Reno, Nevada- The oldest non-profit skiing and riding training facility in the country is about to add night skiing.
KRNV News 4 reports that the Washoe County Board of Adjustment approved a conditional special use permit for Sky Tavern. This permit will allow Sky Tavern to add more snowmaking and introduce night skiing to the ski area. For snowmaking, they plan to add two water storage tanks and around 11,000 linear feet of snowmaking water piping, along with two wells and pump houses. Before installation, Sky Tavern will start a fundraiser for these improvements.
Pat Cashell, who’s the CEO of Sky Tavern, described how these additions will change the skier experience:
“Nighttime training is a game-changer for our local high school and UNR’s ski teams,” Cashell said in a news release. “Unlike football or basketball athletes, ski racing athletes can’t train after school and into the evening. They have to leave school early, missing classes, in order to train in the daylight. If they can train after school like all other athletes, that will help keep them on their academic track while they are in training.”
Nick Migliore, who’s a local skier, described why he thought night skiing would be a good addition to the Nevada ski area:
“Opening up night skiing will give a good opportunity for a lot of people around here to get some turns in after work, just open up the hill to a lot more people.”
In what’s typically the case when a significant change is announced, there is also a fair share of detractors (i.e., NIMBYS). Chris Minnes, a nearby resident and a Mount Rose Property Owners Water Company member, is leading the campaign against the plans.
His primary concern was the new lightning:
“The lighting is the biggest part. It will glow up there. It’s going to feel like Downtown Reno.”
So here’s what Downtown Reno looks like at night.
Just for shits and giggles, here’s what a ski area with night lights looks like.
That quote right there is an excellent example of a false equivalency.
Another concern that Minnes brought up is that people could get lost on the roads at night, which could be dangerous in snowy conditions:
“If you go the wrong direction of Sky Tavern, you end up in my yard or the switchbacks of Mount Rose Highway or down the ravine to Galena Creek, and that’s not where we want kids to end up when there’s a blizzard.”
This would have made more sense if GPSs didn’t exist, but it seems like a minor issue that wouldn’t happen often. Surprisingly, some people outside of these homeowners are against the night skiing plans, as shown by Our Town Reno’s social media post above.
Unfortunately, the Mount Rose Property Owners Water Company is preparing to appeal the Washoe County Board of Adjustment’s special permit approval. Let’s hope the ski area is successful against the NIMBYs.
Image Credits: Sky Tavern, Mount Rose Property Owners Water Company, Victor Hughes, Ian Wood
