Essay: On the Full Moon Party
“What time does everything finish up?” I asked the pleasant fella, named Art, who handed me our trail passes and map. We were standing in the bar-restaurant-ski pro shop-cash register area of Cascade Ski Center just outside of Lake Placid, NY.
Art glanced at the thermometer outside and said, “It’s below freezing right now? I’d say we’ll bring everyone in around 2/ 2:30 (am).” Completely stumped by the process deducing closing time, we made our way to the bar and to patiently await the sunset. It was 2005 and Cascade Ski Center was on the verge of another unique party. The famous Full Moon Party was a single sunset away from starting.
Despite the facility touting twelve miles of track, Cascade Ski Center would shut down all but approximately four miles of trails after dark. There would be a bonfire advertised with kegs…. er hot chocolate and hot dogs provided for pass holders.
To start the night, skiers clipped into their skis, side stepped into the tracks, and enjoyed the - mostly - downhill icy glide to the bonfire. Depending on how late the arrival, experiences varied. One month we went early and watched the crowd grow. One memorable year we watched as embers fell on expensive jackets and singed holes through Gore Tex shells. Snowshoers tumbled out of the woods, claiming their presence was completely random. Meanwhile a lone guitarist strummed away. One year, I remembered him proclaiming, “Oh! We forgot Bangor!” He restarted the song as we immersed ourselves in the group.
We would end the night returning to the Lodge where a band was in full swing, the taps were frequently open, and the food came out whenever. One edition of the party, and for a nominal fee, we stayed in the bunks located downstairs from the great room. Staff advised us to remain upstairs during the party due to the uncertainty that the dance floor would hold. The Full Moon Party was one of the foremost experiences of the Adirondacks if you knew about it.
Unfortunately, Cascade Ski Lodge is no longer in operation. It was sold to the Adirondack Mountain Club who used it as an information center while attempting to keep the skiing open. It failed. AMC then gave up on the project. The Lodge sits unoccupied, during an extremely snowy winter, up for sale. Those Full Moon Parties of two decades ago have faded into memory.
On the first night of February, the full moon swung into the sky, creating a brilliant blue hue in the freezing cold darkness. Those memories came rushing back, aided by the possibility to plop the skis into the crusty snow and glide into Bucks County farm country. Doubtful a secret bonfire would be located, and even more doubtful would a couple of snowshoers tumble out of the woods ‘by accident.’
It got me thinking of the spirit of the Full Moon Party. Given the propensity to ride at night, how wonderful would it be in, say, midsummer, when the late sunset mixed with a bright shining moon, could emulate the atmosphere in Lake Placid’s winter. Perhaps a bonfire just outside of a barn with some … hot chocolate and hot dogs to complement the guitarist leading the charge. We wouldn’t have to ride far; we would just have to arrive at the campfires by bike and return when [checks thermometer] the process Art used all those years ago to calculate closing time is cracked. For now, with Cascade for sale, a place I’ve often argued would make a great venue for two-season sales - skiing with the addition of mountain biking in the summer, it’s nostalgia that propels the imagination. It’s optimism that drives the desire to see a similar event nearby. Until the mounds of snow recede, the bikes will remain racked in the service course. Hopefully the skinny skis will make an appearance. We would plan to be back before 2am.
