Blustery

A snowy and blustery day skijoring atop Buffalo Pass.

A day only a Siberian Husky could love! :)

Happy tails in the air as we find 4-6 inches of fresh snow at the top of Buffalo Pass. Yay!

The haze you see in the prior photo is not low clouds or fog, it is actively falling and blowing snow!

We expected a snowstorm last night and hoped to wake to enough fresh snow on trails close to home. Unfortunately we only got a trace of new snow on local trails; but we saw via satellite radar and snotels that Buffalo Pass did get the overnight snow reward. So, we all packed into the Jeep for the rough ride up Buff Pass. It was worth it as the snow was incredible atop the pass!

Another snowy & blustery shot as we cruise along the morning's fresh snow:

Once again, the haze is actively falling and blowing snow.

Ok, temperatures in the low 20s to high teens (F) plus actively falling snow plus a steady wind with occasional 30-40 MPH gusts. Some would think that lead to a cold day, right? Well, some would not...

"Oh man, so hot, must roll snow angels to cool off!" demonstrates silly Max.
"Really, I would never stop skijoring to do such silliness!" declares all-business Zorro.

What was that you were saying in the caption in the last photo, Zorro???

"Ok... phew, must roll to cool my jets too!" shows silly Zorro.
"Loving my snow-covered back!" states happy Max.

Only time for a short blog today as the ride to/from Buffalo Pass is a doozy. The wicked wind kept our outing to a mild one (due to the cold human - I swore my nose blew off at one point :)

5.2 miles of fun with 500 feet of elevation climbed on a snowy & blustery day atop Buffalo Pass.

2017/2018 Season to Date: 3 days on the trails covering 22.4 miles with 2400 feet of elevation climbed.

Nice Up High

Check out the incredible conditions "up high" on the Harrison Creek trail at Rabbit Ears Pass:

October 4th? Really? Pinch me :)
Beautiful snow as we follow a snowmobile trail through the forest.

Ok, now before you jump in your car for a road trip to Harrison Creek, let me temper your enthusiasm. As incredible as the previous photo looks, here's what we encountered on the way to the nice snow up high...

(1) Wide water crossings.... Large (partially frozen) puddles dominated the terrain for the first 1/3 of the outing.

Just enough snow & ice to cross this large puddle to the right.

(2) Narrow "ribbons of death"... Narrow patches of snow weaving through ice & water on both sides of us dominated the terrain for the middle 1/3 of the outing.

Just close your eyes and let Max & Zorro guide you through - they will ALWAYS avoid water
and keep me on the most suitable terrain.

Ok, "enthusiasm tempered", now back to the incredible conditions for the upper 1/3 of the outing. Watch today's short & fun video clip of immaculate conditions up high for October 4th...

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

It was well worth the sketchy conditions down low to get onto the perfect conditions up high. As a bonus, we were treated to bear tracks along the way. It is only early/late season (Oct or May/Jun) that we get to inspect bear tracks on the trail:

Max's nose in a bear track (Zorro's too, but you cannot see his nose).
Another bear track to the left of my ski tip.
"Sniff, sniff - we don't get this nose treat often!" say the track inspecting pair.

Sketchy down low, narrow in the middle and perfect up high: 8.4 miles traveled with 800 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 18 MPH.

2017/2018 Season to Date: 2 days on the trails covering 17.2 miles with 1900 feet of elevation climbed.

Season Opener

We got a large dump of snow overnight and, as a result, we were able to start our 2017/2018 Skijor Season on Boreas Pass this morning!!! Woo Hoo to the "October 2nd start"!!!

Great conditions up high with active snowfall all around us.
Normally you get a stunning view of the Rocky Mountains around us from this high on Boreas.
But, today only gives you a stunning view of snow covered Max & Zorro and incredible
conditions for October 2nd.

We had to drive partway up Boreas Pass to get to cooler temperatures so that the dirt road would be frozen under the snow (the road is open through October if you are brave enough to drive it when it snows :) But, once we got partway up, it was near perfect as we took out the skis and Max & Zorro towed me up Boreas Pass.

Here's a fun little video clip from the morning's outing. Such a great "first outing" of the season while the conditions were good! Wheeee!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

We made it to the summit of Boreas in pretty good time, so we went down the backside a little before turning around to go back up and then down the pass. Clearly I am out of practice in getting the GoPro on my chest aligned properly to capture happy Max & Zorro. But, at least we have Max's happy face in the summit shot:

Happy boys posing at the summit sign while the 'out of practice' human forgets how to get
both Max & Zorro in view :)

What could make an October 2nd skijor even better? How about adding fresh moose tracks to the outing?!?!

"Oh my, these moose tracks smell VERY fresh!" declares track sniffing Max.
"I know, I know, must be nearby - but WHERE?!?!?" asks intense forest scanning Zorro.

Despite active snowfall and cloudy skies, on our final descent, the road eventually started to warm under the snow, letting mud and sticky snow surface. I had to take my skis off 3 times to remove the slush & mud buildup. Well, if the human is going to stop, you know what that means...

"Rub a dub dub, rolling snow angels while we wait for you!" demonstrates silly Max.
"You humans and your inferior equipment!" states 'I want to GO' Zorro.

Here's to hoping an early October 2nd start is a foreshadow to a great snow season!

A fun run up Boreas + a fun frolic around the summit + a fun run down the upper terrain - a slow & sticky finish to the day. Oh well, we'll take that for October 2nd any day: 8.8 miles traveled with 1100 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 16 MPH.