First Crust

Jack got his first experience skijoring the "Spring Crust" yesterday morning. 

Needless to say, he had a great time :)

Shoulder-to-shoulder Zorro & Jack laying fresh tracks in about an inch or two of new snow
atop a solid springtime crust.

What is spring crust? Well, it is the time of year where temperatures rise well above freezing in the daytime but still fall well below freezing overnight. The result is the snowpack softens every day and then the "soft layer" refreezes overnight into a crust that can support Zorro's weight (and, thus Jack's too) while also supporting my weight on skis (I would punch through the crust off skis, but can glide atop the crust on skis). What is so fun about the spring crust? Well, you no longer have to follow set trails, you can simply skijor and glide wherever your heart desires. This also provides great left and right training for Jack as he has to listen to me and/or follow Zorro's lead instead of sticking to set trails.

Come along for a short excerpt of Jack's first time skijoring the spring crust. You'll note Jack is a little "bouncy" in his execution but does a very good job of snapping back into line with Zorro whenever he drifts. Pretty good for a young guy on his first unset trail!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Back to the beginning of yesterday's outing. Zorro and I did a quick 4.1 mile skijor on Prospect Hill before collecting Jack for the finish. You get some great views of Breckenridge Ski Resort across the valley from Prospect Hill:

Zorro sprinting atop the spring crust as we make our own path on Prospect Hill and take in
the nice view of the snow-covered ski runs of Breckenridge Ski Resort.

For our second short video of the day... Come along with Zorro and I gently gliding and setting our own path on a great crust layer. It is fun to pay special attention just over 20 seconds into this video. If your volume is up loud enough, you'll hear me call out a "right" to Zorro (which he quickly executes) as I initially think drifting right is the best path to avoid obstacles. But, almost immediately after I say "right", I notice a better line of unobstructed crust to the left. As a result you can hear me call out "left" and see Zorro immediately abandon the right and cut us left instead. Zorro is such a great listener!!!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Back to the 0.6 mile skijor we did with Jack to end the day. Everybody glancing back to me as I request a right turn from my partners:

"Got it... turning right!" says happy Zorro.
"This sure is fun making your own path!" states happy Jack.

We ran out of open terrain at one point so it was time to turnaround. But, my partners had other plans first. Must pause and roll dual snow angels to cool off before making a new path:

Rub-a-dub-dub, dual snow angels from Zorro and Jack!

Our first spring crust fun of this season! 4.7 miles traveled (4.1 with Zorro then 0.6 with Zorro and Jack) with 700 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 18 MPH.

2017/2018 Season to Date: 43 days on the trails covering 306.5 miles with 27,800 feet of elevation climbed.

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