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.