A Winter Workout With Only Moonlight to Guide Him
A Winter Workout With Only Moonlight to Guide Him
The long, cold days of winter derail many outdoor workouts. But starry nights and snow-covered trails excite Mark Garfield. The head of global financial institutions at Zions Bank in Salt Lake City prefers to do his cross-country skiing at night. “When there is a big moon or a lot of stars it’s just dazzling,” he says. “Even when it’s overcast, the inherent brightness of the snow contrasted with the dark silhouettes of the trees makes it easy for the eyes to adjust so I can follow the track.”
Mr. Garfield, 59, was introduced to skate skiing, a style of cross-country skiing, while volunteering at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. “My family and I were amazed by the speed of the racers,” he says. Unlike classic cross-country, where the skis stay parallel, skate technique involves pushing out to the side with the skis.
He enrolled his three daughters and son, then preteens and teens, in a youth program at a local Nordic club.
“The kids gave my wife and I pointers,” he says. “Skate skiing became something we could do as a family to complement downhill skiing. It’s been a unifying experience for us.”
Mr. Garfield often hits the ski track with his four children, Jake Garfield, Gail Ellison, Meg Garfield, Emily Taylor and his son-in-law, Will Ellison.
Photo:
MICHAEL KUNDE for The Wall Street Journal
Mr. Garfield averages about six months of snow activity a year, including skate skiing, backcountry skiing and downhill skiing. His daughters and son, now grown, live nearby and join him about a third of the time. “There’s nothing better than getting out as one big pack on the trails,” he says.
During the week, Mr. Garfield often skis alone. Most nighttime skiers use headlamps or find a lighted ski track. Mr. Garfield prefers to navigate by the snow and sky. “Because you can’t see into the woods, your senses really awaken,” he says. “I can smell when a moose is nearby or hear an owl in the trees.” He’s run into elk, deer and porcupine and scared a pair of hunters who nearly mistook him for a buck. “Every night is an adventure,” he says. No matter the weather, he’s out on the trails. “Cold, wind, snow…it’s part of what makes it fun,” he says.
The Workout
Monday through Saturday, Mr. Garfield skate skis 6 to 7 miles at the Mountain Dell ski track. The groomed track consists of gentle, rolling hills. He tries to go hard on the uphills to keep his body warm, then cruise on the downhills. “It’s not about going fast,” he says. “It’s about relaxing and enjoying nature.”
He prefers to go after work, but if he has a conflict, he’ll get out before daybreak. “The morning is especially great when the waxing moon is low in the eastern sky,” he says. The track is open 90 days a year and Mr. Garfield estimates he’s out there 70 days. Once the track closes he’ll skate ski at a nearby ski resort or in the canyons near his home.
In 2002, Mr. Garfield competed in his first skate-ski race, the Boulder Mountain Tour in Sun Valley, Idaho. He has since used the 34-kilometer race, held each February, as his annual fitness benchmark. To train in the summer, he swims five days a week, a mix of freestyle and butterfly. He finds that the butterfly stroke helps improve the double-poling technique used in skate skiing.
He also enjoys hiking. When he travels abroad for work he always packs his sneakers. “Running is a great way to sightsee between meetings,” he says.
Mr. Garfield and his family were introduced to skate skiing while volunteering at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. Now that his four children are grown, the sport bonds them together in the winter months.
Photo:
MICHAEL KUNDE for The Wall Street Journal
The Diet
Breakfast is a bowl of oatmeal or Cream of Wheat. Mr. Garfield prefers to do meetings on the trails rather than over lunch. He usually eats a salad at his desk and snacks on hummus, vegetables and nuts. His wife makes homemade soups for dinner. “There’s nothing like a bowl of beef and barley with vegetables to warm me up after a night ski,” he says. He says he can’t resist his wife’s homemade pies. “No matter the flavor—pumpkin, cherry, rhubarb—it’s hard to have just one slice,” he says.
The Gear & Cost
“There’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad attire,” Mr. Garfield says. “People who don’t love winter just don’t know how to dress for it. When you know what to wear then you want to go out and play.” Mr. Garfield’s go-to apparel includes SportHill XC ski pants ($140), a Swix jacket ($125) and Swix gloves ($40). He has Fischer RCR skate skis ($350) and Fischer RCS boots ($260). He pays $70 a year for his Nordic season pass.
The Playlist
“I listen to the owl songs,” he says. “And in my head, I run through lyrics about the night sky.” He says favorites include Don McLean’s “Vincent (Starry Starry Night),” “Moonshadow” by Cat Stevens and, around the holidays, “Silent Night.”
Mr. Garfield averages 70 nights of skate skiing a year. He says skiing in the dark heightens his senses.
Photo:
MICHAEL KUNDE for The Wall Street Journal
The Case for Nordic Skiing at Night
Nordic skiing, any type of skiing where the heel rises off the ski, isn’t just for daylight hours. Chris Grover, head coach of the U.S. cross-country ski team, grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, where winter days were extremely short but lighted Nordic trails were plentiful.
“Many communities close to the Arctic Circle have an infrastructure of lit trail systems,” says Mr. Grover, who is based in Sun Valley, Idaho. “And more ski resorts are offering organized full moon Nordic ski
excursions.”
If trails aren’t lighted and the sky is cloudy, there are extra-strength headlamps that kick out enough light to illuminate a trail. Mr. Grover says night skiing may not improve performance, but it does build camaraderie. “I’m not sure of the physiological benefits,” he says. “But it’s good for the soul and spiritually rewarding. During the World Cup we try to organize an evening ski adventure up to a mountain hut with the team to give them a break from the grind of training.”
Some studies suggest working out at night interrupts sleep patterns, but Christopher Kline, an assistant professor in the department of health and physical activity at the University of Pittsburgh, advises people to exercise when it’s most convenient for them. “Many components of athletic performance, like speed and power, are at optimal levels in the evening,” Dr. Kline says. Exercise also has antianxiety effects, which, he says, could help improve sleep.
Write to Jen Murphy at workout@wsj.com
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