A moonlit celebration
Sheep Mountain Alliance hosted annual Valley Floor ski Sunday night
By Eva Thomas, Telluride Daily Planet
The Valley Floor was perfectly illuminated by the moon Sunday night as people gathered for the Valley Floor Moonlight Progressive Ski. A cider, cookie and soup station were set up along the trail offering warm refreshments and much-needed fuel. The event has been held for over a decade. Previously run by local Cindy Farny, the Sheep Mountain Alliance SMA took over the event in 2021.
"We were a large part of the Valley Floor acquisition back in the mid-2000s. For us to take on an event that really celebrates this wonderful open space and gets people outside in the winter to enjoy the Valley Floor is in line with the spirit we're trying to embody," Sheep Mountain Alliance Executive Director Mason Osgood said.
In 2021, the event was held on a much smaller scale due to the pandemic, but this year organizers were able to host more participants.
Created in 1988, The Sheep Mountain Alliance is a local nonprofit that is dedicated to protecting the environment and community. The alliance worked with organizations like the Telluride Nordic Association and the Town of Telluride's Open Space Commission to help fund and support the event.
"It's really the only celebration of the Valley Floor that we have on a yearly basis," Osgood added.
Over 200 people attended the event, including Ann Kochara and her daughter, Sarah.
"It was the first time we brought my daughter out, so that was exciting, and the full moon and skiing on the Valley Floor is just fun," Kochara said.
Nine-year-old Charlie Clark, who is on the Nordic ski team, decided to come because "why not?"
Starting right behind the Shell gas station, volunteers set up a table with hot cider. Another station was set up with cookies from Butcher and the Baker and soup from La Cocina De Luz on the south side of the Valley Floor.
Leading up to Sunday's event, Sheep Mountain Alliance prioritized reaching out to the local Latinx community. While it was "under the radar," Osgood explained, the nonprofit worked in conjunction with Tri-County Health Network, the Collaborative Action for Immigrants (CAFI) and the Wilkinson Public Library to help spread the word.
"We started planning the event in early December, especially the aspect with the rentals from the Nordic center. This was a new initiative this year intended to make the event more inclusive for everyone. We had an amazing amount of help from Claudia Garcia at the library, Maria Albañil-Rangel and Valentina Estrella from Tri-County Health Network, as well as CAFI, who helped us market the free rental opportunity to the Latinx community," said Ruthie Boyd, the alliance’s AmeriCorps VISTA community outreach coordinator.
Around 20 families from the Latinx community were in attendance. Claudia Garcia Curzio, the Wilkinson Public Library Latinx outreach specialist, emphasized the importance of inclusion, especially in sports within the community.
"In order to be equitable, you must start with inclusion. And knowing that most sports here are led by white folks, we as a community need to make space to allow anyone to join and be a part of these sports," she said.
Ten-year-old Victoria Gonzalez took a break from studying to try out cross country skiing for the first time. By the end of the night, she was flying past her mentor, Trang Pham.
"At first, I fell, but the most fun was coming back and beating my mentor," Victoria said.
Boyd and other volunteers helped fit and size people for shoes, poles and skis. Tracks on the course helped steady those who never had Nordic skied before the event. Throughout the night, groups from all over Telluride chatted around hot soup and tried not to run into one another on the course.
"The event exceeded our expectations," Boyd said. "So many people came out to ski under the moonlight. Everyone seemed excited to be there and grateful for the opportunity to eat, drink cider, ski and celebrate the Valley Floor as a community."