted by dacraw:
From what I hear Niseko is as good as night skiing/boarding gets though maybe there is better somewhere in Europe? Not that I have been to Europe but from my readings the "snowiest" resort I could find it Europe (ie. snowiest = highest average snowfall) was Chamonix which averaged 9m a year - This is less then Niseko.

Most Euro resorts were in the 4-6m average snowfall region - far lower then the US resorts. Kitzbuhl only averaged 3.8m which puts it within the Australian range.

Given the above, whilst there "might" be alot of night riding in Europe, given their rather low snowfall quantities I doubt I could be bothered to ride at night there anyways.

Donza

02-06-2009, 04:20 PM

I think what counts against most resorts in Europe is the lack of fresh snow.
No way i'd be riding at night after all day of sun. Rutted and hard it would be.
Niseko is only good @ night when its puked and windy all day. With lifts shut above gondie.
Hooded triple is the bomb.

dacraw

02-06-2009, 04:34 PM

Kitzbuhl is pretty low altitude. I've seen it dump bigtime in other parts of Austria, they probably just couldn't be bothered at night because they've got it too good.

kort

02-06-2009, 05:23 PM

too good? I would hardly call 5-6m of average snowfall "too good" - last year a few Oz resort for close to that.

Whilst I agree it can dump in Austria (or Europe or anywhere), given Europe's average snowfalls are relatively low compared to USA, Japan, etc, the chance of being there during a storm is alot lower then if you were in the USA or Japan.

Given this, the chance of "ideal" conditions for night riding in Europe (ie. "soft and fluffy") is alot lower in Europe when compared to Niseko.

BlueHue

02-06-2009, 05:24 PM

I've read about Keystone in the US having a pretty big night skiing area. Snow there would be good too being in the Colorado Rockies, although probably not nearly as much snow as Niseko.

One of the mtns behind Vancouver also has a decent area for night skiing too from memory. I remember seeing pics of it glowing above the city lights at night.

BlueHue

02-06-2009, 05:26 PM

Keystone:

http://keystone.snow.com/info/nightski.asp

Looks fairly impressive!

dacraw

02-06-2009, 05:50 PM

Originally posted by kort:
too good? I would hardly call 5-6m of average snowfall "too good" - last year a few Oz resort for close to that.

Whilst I agree it can dump in Austria (or Europe or anywhere), given Europe's average snowfalls are relatively low compared to USA, Japan, etc, the chance of being there during a storm is alot lower then if you were in the USA or Japan.

Given this, the chance of "ideal" conditions for night riding in Europe (ie. "soft and fluffy") is alot lower in Europe when compared to Niseko. Sorry I took my night skiing/boarding hat off for a minute. I know annual snowfalls are higher in other parts of the world but speaking from personal experience I reckon if you like snow sports Austrians and I'll add Swiss, French and Italians have it a little better than us Aussies as far as the snow goes, hence my too good statement.

Pini Pow Pow

02-06-2009, 06:23 PM

I think the one in Van is Mt Seymour, BlueHue is correct, the view is awesome but when I skied it, it was ridiculously icey and cold

chunky

02-06-2009, 07:19 PM

Yeah BH is on the money with Keystone. I really enjoyed it there and the skiing was very impressive at night. Though it did get very cold. They use yellow lights as well as the normal ones I guess to help with visibility.

chunky

02-06-2009, 07:31 PM

Grouse also has night skiing in Vancouver.

kort

02-06-2009, 10:22 PM

I spent the season in CO and we didnt go night skiing in Keystone - was just TOO cold :)

kort

02-06-2009, 10:36 PM

Originally posted by dacraw:
Sorry I took my night skiing/boarding hat off for a minute. I know annual snowfalls are higher in other parts of the world but speaking from personal experience I reckon if you like snow sports Austrians and I'll add Swiss, French and Italians have it a little better than us Aussies as far as the snow goes, hence my too good statement. most countries have it better then aussies in the snow stakes :)
However I would think the Japanese and North Americans have it even better.....

BlueHue

03-06-2009, 12:07 AM

I've done night skiing a few times and I've got to say I probably won't do it again unless the snow is good. Just to cold unless there are uncrowded freshies to be had! Did a few night skiing runs in Rinkan forest at Niseko with a dense fog (actually was still around dusk but the lights were on).

Very eerie and I got a bit freaked out when I started to get confused about where I was as the flood lights could no longer be seen through the dense fog. I think it was only our first or maybe second day there so did not know the terrain well. I just kept reminding myself that I knew that the area I was in was bounded by ski runs and lifts on all sides so I could not disappear out of bounds into no mans land without knowing it.

mammoth junkie

03-06-2009, 11:45 AM

niseko night powder was something i will never forget.. we skied thigh deep pretty much on our own till last lifts, no wind and just flat out puking snow!!! it was sureal...

dacraw

03-06-2009, 01:06 PM

Originally posted by kort:
<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by dacraw:
Sorry I took my night skiing/boarding hat off for a minute. I know annual snowfalls are higher in other parts of the world but speaking from personal experience I reckon if you like snow sports Austrians and I'll add Swiss, French and Italians have it a little better than us Aussies as far as the snow goes, hence my too good statement. most countries have it better then aussies in the snow stakes :)
However I would think the Japanese and North Americans have it even better..... [/QUOTE]Yep, the records show that Nth America and Japan have better pow and overall snowfall though for shear terrain and overall options plus the apre lifestyle I'd take Europe hands down. But I digress again! It seems Niseko is winning the debate for night riding so far, though I like the look of Keystone as well.

Crystal

03-06-2009, 04:55 PM

Originally posted by chunky:
Grouse also has night skiing in Vancouver. But the hill is tiny

Paul Oberin

03-06-2009, 05:04 PM

It wasn't Cortina I was thinking about at Hakuba, it was Tsugaike, they have a huge area for night skiing, serviced by a fast lift and it has a decent pitch to it as well.

foxpuppet

03-06-2009, 08:17 PM

what is tsugaike like compared to niseko? terrain etc

BlueHue

03-06-2009, 09:37 PM

I seem to remember tsugaike having a lot of flat with a few good fast pitches thrown in. Only skied there once though. Overall smaller and far less interesting resort than Niseko even if Niseko is not exactly the steepest mtn going around.

BlueHue

03-06-2009, 09:45 PM

Originally posted by mammoth junkie:
niseko night powder was something i will never forget.. we skied thigh deep pretty much on our own till last lifts, no wind and just flat out puking snow!!! it was sureal... That sounds like my kind of night skiing :D

chunky

03-06-2009, 11:14 PM

Originally posted by Crystal:
<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by chunky:
Grouse also has night skiing in Vancouver. But the hill is tiny [/QUOTE]Yeah but 10 mins or so from downtown Vancouver to the base gondola for a Friday night ski ain't a bad option to have.

BlueHue

03-06-2009, 11:26 PM

I'd do it after a days work for sure if the snow was half decent.

Crystal

04-06-2009, 05:51 PM

yeah so would I, but I wouldn't plan my holiday around Grouse having great night skiing !!

BlueHue

04-06-2009, 05:58 PM

I was thinking more along the lines of someone living and working in Vancouver.

Definitely agree that its not something to plan a holiday around!

Charles

05-06-2009, 10:09 AM

Niseko night pow is the only night skiing I know of but it would be hard to find better. I am 40 and I would not dream of taking full advantage of snow as long as I could stand. Drinking is for after the trip to cover the body aches.

Just bought a better snowboard jacket to keep me warmer for the night sessions in Japan.

Paul Oberin

05-06-2009, 11:27 AM

Originally posted by foxpuppet:
what is tsugaike like compared to niseko? terrain etc For day time skiing I imagine Niseko would be a much better mountain, but the area under lights at Tsugaike is very good, and the best I have ever seen at any resort, I have not been to Niseko though, and I doubt I would bother night skiing, I have only ever done it once and that was at Happone for about an hour, I get enough skiing / riding during the day to keep me happy.

The area at Tsugaike under lights would be very similar to Gunbarrel at Thredbo for pitch and length of run, and is serviced by a high speed lift, so not bad for night skiing if that is your thing.