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Cast a moonlight shadow on the slopes this winter with Ben Moody’s guide to the best resorts for night-time excursions on the slopes
If you think fun times on the slopes this winter will be curtailed by the short arc of the winter sun, think again. All over Europe, there are plenty of opportunities to sample some amazing activities after the sun has gone down and the moon has begun to sing.
From skiing under the midnight sun in Sweden to laughing your way through a two-week comedy festival in the French Alps, here are seven of the best nocturnal ski destinations.
La Clusaz France
Inspired by the full-moon parties that take place in Thailand’s beach resorts, La Clusaz’s Full Moon skiing nights have fast become legendary in the five years they’ve been running.
From 9pm to 1am, the resort opens the slopes of the Cret du Merle ski run and cable car with just the light of the full moon as a guide. After descending a few runs, you can hit the base of the mountain where illuminated half pipes, ice bars, restaurants, skating rinks, mulled wine, DJs, restaurants and warm baths all create an amazing atmosphere that stretches into the small hours of the morning. Full Moon events in 2008 take place on 19 January, 22 February and 21 March.
www.laclusaz.com
Méribel France
If letting gravity pull you down enormous mountains on frozen water wasn’t funny enough, wait until you scope out the nocturnal shenanigans available at the Altitude Festival in Méribel, billed as Europe’s biggest alpine festival.
The two-week event takes place from 5-20 April 2008 and is built around a stellar line-up of some of the world’s best stand-up comedy acts, performing in English and French. The organisers’ aim is for you to enjoy acres of skiable terrain at Méribel throughout the day and then laugh until it hurts at night.
If you border on the grumpy side, the comedy is supported by a host of bands, DJs and the world’s best pro-ski and snowboarders competing in slopestyle ski and snowboard competitions. In fact, the main problem at the Altitude Festival will be finding enough time to sleep.
www.altitudefestival.com
Kranjska Gora and Mariborsko Pohorje Slovenia Slovenia
The twin ski resorts of Kranjska Gora and Mariborsko Pohorje are located within a short drive of Slovenia’s second largest city, Maribor (about 100km from Ljubljana airport), and offer some of the best night skiing around. In fact, Kranjska Gora is credited with owning the longest illuminated ski run in Europe, at a whopping 7km.
At nearby Mariborsko Pohorje, the low mountain range has more than 21km of ski runs available for daytime skiing and a number of runs lit up for nocturnal activities. If skiing for 16 hours a day doesn’t float your boat, stunning Maribor is worth exploring. And with the lowest lift station on the outskirts of the city, après ski can start from the minute you step off the slopes.
www.kranjska-gora.si
Davos Switzerland
Towering floodlights turn night into day as one of the world’s best snowboarders launches 50ft into the air from a superpipe three storeys high. Where are you? Davos, Switzerland watching O’Neill Evolution, the highlight of the Swatch Ticket To Ride (TTR) World Snowboard Tour.
This event boasts the maximum six-star rating with valuable ranking points at stake and an overall prize purse of US$100,000, ensuring the world’s best freestyle snowboarders converge on the slope and stadium arena known as the Jakobshorn. One of the only big TTR events held at night, the atmosphere at Evolution is incredible with crowds cheering on the athletes and DJs and bands whipping the masses into a great party scene. It’s the one event at which all pro-snowboarders want to be seen.
www.oneilleurope.com/evolution
Riksgränsen Sweden
Technically, skiing or snowboarding the incredible pistes of the famous Swedish resort of Riksgränsen can’t really be considered night skiing. Although you may well be skiing or riding through soft powder at the witching hour, you’ll be doing it under the bright light of the midnight sun.
The resort, on the border of Sweden and Norway, is famous for its Arctic climate, great ski terrain and 20 hours’ sunlight a day in the summer months. Sure, you might have to fork out on some extra sunscreen, but once you’ve sampled the Arctic delights of Riksgränsen’s back country under blue skies at midnight, you’ll know why this place is world-renowned.
www.igougo.com/travel_guide-l10970-Riksgransen.tourism.html
Levi Finland
While Levi is justifiably Finland’s best known ski resort, offering everything from gentle nursery slopes through to championship-standard black runs and the country’s only gondola lift, there is another, almost fantastical, reason to travel here: the chance to see the aurora borealis, or Northern Lights.
In this part of Lapland, the most common colours of the light display are green and yellow, with occasional red, while the best time to witness the amazing phenomenon is from 9pm to 1am. Most hotels in Levi operate an alarm-call system, so they can wake you if there’s a display of Northern Lights during the night. And once you see this most beautiful of natural light shows, you’ll be beyond thankful they did.
www.visitfinland.com
The Alps France
Working under the old adage that life is definitely not a spectator sport, the Fat Face Night Ski event takes place again in 2008, following on from the success of 2007’s tournament, held in the French ski resort of Tignes. Next year’s destination is yet to be announced, so check the website.
At the event, riders face a freestyle dual slalom course featuring banked curves, tunnels and a big kicker (jump). While the event attracts expert skiers and snowboarders, there is a free-entry policy and it is open to all standards, from holidaymakers to pros. All entrants get free practice on the course beforehand, food, a few post-ski drinks and some cool gear.
There are some great prizes available for the winners, but it’s the all-inclusive approach that makes Fat Face Night Ski so much fun, whether you are watching from the sidelines or racing down the slopes.
www.fatface.com
FR> Ski de nuit…
Si vous pensez que les joies de la glisse cet hiver seront éclairées par un ensoleillement de saison, de courte durée, détrompez-vous. Partout en Europe, vous trouverez d’innombrables opportunités de découvrir d’étonnantes activités bien après le coucher du soleil, dès l’apparition des premiers rayons de la lune. Inspirées par les soirées de la pleine lune organisées dans les stations balnéaires de Thaïlande, les nuits de ski de la pleine lune à La Clusaz sont rapidement devenues légendaires, au cours des cinq années qui ont suivi leur lancement. Les deux stations de ski, Kranjska Gora et Mariborsko Pohorje, toutes deux situées non loin de la fantastique ville slovène de Maribor, sont des favorites en matière de pratique du ski la nuit. On prête même à Kranjska Gora la plus grande piste illuminée d’Europe, dévalant sur 7km de long. A Davos, en Suisse, des flots lumineux suspendus changent la nuit en jour, notamment lors du O’Neill Evolution, le grand événement de Swatch Ticket To Ride (TTR) World Snowboard Tour. Mais vous pourriez tout aussi bien skier ou glisser sur la poudreuse à ‘l’heure du crime’, sous la vraie lumière du soleil de minuit cette fois-ci, à Riksgransen. Cette station à la frontière de la Suède et de la Norvège est renommée pour son climat arctique, son grand domaine skiable et ses 20 heures d’ensoleillement continu durant les mois d’été. Notez également Levi en Finlande pour avoir la chance d’apercevoir l’Aurore Boréale.
NL> Skiën bij nacht
Dacht je misschien dat de sneeuwpret op de pistes deze winter beperkt zou blijven tot die luttele uurtjes… dat de winterzon aan de hemel staat? Dan heb je het mis. Overal in Europa kan je ook na zonsondergang fantastische sneeuwpret beleven bij het koele licht van de maan. Geïnspireerd door de vollemaansfeesten in de Thaise beach resorts, zijn de skinachten bij volle maan van La Clusaz in de vijf jaar dat ze bestaan, legendarisch geworden. De zusterskioorden Kranjska Gora en Mariborsko Pohorje liggen vlakbij de betoverende Sloveense stad Maribor en hebben zowat het beste nachtelijke skiaanbod uit de streek. Kranjska Gora heeft trouwens de langste verlichte skipiste in Europa. Deze strekt zich uit over maar liefst 7 kilometer. In Davos, Zwitserland, veranderen felle schijnwerpers de nacht in dag tijdens de O’Neill Evolution, hét evenement van de Swatch Ticket To Ride (TTR) World Snowboard Tour. Tijdens het spookuur genieten van zachte poedersneeuw kan bij het heldere licht van de middernachtszon in Riksgransen. Dat skioord op de grens tussen Zweden en Noorwegen is bekend voor zijn arctische klimaat, fantastische skipisten en 20 uren zonlicht per dag tijdens de zomermaanden. Vlieg naar het Finse Levi en grijp de kans om er in het noorderlicht te skiën.
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