Nordic Zooming

Jack & Rudy were FLYING around the trails at Breckenridge Nordic Center this morning!

Hang on human!!!!!

The hover huskies catching air as the fly along this excellent stretch of
recently groomed trail.

It has been a warm & pretty dry week after a great snowy week before. As a result, all of our favorite backcountry trails have turned to sheets of slick ice after warm days and cold nights. So, until it snows again, our only skijor option is the groomed upper elevation trails of Breckenridge Nordic Center. But, one option is better than none! So off to the nordic center we went this morning...

We went zipping by Kathy's Viewpoint Warming Hut:

"Who needs a warming hut? Not us!" says the flying duo.

We kept on zipping past the Hallelujah Warming Hut:

"Still not interested in a silly warming hut! Floor it!" says the speedy kids.

With all that zooming around, did we ever stop? Well, one thing can bring Jack & Rudy to a halt: MOOSE! While we did not see a moose today, we did encounter some fresh smelling moose prints on the trail. Apparently moose like groomie zoomie trails too :)

Jack's nose & head firmly planted in a fresh smelling moose footprint.
Rudy inspecting another moose footprint.
Look in the lower left (just below Rudy) and you can see another moose
footprint in the trail. Look just below Jack's head (almost the center of the
photo) and you can see yet another footprint between Jack & Rudy.
I'm told by my pals that these were very fresh smelling :)

Once done inspecting the moose prints and it was off to the races again. Come along for a great video clip of the action as we topped 22 MPH along this stretch. About 28 seconds into this clip and we come upon a right or left option in the trail. 90% of the time we take this right turn. But, today, the trail was in better condition to the left. So, I call out a "Left" then "Forward" to get the team going the non-traditional direction at this intersection. Good listeners :)

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

We also had to turnaround at one point along the outing. We first drifted off trail into the side snow and then the comedians did their usual Stop, Drop and Roll!

"Rub a dub dub!" goes snow rolling Jack.
"Ah, I love rolling snow angels!" adds blissful Rudy.

Finally, back to the busy trailhead (this is the only useable cross country ski trail right now) and it was time to get in close for end of run treats:

"You have my full attention!" declares focused Jack.
"This is a close as I can get without climbing on you!" adds tightly packed in Rudy.

A fun nordic zooming day: 8.8 miles traveled with 900 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 22 MPH.

2024/2025 Season to Date: 9 days on the trails covering 71.9 miles with 6600 feet of elevation climbed.