A full moon rising...over the Roaring Fork Valley

Stina Sieg
Post Independent Staff
Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado
March 21, 2008

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Moonlight madness

For even more fresh takes on moonlit, nighttime activities, stop by any of the downtown sports shops or the Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association, 1102 Grand Ave., 945-6589.

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado — Traditionally, the Chinese would give offerings to their ancestors during it. Modern-day Wiccans still celebrate it with a romp. In a popular 1981 flick, it turned a swaggering American tourist into a werewolf, chomping his way through London.

You guessed it — we’re talking about the full moon here. While the natural event always has a bit of caché to it, tonight’s glowing sky is more special than most. With winter soon over, this is one of your last chances to enjoy your favorite snowy activities — by a slightly more romantic light. You probably don’t even have to go to work tomorrow.

So, what are you going to do about it?

Out of curiosity (and a need for sources), this reporter brought the question to the streets.

Jacques Deyoe, 27, was working downstairs at the Sunlight Ski & Bike Shop. For the Glenwood Springs resident, the full moon question had a popular answer: Sunlight Mountain Resort.

“It’s such a beautiful scene,” he said. “The moon’s so bright and everything’s so quiet.”

Like many around town, Deyoe skins up the mountain and skies back down. When the night is clear and a big moon is out, he doesn’t even need a head lamp. Sometimes, he and his friends will have the all the runs to themselves. Other nights, they’ll hang out in the warming hut, where it might be “standing room only.” In his words, either way, the experience of being out there at night makes him feel “grateful.”

“It just adds a little more excitement to it,” he said, of the darkness.

Above, Joanne Cermak, 60, was doing her shopping. While she wasn’t sure of her Friday night plans, she knew just the feeling of hanging out under the night sky. In the past, the Eagle resident had completed a few nighttime snowshoe races in the nearby Cordeillera area.

“It’s fun to see the shadows,” she said, “You really do get to see moon shadows. You almost think the sun is about to come out in a few minutes.”

Some of the excitement, she said, is in the not knowing. You don’t know what’s ahead of you; you don’t know what’s behind you. You’re forced into the here and now.

“There’s a little intimidation there because you don’t have the depth of field you normally do,” she said. “But there’s a beauty to it. It’s pretty amazing.”

Though he used absolutely different words, a local cyclist seemed awed by the full moon, too. Preferring to go by the handle “Slappy,” the 26-year-old told about his favorite monthly hangout, the Full Moon Cruiser Ride.

“It’s the greatest invention ever,” he said, of the bike, “so that’s kind of a plus.”

The cycling jaunt begins at 8, every full moon evening at Carbondale’s Sopris Park, he said. It runs through town, sometimes even through the Black Nugget, and lasts somewhere around an hour. There may be no organization, no agenda — but there are a bunch of folks in costume.

According to Slappy, the “context of the night” gives the rides a “communal goofiness.”

“If you had the word for an event with no leader and no hierarchy, then that would be it,” he explained.

As more and more people were asked about their moon time experiences, it turns out that many were at a loss for words. Full moons are special, they’d say, not knowing what else to add. Still, most were happy to give some activity suggestions.

Kara Armano, 28, the women’s buyer at Summit Canyon Mountaineering, recommended Babbish Gulch, near Sunlight, as a good place to snowshoe or ski — and bring your dogs. For those without pooches, she suggested Spring Gulch in Carbondale.

For Chris Van Leuven, 30, a local climber, nighttime means that the ice at Hayes Falls is hardened, and he can climb while his dog, Jake, waits below. The late hour, he said, gives him a chance to “enjoy the solitude.”

Local adventure racer Sari Anderson, 29, admitted that sometimes it’s hard to get motivated for nighttime recreation. But once you’re out there, she explained, “It just feels so great.” One of her more recent night excursions was to the warming hut atop Buttermilk Ski Resort.

“Boy, there’s just all kind of things people can do in the full moon,” concluded Bernie Boettcher, Silt’s own, ever-winning, professional runner.

With 296 races under his belt (in 284 consecutive weeks), the 45-year-old athlete seemed like someone who would take advantage of a bright, moonlit night. As it turns out, he was also just the person to sum up all this nocturnal madness. With some precautions taken, he said, “you can do just about anything you can do in the daylight.”

And Boettcher would know. He’s skied at Independence Pass, snowshoed on local trails, biked around Moab, made his way up Mount Sopris — all by the light of the moon. Tonight, as he gears up for yet another race, he’ll probably be under the stars at Colorado National Monument. For him, the lunar draw is simple.

“I think the appeal is just having a new perspective on an old subject, I guess” he said. “You get to see things in a new light.”

So to speak.

Contact Stina Sieg: 384-9111
ssieg@postindependent.com