Powder Play

Boo to the camera operator (me) for  blurred footage on what was an INCREDIBLE skijor this morning  :(

Oops, unknown to me, the camera was covered in water smudges
and ice to start our outing. But, look closely and you can make out the
deep powder Jack & Rudy are plowing through!

We had a unique and really fun outing this morning. We started from the Dry Lake Trailhead to skijor up and down Buffalo Pass Road. The beginning of this route is shared by skiers, snowmobiles and snowcats. Jack & Rudy love flirting with the snowcats (who are transporting backcountry skiers to deep powder on Buffalo Pass). This is a steep route, so we can only keep pace with the snowcats for short distances, but we certainly hold our own :)

Still blurry, sorry... Jack & Rudy chasing the snowcat and entertaining
the occupants taking pictures of us out the back window.

So, the first 1.5 miles or so is shared by skiers, snowcats and snowmobiles. But, at the 1.5 mile point, the snowcat (and most snowmobiles) turn left for an incredibly steep climb up Buffalo Pass. It is too steep for us to skijor (well, we could, but I'd have to help :) So, we always continue going straight to skijor along what is the summer road which switchbacks up Buffalo Pass. Today was the first time we've ever been on this route in deep snow (we only do it a handful of times a year). On all past outings we have gone up, up, up Buffalo Pass and then sprinted back down. 

Today, I got the great idea to change it up with all the fresh powder. There is a network of trails known as Spring Creek that intersect the Buffalo Pass Road. We've never skijored this side trails as they are pretty steep in areas. But, today, with fresh powder, we had our first ever skijor on the Spring Creek network of trails. What fun!

I have great news too. I fell once!!!! Normally a fall is not to be celebrated. But, I do know to wipe my camera clear after any fall. So, we have clear footage for the last 1/3 of our outing. Yay! Don't worry, it was just a minor slip in soft powder. But it caused me to clear the camera.

Here is today's powder highlight of impressive Jack & Rudy:

Powder Plows! POW!

What great shots I got from the last 1/3, just imagine what I would have had from the entire outing! Here we are hopping through powder on another one of the Spring Creek trails. Wheeee!

Breaking trail! Wheeee!

Now come along for today's video highlight. We start with some impressive powder plowing by Jack & Rudy. Then, I almost lose it at a trail junction due to bumpy terrain hidden by the fresh snow. Still upright after the near debacle and Jack & Rudy decide to put me in our "out tracks" to continue on with the clumsy human :)

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

After a wonderful powder day, it was time to return to the trailhead. Back to the shared 1.5 miles near the trailhead and time to floor it in fresh snowcat and snowmobile tracks.

Zooming!

Finally, here it is again, the silly kids climbing a snow wall at the trailhead to get end of run treats from the standing human. I guess after one fall and one near fall, they didn't trust me to kneel down with the treats :)

"We'll come up to you, you big klutz!" declares the happy kids.

What a unique and fun powder day on some new trails: 8.6 miles traveled with 1100 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 22 MPH.

2022/2023 Season to Date: 119 days on the trails covering 1054.8 miles with 96,300 feet of elevation climbed.