Adventures in Night Skiing

Who says we have to be limited to daylight hours to play in the snow? If you’ve got a 9-5 job and can’t afford to take off days during the week to get your fix, ski at night! Skinning up runs at local ski resorts in the National Forest allow for a fairly safe place to play at night. Just be sure to steer clear of the groomers that are working on the trails. The nights are chilly but absolutely beautiful. I’m always armed with my trusty BCA Stash pack, I can sip water all the way up without worrying about the line freezing. I’ve also been rocking the Alpine Trekkers on my “resort” skis. So far our temperatures have been in the 10-20 degree range. It’s pretty common to have clear skies that show off countless stars and a moon so bright that it casts shadows of the trees. There’s something special about being up on a mountain in the middle of the night and having it all to ourselves. After reaching the top and stopping for some snacks, we’ll set up our lights which usually belong on our mountain bikes for night riding. Skiing down in the dark is wicked fun and I find that I’m much more in tune with how my skis feel on the snow. One lap is usually all we have time for, so we load back in cars and head home to Boulder with big smiles on our faces.