 Poster: A snowHead
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I think that les Houches has an area for night skiing on a Thursday evening. As we are only in the Chamonix Valley for 4 full days skiing im sure we will be taking advantage of this.
A couple of questions.
What is flood lit night skiing like?
Will this be included with the lift pass?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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1. Limited. And darn cold in January. You sort of kid yourself you are enjoying it, but you are not.
2. Yes - in my experience.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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"Le Glacier du Mont Blanc (1020 - 1410 m) The largest of the minor ski areas, located 4 km down the valley from Chamonix at Bossons (the foot of the Mont Blanc glacier)".
achilles, I agree, its rubbish, ski in the day, and drink at night.
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Freezing......
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Something you have to try once
If you have been skiing all day you will be to tiered though
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Echo what others have said - they had some limited night skiing (floodlit) in Panorama - but you were either
1) too tired from skiing all day
2) too cold because its reeeeally cold at night
3) had enough skiing during the day (and had all the mountain to ski not just a small area!)
But hey, worth a go - I wouldn't base my choice of resort on whether they have it or not however. It was included at Pano if you had a day pass. They also sold evening passes but looking at how empty the floodlit area generally was I doubt they sold many....
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I am usually too knackered to make it out of the bar.
However on the one time I did try it at Alpe D'huez (where they had good lights) Found the light made depth perception a bit strange - every thing looked flat, and spent a lot of time on my bum.
However, certainly soemthing to try once. I think eddyr, has hit the nail on the head - no matter how busy the resort, the floodlit slopes are pretty quiet, so draw your own conclusions!
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I've never done night skiing with flood lights, but I did it in the traditional sense in Gstaad. Stayed up on mountain after skiing all day and built a kicker, did some jumps, had some food. Then late in the evening, our ski instructors had flares and we skied single filed down. It's a bizarre but awesome feeling when you can barely see the slope and have to rely on your knowledge of the area.
Was reallly good fun 
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Renry, I had an hour on the Les Houches one one evening while I was there for the World Cup. It's right by the road at the Chamonix end of the village (called the Tourchet piste) , a Poma up either side, an area for kid's sledging, and was a bit like a big, outdoor Castleford. Only a Greeny-Blue, passed an hour, think i just paid a few euros on the door (Don't know if it's included in a pass) and yes, it was cold 
In fact it's mentioned here - suggests it might be free:
http://www.chamonix.net/english/skiing/slopes/leshouches.htm
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Done it in Soll, Austria - Keystone, Colorado and Salen, Sweden. Yes, it can be bl**dy freezing but I really like it because you can see really well under the lights and the snow making is normally in full flow giving you the odd pocket of powdery stuff. You don't need to do hours of it and it makes for a great prelude to a proper warming apres ski libation or seven. Soll has the best IMO and I hear they've extended it to the top of the Hohe Salve. Other thing is that there are less people around so you can let rip a bit more.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Have done it a number of times in morgins in the pds - usually included in lift pass pretty much anyway. good dependant on certain things, in bad weather the visibility is a hell of a lot better than during crap daytime weather. If its connected to daytime skiing with a restaurant, i would recommend - finish your usual day skiing at 4-ish, watch the sunset and have a couple drinks and dinner in the restaurant, then ski a couple more runs, then stop and have some gluhwein, then ski a little bit more, then go home and go out! its europe, so nobody goes out till 9 anyway...
dont think i would do it if i had to drive there after dinner or just ski with no warm drinks or food. once your home after a day skiing, theres no point going back out to go sking. might as well stay out if possible!
so in answer, try it out, its fun for a couple runs, its funner if you can drink and eat a bit too.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Chances are you will find yourself with a small piste to yourself, found it useful on the first night we arrived in ADH because I was gagging for a ski despite the cold, the strange flat lightness of it and the bar lights twinkling at the bottom of the piste. Wouldnt fancy it after a full day's skiing though. Probably good for race training though.
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Done a torch light descent in Val Thorens once. Torches ended up burning out before we were even half way down and everyone had to ski down in pitch black following a skidoo with headlights. Was hard work but everyone got down safely in the end.
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You know it makes sense.
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I did the torchlight descent once... worst bit was trying not to run into the person in front.. spent the rest of the week picking bits of wax off my ski gear.... 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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they used to run night skiing in tremblant in canada on a couple of nights a week on a couple of blue runs back to the resort with music on the bottom half
it was very cold but real good fun especially on a freshly groomed run at the top with no one else there
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Poster: A snowHead
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Done it at Keystone, Mont Ste Anne and Obergurgl under lights - Going at high speed on a freshly bashed piste at night is brilliant.
Done it in Engelberg by headtorch light - and that was the best - your eyes adjust a bit, and you start doing things much more by feel.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Am I only one who did it followin a flare then? And to think you're all a lot older than i am... tut tut 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Night skiing is horrible.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Timmaah, No - done that in Valfrejus - great fun.
David Goldsmith, you tried it without the floodlights?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Actually to be fair the whole staying up a mountain, having some grudb, and being led down appeals to me. Didn't appeal to me enough to actually do it though!!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Timmaah, the people who said "torchlight descent" meant the same thing - it's what they usually call it. But if it is clear and near a full moon you can see well without the torches and can break away and ski at your own pace rather than in the snake. Good fun after a few drinks - but once or twice is enough.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Did the torchlit descent thing many years ago at Bardonecchia in Italy whilst on a college skiing trip. It was cold and a bit scary but otherwise good fun, especially as most of us were a bit tanked up on grappa.
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snowball, ah ok, figured the "torchlight descent" meant with torchlights rather than following people in a snake with the leader holding up the flare.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Timmaah, When I did it, we all had a flare - hence the dripping wax on your clothes comment. Was fun though, but only once! 
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I grew up night-skiing (about the only skiing I did for the first 10 years or so). Not surprisingly, I never understood what the attraction was with skiing until later. As an after-work/school activity it's fine. But otherwise, it's limited, and let's just put it at that. Better than nothing? Sure. But I'd rather ski hard during the day and spend my evening getting my energy back for another full day on the slopes.
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One of my most enjoyable ski experiences was at night, last year, when we skinned up a few pistes at about 8pm with only the dameurs for company and lit only by their lights. After an hour or so of skinning, we took our skis off and settled down and cooked a couple of magret on a tiny gas burner, washed them down with a bottle of cider, stcuk the skis back on and zoomed down. Truly a weird experience, skiing on a deserted piste in the dark and having to trust feel and instinct, rather than your eyes for your turns etc. I'd recommend it.
Not sure how legal it is, of course...
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You know it makes sense.
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In St Anton a couple of years back we climbed up from St Christoph to the cable car midstation and a bit beyond at about 3 in the morning and then skied down to St Anton itself by the light of a full moon. Absolutely fantasic experience!
It was very cold mind - below -25C 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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I've only tried it once and hated it. And that was a very long times ago.
Basically, if you're thinking of the "ordinary skiing" as day time skiing, you'll be disappointed and hate it as I did.
But I can see the attraction now. Not as a poor extension of the skiing hours, but as an almost different kind of skiing experience.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Its a way of life out here, I go at least twice a week after work, can ski until 10 pm, can be extremely cold, but a lot of fun too. It makes skiing in the bumps very interesting becasue of all the shadows.
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FAQ
it was a lot of fun 