Emma Garrard/Sierra Sun
There's a stillness, the kind of stillness that only comes at night when the earth is blanketed in snow.
Somewhere, just beyond where the purpley haze of darkness swallows the glow of a full moon, coyotes howl.
"It's a little mysterious," said John Campbell, who came out to take advantage of the night skiing offered by the Tahoe Donner Cross Country Center in Truckee. "It's a lot more peaceful. You take a person who likes to hike in the moonlight, they'll be out here.
"People in the daytime don't see or hear the kind of animals you do at night."
Until Feb. 25, the cross country trails will be open and lit 5-7 p.m., with races on Jan. 21, Feb. 4 and 18.
Manager JoJo Toeppner said the center has been offering night skiing for about 25 years, a practice more common in the Midwest and East Coast and especially in Europe.
"We try to bring a little of that flavor here," she said. "We're the only ones in Northern California who have it."
Street lights hang from trees along the course, and where there are no lights, lanterns are placed along the track.
"It's a soft light," Toeppner said.
While the romance of skiing at night draws some, for others it is purely a practical matter.
Mark Henry has been driving from Incline Village to compete in the night races there for the past seven or eight years.
"Even if you work all day, you're still able to get a workout in at night," he said. "And it's not crowded."
Toeppner compared it to "an extra day of skiing," and said it is mostly locals who show up to ski after dark.
And it's worth their while.
"We re-groom it at 5 o'clock," she said. "You're not going to have ruts stuck in the tracks. It's all smoothed out."
For racing, the conditions are ideal.
"The snow is very consistent," said Campbell, who often skis to the center from his Truckee home. "During the day, the snow can be slushy in the sun and icy in the shade."
But racing at night presents it's own set of challenges as well.
Skyler Mullings, 10, showed up for the first race of the season Jan. 7.
"It's funner when it's dark," he said. "At the top, it's like there's no light. It's pitch black. It's fun, you can't tell where the corners are so it's sort of like an obstacle course."
As racers sped around the track, the light glinted off their skis, as if the friction created sparks in the snow. All was silent except the sound of skis scraping and the clanging of a bell.
In true Nordic tradition, Rik Eckert rang a cowbell throughout the competition.
"When I'm racing, I want to hear the sound of a cowbell," he explained.
Later, as racers were treated to soup and chili, Eckert played his guitar and crooned folk songs, while still in his Rossignol ski gear and boots.
"I've skied all over the world " Norway and Alaska " and they do a really good job here," Campbell said.
- Contact reporter Teri Vance at tvance@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1272.