Angel & Ears

Rolling snow angels with the ears of Rabbit Ears Pass in the background!

Love the looks on Jack & Rudy's faces. What sillies!
The two rocks atop the peak directly above Jack are the ears for which
Rabbit Ears Pass is named. 

It was a beautiful day to follow snowmobile tracks all over Rabbit Ears Pass. I was hoping for a firm crust so that we could abandon set trails and go our own way; but the crust was not strong enough to hold hard running Jack & Rudy (they punched through the thin crust the two times we tested it). So, it was following packed snowmobile tracks all morning long. Still a ton of fun!

Cruising along the trail to Dumont Lake as the ears are far in front
of us on the peak directly above Rudy.

While the crust looked tempting, it just was not strong enough to hold Jack & Rudy. It was firm enough to hold me on skis though. So we had a fun time with Jack & Rudy running in packed snowmobile tracks while I rode the ski-worthy crust right next to them. This gave them a firm trail and me a smooth surface next to them.

The fun kids squeezing tight into a snowmobile track while I ski
the nice ski-worthy crust next to them.

It was like this most of the day - Jack & Rudy on packed snowmobile tracks and me on the smooth side crust. Opposite angle of the last shot but same results: the kids in the packed track and me on the smooth side:

The fun kids catching air as I swoosh along behind them and slightly
to their left.

Now come along for the video example of what I was talking about. Watch as Jack & Rudy are running hard and fast in the packed tracks while I have at least one ski out of the track and on the smooth side. The snowmobile tracks were actually too packed for me on skis and keeping at least one ski out of track gave me control and comfort to let the kids go, go, go.

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Back to the trailhead to celebrate another great May outing with end of run treats:

"It has been a great May so far!" says the happy & proud kids.

Today's tally: 7 miles traveled with 600 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 22 MPH.

2023/2024 Season to Date: 148 days on the trails covering 1251.5 miles with 124,100 feet of elevation climbed.