Ski and Bike Magazine

You’re probably not going to believe me, but I swear that what I’m going to tell you happened to me.

A month ago, my friend Bryon and I decided to go skiing and snowboarding at night with a headlamp. It was a bit early in the season, but we had several days of snow so we try our luck.

Skiing in the Yukon is serious but mostly full of surprises!

Never in my life, I could have imagined such a scenario.

Do you have any idea of what happened?

We parked the bus, put on our boots and prepared the equipment to go up. We have been waiting for this all summer. The night is perfect. It is cold and the sky is covered with stars.

What I like about skiing at night is the tranquility, the silence that breaks at every step, every breath. This feeling of exaltation that allows your senses to be on the lookout.

We start climbing while discussing the upcoming season and our hopes for an incredible ski season.

You know, like two kids talking about their gifts on Christmas Eve.

The sky is beautiful and it makes us think that skiing under the northern lights would be the height of happiness, a dream! At that moment, we hear noises around us, but especially strange lamentations that neither recognizes. Stress increases. It’s in those moments that you remember that the Yukon is wild. Despite these noises, we decide to continue climbing. A few meters later, we face a lynx family! Yes, lynxes. In fact, 5 lynx about 10 meters from us. Of course, we freeze, without saying a word. Eyes wide open, we look at each other, while having an eye on the group. Not sure what to do, we wait. The wait is brief because these big cats pass in front of us and end up disappearing in the woods. An incredible experience that reminds us of how beautiful life is and full of surprises.

While climbing again, we calmly recover from our emotions. The night goes quickly so we decide to stop near the summit and start skiing. Before we go down the mountain, we want to take some photos and videos on the first pitch. While preparing our equipment for ride mode, the sky glows. It breaks out of sparkling green. The aurora borealis dance as if an orchestra conductor directs them. We don’t know where to look. For a few minutes, time stops. It is with wide-open eyes, open-mouthed and legs frozen in the snow that we contemplate this incredible show. Then, the euphoria! We shout, dance, give each other high fives, and we jump into each other’s arms.

We finally ski under the northern lights. A moment that we never really thought would happen.

You think the evening ends like this? Oh no! Once upon a time, two skiers and a coyote! Well, during the descent we stop several times because a coyote chases us and tries to attack us. He runs close to us, near our calves, while we are skiing. No matter if we stop or ski, he’s following us and he’s not friendly at all.

After all these emotions, we finally arrived at the bus (yes, I have a bus that I converted into an RV). It’s time for a good beer and some music. 

The best way to finish this crazy night.