As with many clubs, full moon ski outings morphed into fundraising for lit tracks for skiing on any night and Morice Mountain enjoyed several years of that with our hilly, thrilling lit track. Then, the combined onslaught of pine beetle and blowdown brought the wires down and the expenses went up. Fixing and or burying lines are both super expensive. Sadly so, as we had many skiers on “Night Shift”.

However, new, better headlamps and batteries have revived the night ski for any skier looking for exercise outdoors and yes, cheap thrills. Instead of being limited to two kilometres of lit track, now the entire trail system is open to night users. The Night Skiers of recent years have been a mix of thrill seekers and calm striders. Shift workers, parents, anyone without time in the daylight hours to feed the xc addiction can enjoy the thrills, and the quiet of skis on snow, during the long winter nights. And then there are the Night Dogs who happily accompany their headlamped humans.

So for now, instead of doing laps under the lights, you can head out to the lake and beyond to enjoy the stars, northern lights and the glamorous moon for company in our dark sky location. We haven’t totally given up on lights; we are hopeful that solar technology will soon meet our needs. Until then, strap on a headlamp, release your “inner cyclops” and join the other “Night Lights”.