Back country skiing in the dark

On Christmas day, we had the strange opportunity to be completely alone. No family, no events at Lions Ridge, and no work. After calling our family and wishing them a Merry Christmas, we decided to go on a back country ski adventure. The weather was perfect (mid 20's), the sky was blue and it had recently snowed approximately 24 inches in the past few days. Perfect conditions, however it was also perfect for avalanches. After a long skin up to the ridge, we enjoyed a picture perfect sunset looking at the Bridger Mtn's, Tobacco Mtn's, Hyalite Mtn's and Spanish Peak Mtn's. Red, pink, orange, purple were a few of the colors that we saw. It was beautiful. At dusk, we started our approach down the mountain taking avalanche precautions. Although we had fresh powder, the snow was unstable and we had to carefully work our way through the trees. Skiing through the trees in the dark with unstable snow was not the best experience but it was a learning adventure. We learned that we should always ski in the light, take plenty of snacks and keep a good sense of humor along the way. We would have taken photos, but we forgot the camera. This photo isn't from our Christmas day adventure but it does capture a glimpse of what we experienced....at least when it was light outside.