Moonlight Race Series

Four Thursday nights. Two courses. One mountain under the moonlight.

Sunlight Mountain Resort and Cripple Creek Backcountry are teaming up once again for the 2026/27 Moonlight Race Series: four nighttime skimo races built for fast climbs, fearless descents, clean transitions, and the particular kind of joy that comes from working hard in the dark.

Whether you call it skimo, rando, or simply your favorite kind of Type A fun, this series is your chance to race beneath the stars alongside Sunlight’s uphill community.

Choose Your Challenge
Each race features a long course and a short course, both packed with quick ascents and thrilling descents. Snow conditions permitting, the courses will remain the same throughout the four-race series, giving you the perfect benchmark for tracking your progress in:

Fitness and endurance
Skinning efficiency
Downhill speed and confidence
Transitions
Overall race time
Chase the podium, hunt for a new personal best, or move through the moonlight with friends. Your pace is yours, but we all know the bib has a way of asking for a little more.

After the Race
Once the climbing is done and the headlamps cross the finish line, stick around for swag, cold beer, hot chocolate, and good company.

Required Gear
All racers must have:

A headlamp
A helmet
Please stay on Sunlight’s designated uphill routes whenever you are training.

Racer Check-In
Check-in will take place in front of the main lodge from 5:15 to 5:45 p.m. Times will shift 30 minutes later for the final two races.

Course Map
Find the course map under Race Info:

Yellow: Uphill
Red: Downhill
Short course: Complete the first ascent and first descent, continuing all the way to the bottom

The mountain changes after dark. The air sharpens, the world gets quieter, and every breath and transition matters a little more.

Strap on your skins, switch on your headlamp, and come get your suffer-fun on.