Standing atop the 14,200 “milk bottle” summit of Starlight Peak, we watched the sun continue the last hour of its descent over the mountains to the west. We knew we had at least eight hours of descent to base camp – most of which would now be done with headlamps in the black of a moonless night.

Although we summited via a different route than we were to descend, I had gone this route a few years before. But now a night descent would be a test of my memory.