This post was published to PowderCast at 11:30:37 PM 10/9/2007

Go

Last week Jeff and I went for a nighttime mountain bike ride at White Ranch, relying on the full moon and one collective headlamp (which was used sparingly) for light. The plan seemed pretty foolproof at first, although a consistent cloud cover made the ride a dark one. It was a cautious but fun ride, one where its more about just being out there than anything. Riding downhill was full of surprises, as rocky terrain appeared no different from smooth singletrack. You just had to trust your bike and go with it. The ride reminded me of maybe the coolest “day” of the past ski season, skiing Russell Peak (Berthoud Pass area) under a full moon. This never made it into the blog, so here goes.

picture: Jeff skinning at Berthoud Pass

The full moon hadn’t risen above the surrounding peaks yet, so headlamps were necessary. The full moon rose right before we reached the summit of Berthoud Pass. The moon rose quickly, and the surrounding peaks became clearly visible. We never had a real plan, other than to just ski under the full moon. Russell Peak looked glorious illuminated by moonlight, so we decided to give it a go.

The hike was quick, and we were soon enjoying beers on the summit. It was surreal to say the least.

After taking some pictures and enjoying the celebratory beers, we picked out a line to ski. This was somewhat of a nerve-wracking decision as the full moon illuminated the mountain, but it was still pretty dark for skiing. Fortunately the snowpack was about as stable as it gets in Colorado and we picked a solid line that we were both comfortable with. We skied right down the center of the peak through a wide chute, and then cut a hard left turn above some rocks and we were home free in some wide open terrain. Jeff dropped first and laid out smooth and easy turns all the way down to the apron. I dropped in next and felt good, making nice easy turns.

This was skiing on instinct, like the “full moon” mountain bike ride last week. I hate to allude to every cliché ski movie narration ever and say that I was “one with my skis,” but that does a pretty good job of describing the feeling. Because my sight was limited by the darkness, I wasn’t thinking about the technical aspects of skiing. I was simply thinking “just go over there, ok, now go that way.” Sometimes I will get too wrapped up in the technique of doing something, rather than just doing it. Skiing (or riding a bike) in the darkness is a fun way to recognize this.

Below- Russell Peak as seen from the bottom

It felt good to leave home at 7pm to go skiing. It really wasn’t all that difficult and there was no need to overthink it. All I had to do was go.

-PN