Night Skiing at Mt. Pisgah

With all these absolutely beautiful sunny ‘blue bird’ days, you know you want to be outside all day. But what happens when the sun sets and you are not quite ready for the day to be done? You go to

New Skiers or Skiing with Little Ones

Most people who ski or snowboard will tell you how much fun it is and how exhilarating it can be. But when you are trying these sports out for the first time, as I am, it can be a down right scary. I have been taking ski lessons offered at Mt.Pisgah for the last couple of weeks and have been learning why so many people love it. It is challenging, but a fun challenge where the more you practice, the better you get. As my ski instructor said, “you just need to get more mileage on your skis”.  Every time I go up, I get just a little more confident. It really helps that Mt.Pisgah is right outside of town, so it is easy to fit in a few runs after work or school. In fact, many middle and high school kids catch the bus after school up to Mt.Pisgah to ski or snowboard. There are plenty of workers and attendants to make sure everyone is safe and having a good time. 

Practice Slope

Off to the left of the main trails, there is a nice gentle slope that allows for small children and beginners of all ages to practice. If you go on a Tuesday through Friday in the early evening you will find an abundance of little skiers and snowboarders trying their hand at the mountain side with their respective instructors. What is so great about Mt.Pisgah is that instead of the typical Chair Lift, where you need to go all the way to the top, they offer what is called a ‘T-bar’. 

The 'T-Bar'

Mt.Pisgah is a great place to learn how to ski or ride. The gentle slopes allow you to practice your skills, beginner and advanced alike. For children (and grown beginners like me) you can take the ‘T-bar’ lift up as far up as you feel comfortable, get off and ski down at your own pace. The t-bar is a unique experience if you have never used one. It is used generally for smaller mountains with a gentler slope, which is perfect for Mt.Pisgah. The t-bar consists of a upside down capital T shaped bar that is suspended from the cable pulling you up the mountain. You stand in place at the bottom and as the bar comes from behind you, you hold the bar and let it gently pull you up. You don’t sit on it; you kind of stand with bent knees and allow it to glide you across the ground. I found the hardest part is to get off. When I went up with smaller children, you can help guide them off and then you push off. After you get off the ‘T-bar’, it retracts back up to it’s home on the cable to await the next person it gets to help up the mountain. Don't be worried about getting stuck on the 'T-Bar', if you do, the cable will stop. There are workers continuously watching everyone to make sure that if you get stuck, the line will stop until you are able to safely get off the bar.  I’ve been told that once you master the ‘T-bar’ you can master the rest of the mountain. 

Making a Friend

After my lesson the other day, I decided to stay and practice a little more. When this little girl came up to me. She wanted to practice what she had just learned as well and her instructor told her to ask me if we could ride together.  She was very animated and extremely excited about going up the ‘T-bar’ again. We introduced ourselves and she asked me a bunch of questions as we waited our turn in line. As we started up, she was so amused that we were sliding away from the well paved line from previous skiers and boarders (which I believe was because of the weight difference between an 8 year old and a 23 year old). When we approached where she had been told to get off in her lesson she said “Um, um, I want to get off. Um, can we get offfffff?” I reassured her that we can, and I gently helped her off the bar. We skied down and she wanted to go again. This time, I explained to her that I wanted to go a little further up so I could practice what I had learned that day and I would help her get off where she was comfortable. So we got in line where she and her little boy friend were discussing what was cooler- skiing or snowboarding. Listening to a 7 year old and an 8 year old dispute the coolness of skiing and snowboarding was quite amusing I must admit (at that age, I was disputing which Power Ranger was better-obviously the pink one). Anyway, so we went up, I helped her off and told her I would meet her at the bottom. As I continued on, she yells up to me “I’ll meet you down there!”. When I had made it down to the bottom she sees me and yells “I beat you! I beat you!” Apparently I had made a little friend. The third time we went up, she yelled “You’re going to meet me at the bottom, righttttt?” I reassured her I would. This time I went up even further to get a little more of a run in. When I had made it down this time I was greeted with a “Come onnnn slow poke!!!” We had some fun as the night continued on.

In general, most people I have come across at Mt.Pisgah have greeted me with a warm smile and a friendly ‘hello’. Mt.Pisgah is a wonderful place to take the whole family. Parents can stay toward the bottom with their little skiers or boarders, and teens and other adults can go further up the mountain to practice their skills. Even grandparents can sit in the lodge and watch their families take their turns down the mountain. Mt.Pisgah is truly the local place to go where everyone is welcome, all ages and all abilities.