Hi Mom

"Hi Mom! We had a great day!" says Max
with a big smile on his face as we ski past
Nancy to the trailhead. "Whee!" is the
happy expression on Zorro's face too!

A great "Hi Mom" shot from Max as we sprint to the finish of our outing today.

Max is a total "camera ham" - he cannot resist flashing a happy smile at Nancy anytime we approach and pass her as we finish a day's run.

Notice that the human is pretty bundled up. Wearing my warmest skijoring coat, my warmest hat and my warmest gloves yet I could still feel the cold. The temperature was in the single digits and the wind was quite strong - probably in the negative teens or twenties with the windchill factor! But, no complaints here, we are finally getting some really good snowfall on the trails close to home.

We did some trail exploration on and between Baldy and Boreas mountains today - checking the trails for "best powder" and "least used" for future outings. As is usually the case, the well-known trails on these mountains were already pretty "skied up" since the weekend's big snowfall. But, the lesser known trails below treeline (protected by trees from the wind) were quite a treat - either completely untouched for us to break trail or barely used by a single track of previous skis with an inch or two of fresh overnight snow covering them. What a fun time we had off the beaten track - highlight images below:

Following a "very faint" set of existing tracks on one of the lesser known connections from Baldy
Mountain to Boreas Mountain. And, no, we are not telling anyone exactly where! :-)

One of my favorite corners on seldom used trail high up on Boreas Mountain. You enter into this corner
from a heavily wooded section of trail and you suddenly transition into this cluster of aspen trees that
open up into views far and wide. Jagged rocks to the left & steep cliff to the right - hang on as the
Siberians guide you through!

Another section of "narrow & rarely used" trail. You really have to trust the Siberians to skijor through
these narrow trails - Max & Zorro truly "get it" and never veer off the established trail!

Stats for the Day: 8.1 miles, 1350 feet of elevation gain and 18 MPH top speed. More "up" than "distance" as we were exploring the conditions between Baldy and Boreas.