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Night skiing is deeply rooted inNorthAmerican snow culture.Most pundits
agree that thepracticebegannot longafter theSecondWorldWar, at
SnoqualmiePass,WA.Hereengineer and resort founderWebbMoffett set up
salvagedgas station lights on the slopes of SnoqualmieWest so staff could ski
after guests hadgonehome. Eventually thepastimebecame sopopular that the
resort upgraded the lighting systemandopenednight skiing to thepublic.By the
1980s, hundreds of resorts across the continentwereoperatingpast daylight.
At BlueMountainResort, BigBaby andO-Hill were lit up in1980, following the
largest expansionof snowmakingand lift facilities in theResort’s history.More
expansionwas forthcoming. By 1987, night skiingmoved to theCentral area,
givingnight owlsmore slopes and variety.The following year Blue added the
HappyValley trail and the InnTripleChair to thenocturnal line-up.This brought
thenumber of lit trails to six and thenumber of night lifts to five. In the early
2000s, Blueupgraded the lighting system’s candlepower by 50percent and
upped thenumber of lit trails to23.TodayBlue illuminates a total of 30 trails.
Back in1980night skiingwasn’t ahugedraw, probablydue to the long, chilly
rideup to the top, in thedays beforehigh-speed chairs.Night skiing remained
anichepastimeuntil the lateeighties/earlyninetieswhenBluebegan to
transition tohigh-speedquad chairlifts.Around this time, as daytime crowds
began togrow, theResort sawnight skiingas away to spreadpeopleout and
ease congestion.Night skiing, paradoxically,made theday longer. In2013The
Orchardopened,withnight lighting inplaceonall sixnew runs from theget-go.
The initial expansionof night skiinghappened in tandemwith the rise of
snowboarding. From the beginning, snowboardingwas primarily (but not
exclusively) a youthmovement.Night skiingbecame a social night for
shredding youth—a sort of vertical roller rink, updated.
Over time, however, night skiingbegan todrawdifferent crowds including
9-5’ers and families looking to stay activewith their kids after school. In a
move thatwill make it easier for families, BlueMountainhas an earlier start to
its night hours nowbeginning at 3:30pmwith the night lit trails open through
to 9pm, sevendays aweek. Coincidingwith the endof the school day gives
families a crucial extra hour of slope time—either for leisure or for lessons—
before dinner.
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