Mountain Glow: New Year's Eve Torchlight Parades

Tahoe Donner and other ski spots'll honor the visual tradition.

SCHUSSING INTO 2015: When we talk about New Year's Eve, we very often land first upon the food and drink. Will there be bubbly there? Appetizers? Should we have dinner before heading for the midnight countdown? Vital questions, all, to those revelers looking to jump-start their celebrations. But there's another way to deconstruct the sparkly night, and that's through a sartorial prism. Will you be in feetie pajamas? (You're watching movies at home.) Will you be in a tuxedo or sequin-covered dress? (Probably at some fancy-pants party that has a chocolate or fondue fountain.) Will you be in a knit cap, heavy gloves, some sort of zipper-heavy, waterproof jumpsuit, and ski boots? Chances are very solid you'll find yourself on a ski slope, at a mountain resort, come midnight, and there may or may not be a torch in each of your hands. Even if you're not going to zoom down one of the Golden State's famous slopes carrying a bit of fire, you can still head out to watch the singular sight, a night-mysterious run that involves excellent skiers, their in-the-dark prowess, and moving glows down a mountainside. Where can you see this New Year's Eve tradition? In so many places, if you're willing to forgo the jammies and sequined dresses. Make for...

TAHOE DONNER: The New Year's Eve Torchlight Parade comes with a flurry of fun to-dos, such as a parade and "intermediate nighttime skiing," which sounds very brisk and very amazing. Need details on this and other holiday happenings at the Truckee-snug resort? Point your poles this way.

KIRKWOOD: It's another popular take on the torchlight tradition, and it heads from high to lower at Kirkwood Mountain Resort. The resort'll be lively that night with Dec. 31 to-dos, so plan accordingly, to get the mostest out of bidding 2014 farewell, frosty-style.

SNOW SUMMIT: Southern California is in on the glow show, and this destination's torchlight'll get a-glowin' at 7 p.m. on New Year's Eve. Some 100 skiers and snowboarders are expected to participate, which will form quite the stunning and serpentine ski line down the slope.

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