By Tiney Ricciardi From The Denver Post
DENVER—Keystone Resort is one of the few Colorado destinations where the shredding doesn’t stop when the sun goes down.
Since 1985, Keystone has offered night skiing; however, the resort has gradually scaled back the days and hours, a company spokesman said, due to a drop-off in demand—and will do so again during the 2023-24 season.
Night skiing will run from 4 to 7 p.m. on most Friday and Saturday evenings, as well as on holidays, concluding one hour earlier than last year.
According to the Summit Daily News, the last time skiers could continue doing laps after dark seven days a week was in 2001. More recently, the resort discontinued night skiing on Wednesdays and Thursdays ahead of the 2020-21 season.
“For the most part, we see the highest demand for night skiing from our guests on Fridays, Saturdays and holidays, and we just haven’t traditionally seen that same interest and utilization on other days of the week or when we get later into the evenings, past 7 p.m.,” said Keystone spokesperson Max Winter.
That trend doesn’t appear to be impacting Steamboat Ski Resort, Howelsen Hill Ski Area in Steamboat Springs, Echo Mountain in Idaho Springs or Hesperus Ski Area near Durango, which all plan to offer night skiing at least four days per week in the coming season.
Steamboat Ski Resort began closing the night lifts on Christmas Eve and Super Bowl Sunday several years ago due to a lack of demand. But Echo Mountain has seen “growth and excitement around night skiing,” said spokesperson Luke Martin.
When these resorts will start opening after hours will depend on the weather and snow conditions.
