Light Up The Night
I pulled into the lower lot at Brundage, my GMC Canyon loaded with 16 sets of skis and poles. It was Christmas break 2023, and two of my brothers and their families were in town to enjoy some western snow—and get away from the homemade ice that blanketed their home resort in Wisconsin.
“Let’s go!” yelled one of my nieces as I dropped the tailgate and started handing out skis and poles.
“Yeah baby,” I said. “Going to be a blast!”
We got everybody situated and slowly made it to Easy Street to start working our way to the top of Bluebird and some fun turns.
I hopped on the lift with my brother, Robin.
“Glad to see the excitement,” I said.
“Yeah,” he said, “they’ve been watching the pump-up videos you’ve been sending and dreaming of this moment for weeks.”
I laughed. I enjoyed making little videos of the fun we had leading into Christmas in hopes that it would get our visitors excited for a great vacation.
We spent the day skiing the whole mountain, stopping back at the truck for a quick tailgate (hamburgers and hot dogs), and then more skiing.
As the week wound on, the kids got to ski and tube and ice skate and cross-country ski and snowmobile and soak in hot springs. It was an epic week, but I saved the best for last.
On New Year’s Eve, I gathered the crew, loaded up all 16 sets of skis and poles, and took them back to Brundage to participate in the Torchlight Parade—or Light up the Night, as Brundage calls it.
We gathered at the base of Bluebird, signed waivers, skied down to Bear Chair, and hopped on the lift after closing. We rode to the top, popped off our skis outside the Bears Den, and headed inside for some hot chocolate and nervous conversation as all the Torchlight Parade skiers and boarders waited for the main event.
Eventually, Michael and Ken from Brundage addressed the group, gave us the dos and don’ts, and then told us to have fun.
We headed outside and were handed long sticks with road flares taped to the end. As the sun set, the Brundage crew lined us up, lit our flares, and pointed us downhill.
“I can’t believe they’re letting us ski with a torch,” said my brother.
I laughed. “It’s the best.”
We skied through the dark, following the light from the torch ahead of us, snaking slowly across the hill as we worked our way to the base. As we buried our flares in a snowbank at the base, we slid over to our friends and turned to watch the fireworks just starting to pop behind us.
It was the perfect ending to a perfect trip—and maybe my favorite thing to do in McCall. And that’s my hope for you this winter—that you find some time to enjoy all our little town has to offer and stumble upon your next favorite activity—or memory.
Have a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
Rodney J. Auth
Publisher
