Untouched

Something you do not often see in mid-May: untracked & untouched snow as far as the eye can see! Wow!

Laying fresh tracks in an untracked & untouched utopia on the back side of Shrine Pass.

There was light snowfall yesterday (as well as Sunday and Monday); but Vail Pass is a very popular snowmobile area with the Shrine Pass trail being one of the most heavily used. So, imagine our surprise after we climbed to the front side of Shrine Pass to find an untouched snow utopia on the back side. We all had to pinch ourselves before having a great run laying fresh tracks up & down the back side. Wheeee!

After laying fresh tracks on the back of Shrine Pass, we went on to tour the Shrine Mountain Huts that are used by backcountry skiers and snowshoers. As we came around a corner to one of the huts, we came upon a girl who was thrilled to see Max & Zorro...

"HI!" says bold and flirtatious Zorro (any one who has met Zorro knows what I mean :)
"Ah, thanks for the head pat!" states calm and collected Max.

The rest of this girl's group was not far away and you know what is going to happen when a group of girls see their friend with Max & Zorro.... Fluff Party! Zorro really is in this photo - you can see his white tail while he has submerged the rest of his body in the crowd.

"Aaahhh, that's the spot!" declares Max digging the head rub he is getting.
"Loving it!" states attention grabbing Zorro.

Done touring the huts and time to head back down the front side of Shrine Pass. As you can see, snowmobile tracks all over; thus the reason we were so surprised to find the untouched snow utopia on the back side of Shrine!

Nice views as we look down upon Colorado from atop Vail Pass.

Fun day to be a Siberian Husky: laying fresh tracks in May AND flirting with the hut overnighters - all in one outing! 9.4 miles traveled with 1100 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 18 MPH.

2015/2016 Season to Date: 135 days on the trails covering 1132.3 miles with 124,500 feet of elevation climbed.