02/07/09 Wolverine Peak by Moonlight ~9.5mi +3400’

            I skate-skied by moonlight on Friday night, so I figured I’d take advantage of the clear skies and full moon again on Saturday. I thought the idea of snowboarding by moonlight sounded bad-ass. I wasn’t sure if it was the best idea, but it was worth trying.

            The sun set at 5:00pm and I set out at 4:30. I watched the sun set as I snowshoed up the trail. Soon after that, the moon rose from behind Wolverine. It was a pretty uneventful climb up to the skyline ridge. By that time the moon made up for the twilight that faded away. When I got to the top I messed around with my camera to take some cool night shots, but I need to practice when it’s not so cold next time; I got okay results. On the way down the ridge I was walking into my shadow so the headlamp helped.

            I contemplated just walking down the part I planned on snowboarding down, but I dragged the board and boots up so I decided to use them. I started out using my headlamp, and then turned it off for the last half to see if there was enough light to ride by moonlight. There was enough light, but seeing only 10 feet in front of me made it kind of slow. I took off the board after hitting a patch of tundra and face-planted. No base to speak of. Mission accomplished anyways. It was quick hike back to the car. 4:30pm to 11:15pm roundtrip.