Passes

It's "skijor the high mountain passes" time of year in Colorado and Vail Pass lived up to all expectations yesterday morning!

A few hundred feet up from the "sketchy trailhead" at Vail Pass and Wow!!!
Endless & solid Spring crust as far as the eye can see! Whee!

It happens every season... As we enter May, all the trailheads start to dry up. But, when you look up, you still see snowcapped Rocky Mountains all over the state. How to make use of the higher snow? Well, skijor the many mountain passes. The two passes closest to us with the best, open terrain are Vail Pass and Rabbit Ears Pass. Thus, you'll see those two areas dominate what skijoring we have left in May.

Yesterday morning took us on a tour of Vail Pass. I was initially worried when we arrived as the snow was soft (no crust) with lots of exposed ground. But, within 10-15 minutes of climbing up, everything changed into a beautiful solid white wonderland. I love so many things about the following photo:

1) Nice view of the snow covered mountain peaks ahead of us. These peaks
keep us searching for ways to find & use snow :)
2) Cool footprints in the crust behind fast running Jack & Rudy.
3) Flying, literally flying, Jack & Rudy.

Here's another cool shot which needs a little background to appreciate. Notice we are on a significant slant going perpendicular to our skijoring direction in this shot. Now, when not moving, the crust is actually quite slick. If we stopped, I would start drifting right down the slant as my skis cannot prevent sliding. So, the only way to go forward across a crust slant is to use 2 sled dogs to propel you forward and perpendicular. It would be impossible for me to ski this direction & angle without Jack & Rudy's propulsion! Impressive :)

Skiing the "impossible direction" made possible by Jack & Rudy.

So much fun video to show from yesterday, I had a hard time deciding which to use. But, come along for a glimpse into the fun. We start out cruising across a wonderful Spring crust. Then, we come upon some icy snowmobile tracks. I see that getting over & across the tracks will get us back onto endless crust. So, bounce across the tracks we go until we resettle on the perfect crust and go, go, goooo! Wheeee!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Of course, temperatures are rising in May. Well, if Jack & Rudy roll snow angels to cool off in February, you KNOW what they do in May ;)

"Ah! Come on, join us dad!" says silly Rudy.
"Don't ask, he NEVER joins us - silly human!" responds rolling Jack to Rudy.

Another fun, fun day. Let's go thank retired Zorro for discovering Vail Pass for us (with Max) over a decade ago!

"Glad to have paved the way for you!" says wonderful Zorro.
"Ah, the youngsters ALWAYS benefit from the work of the oldsters!" adds
happy, happy Jack & Rudy.

An incredible outing for early May: 9.4 miles traveled with 1000 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 21 MPH.

2021/2022 Season to Date: 151 days on the trails covering 1266.8 miles with 118,900 feet of elevation climbed.