January 4--Moonset
I was up early today so I got to see the full moon setting in the colors of the dawning day.

It was quite a long day! I spent it at my son's ski race as a "gatekeeper," watching to see that racers went through the gates. Only one didn't get through all of the 4 gates I watched; one fell and didn't finish the race, the other fell by but hiked up and went through the gate.

It was my son's second race and he came in right in the middle of the pack, 36th of 75 racers. I was really proud of him, and it was great to see him ski past me. Usually I have to watch indistinguishable dot skiers from the bottom of the hill.

It was actually a beautiful day. It was warm and sunny. I didn't even have to wear gloves most of the day. I was surprised at how steep the hill was, even though I've skied it many times. Standing still and watching racers go by allows for an entirely different perspective.

After the race I decided to take a couple of runs. I wound up on an ungroomed trail which was unskiable for me! I fell twice, and finally took off my skis and hiked down to another trail. It was neat walking though, because I got to see all of the things that are missed in a ski run. One place on the trail had thick green and pink moss growing on rocks shielded by icicles and snow. It was quite beautiful, but I didn't have my camera. I did get a good run on the lower, but steeper trail!