Ears

A cute "Hi Mom" from the two youngsters at our "end of run" meeting.

"Hi Mom! Zorro gets the first end of run treat, so we'll flash you a smile waiting for our turn!" say
cute Jack and Rudy.
"Me first!" says focused Zorro :)

We spent the morning atop Rabbit Ears Pass skijoring along Dumont Lake and then between the lake and Rabbit Ears Peak.

While the spring crust was still nice and solid, we did encounter a few sad "signs of summer"; but fun was still had by all.

Here we are cruising along the main trail to Dumont Lake and look and we encountered to our left - exposed asphalt! Eek! There is a paved road to Dumont Lake Campground in the summer, so this underlying asphalt heats and becomes exposed first during the spring heat up. But, it is still always sad to see! A fun thing to note in the photo: draw a straight line from Rudy to the top of the photo and this is Rabbit Ears Peak. The two rocks on top of the peak are the ears of Rabbit Ears Pass. They look so clear in person but then so small when reduced to a photo. I have been on a never ending quest to get a shot of the ears that looks good once reduced to a photo. Oh well, not yet...

"Eek - asphalt!" I said.
"No problem, plenty of snow on the shoulder!" declares the sled dog trio.
Nice hover from Zorro & Jack with out-stretched Rudy to their left.

As we approached Dumont Lake, we turned to go get a view of the lake. In the heart of winter the snowpack is good enough at Rabbit Ears that snowmobiles can cross over the lake. We went to check the status of the lake. Well, it was EEK again! We are on the shores of Dumont Lake in the following shot and the dark spots you see to our left are exposed water and the super shiny spots are paper thin ice. Eek!

Eek - exposed water and thin ice to the left. This was as close as we allowed ourselves to the lake as
who knows where it really starts under the dwindling snowpack.

After turning away from the lake we headed towards Rabbit Ears Peak. Along the way you encounter the official Rabbit Ears Pass Marker. I paused to get a shot of the marker and, well, I paused...

"Yep, you paused!" say the snow rolling twins.
"When are you ever going to learn! What goofs!" adds Zorro.

Once we were all upright again, on towards the peak. Note all the prior photos are somewhat dark as it was early in the morning with overcast skies. I brightened all of the photos as much as possible and they were still this dark.

Anyway, on the way to the peak and... Bingo - a great shot of the two rock ears atop Rabbit Ears Peak! Also, notice that the clouds parted on our approach - a beautiful sunny shot of the ears!

The ears, the ears, we got a great shot of the ears!!!!!
Oh, nice snowpack & crust up here near the peak too :)

Today's video highlight - cruising towards Dumont Lake with Rabbit Ears Peak in the front/center along the way (far away at this point, but front and center). And, yes, I am pretty far to the left of my team to start. The conditions were slick and icy so I was to the left for safety. Eventually, I sense less slickness so I slide behind the team to glide along the trail behind them.

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

We finally got a great shot of the ears!!!! 6.7 miles traveled with 700 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 19 MPH.

2018/2019 Season to Date: 119 days on the trails covering 689.9 miles with 64,600 feet of elevation climbed.