First Groom

The "first groom of the season atop Vail Pass" lead to Zorro and my first "groomie zoomie" of the season too. Wheeee!

Zorro catching air as we fly along the freshly groomed main trail atop Vail Pass.

Vail Pass always offers a range of skijoring treats for Zorro. His two favorite treats, though, are flirting with the crowds at the backcountry huts and flying along the fast trails around the pass. Yesterday morning had both flirt and fly opportunities for Zorro.

It turns out we got a bit of a late start, so most of the backcountry hutters had already packed up their gear for the day and were on the trails. Not a problem, though, as that meant Zorro got to flirt with many small crowds and we skijored up, down and around Vail Pass. Here are two of Zorro's flirt encounters.

(1) Bringing smiles to a pair of hutters as we trot on by:

"Hi... Bye...!" says little Zorro towing me by the pair as he brings smiles to their faces.

(2) Flying (literally :) by a snowshoer who has paused to admire the pretty sled dog sprinting on by with human in tow:

"Coming through... Wheeee!" says flying Z.

Our unexpected treat for the day's outing: freshly groomed terrain!!! The main trails at Vail Pass do get groomed throughout the season; but the snowmobile/ski season at the pass does not officially start until December 1st. Before that date, you do not know when the Forest Service may (or may not) take the groomers out for some preseason trial runs. We were THRILLED to discover the groomer had been out on the Shrine Pass Trail just before we got started yesterday morning.

Come along for a short clip of our fun skijor sprint (topping 20 MPH) along the groomed Shrine Pass Trail. Groomie Zoomie!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

What a fun day atop Vail Pass, right Zorro?

"Oh my, YES! I had a GREAT time!!!!" exclaims happy Zorro at the end of the day's run.
And, yes, that is silly puppy Jack in the background. He was so busy watching the crowds in
the parking lot that he barely noticed Zorro and I arriving! Nosey Puppy!

A fun "flirt and fly" day at Vail Pass with happy Zorro: 7.7 miles traveled with 900 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 20 MPH.

2017/2018 Season to Date: 7 days on the trails covering 50.7 miles with 5200 feet of elevation climbed.

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