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Visibility at night?


SWriverstone

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I bought a nighttime season pass this year 'cause it was cheaper. (Next year I'll do the Full Monty.) Needless to say, about 90% of my boarding has been at night.

I've talked to many people who think that visibility is crappy at night and don't like it for that reason. This sorta baffles me, because what I've found is that, due to the low angle of the lights, there is much more relief in the surface of the slope and I can effortlessly see almost every grain of snow. Though I'm not at all sensitive to bright sunlight, I've found the level of detail not nearly as good during the day (even with $100 mega-ultra-UV-filtering-polarizing shades on).

Am I crazy? Does everyone else here unanimously hate boarding at night? Am I becoming a vampire? :) Just curious...

Scott

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I'm blind in one eye so my depth perception is really bad. I also ride at night often and find the light conditions to be better under the lights than on a non-sunny, flat day. The artificial lights cast shadows which make it easier to see dips, bumps etc. It's also usually less windy at night and lines are nonexistent. I also find a certain peacefullness at night that I don't necessarily feel during the day.

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I also enjoy night riding. Mt Hood Ski Bowl has some great night carving and even better steeps if you catch a powder night!

I use the same yellow goggle lenses that I use in low-light conditions and they work just fine. They don't let as much light through as clear lenses but they increase the contrast with artificial light the same way they do for natural light.

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I suspect different people have different perspectives because the visibility can vary considerably depending on trail and lighting design.

A straight trail with a consistent pitch and good light coverage should be fine.

I recently encountered a trail that fit the above description, but only across 3/4 of it width. The right 1/4 shouldered down about 10 feet and leveled out again. Lights were on the left side, so there was a hollow in deep shadow.

- Dave

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