FRIDAY NIGHT UNDER THE LIGHTS

Halfway down North Slope.

Tonight was my first night ski of the season. I had planned to ski at Whiteface today, but when I saw Beartown Ski Area would be open for night skiing tonight for the first time this season, I made the decision to do that instead. Why? Because night skiing is fun. I wrote about Beartown Ski Area last week on their opening day, so I won’t dive into the specifics as much, but you can read that post HERE if you’re interested in learning more about this small ski area.

Looking up at North Slope.

Bottom lift terminal.

Beartown has 2 lifts, 4 trails and 150 ft. of vertical. They offer night skiing on Friday nights from 6 to 9 PM. Tonight they were spinning their Poma lift with access to one run: North Slope. They do have lighting on multiple runs, but there was a significant thaw this week that impacted their snow pack. Temperatures look good going forward to make snow, though.

Because they were only spinning the Poma lift tonight with access to the one run, my ticket was only $14. They told me in the lodge that it would normally be $21 for an adult. Not bad for a few hours of night skiing!

Riding the Poma lift.

Beartown’s lodge.

View from the parking lot. There are two other trails that aren’t in view.

The ski area wasn’t very busy, so there was never really a line for the lift. Temperatures were in the 20s and the snow conditions were fantastic. It was packed powder from top to bottom with plenty of corduroy available at the start of the night. I actually thought the run skied pretty fast. I know it’s only 150 ft. of vertical, but it felt like I was cruising with some speed at times.

I haven’t decided where I’m skiing tomorrow, but it will likely be in Vermont.

- Lincoln