Heavy Workout

Look at what we awoke to find this morning!!!

Yes, that is the Breckenridge Ski Resort snow stake which measures 24 hour
new snow at mid-mountain on the resort. Yes, that is about 11 inches of new
snow on May 12th!!!!

The forecast did call for snow overnight last night, but nobody expected this much! With such a surprise on the Breck snow stake, we headed to the trails on Peak 7. These trails are very close to the snow stake. We start a little lower in elevation than the snow stake and then go higher than the stake on the way up. So, we found about 8 inches of fresh snow at our starting point and over a foot at our highest point. The only drawback? Well it was very heavy & wet snow as is typical for the middle of May. Not a problem, Jack & Rudy can power through heavy & wet snow, it is just quite the fun workout!

Nearing our highest point of the morning as we are breaking trail in over
12 inches of fresh, but heavy & wet, snow at this point!

Along the way, a moose had crossed the trail and headed into the trees. Jack & Rudy thought we should too :)

"Moose went this way! We should too!" says the silly moosers.
The real trail goes up the left side of this photo, I had to convince my pals
to return to the real trail and abandon following the moose into the trees :)

With such heavy & wet snow, we did an "out & back" route today so that we could reuse our out tracks on the way back. An out & back means you have to turn around, right? Well, that does not go unnoticed by Jack & Rudy :)

At first I thought the kids were going to simply turnaround and go.
But, no, we all turned around and then did our turnaround comedy for the day.
"Turnaround, roll around!" goes always rolling Jack.
"Turnaround, woos abound!" adds singing Rudy.

Then, as planned, we picked up the speed using our "out tracks" on the way back. But, with only our single out tracks and the wetness & heaviness of the snow, it was still a real workout on the way back!

Fun kids pulling strong as we reuse our out tracks on the way back.

How much work on the return? Well, come along and see for yourself. Jack & Rudy are running hard in our out tracks but, as you can see, it was still quite the workout. Fun & powerful kids!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

It was heavy & wet, but still quite the treat, especially for mid-May, right guys?

"Oh, we had a BLAST and those end of run treats are going to taste great!" says
the focused & happy kids at the end of the day.

A wonderful mid-May workout: 5.7 miles traveled with 700 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 18 MPH.

2023/2024 Season to Date: 149 days on the trails covering 1257.2 miles with 124,800 feet of elevation climbed.

Nice Up High

Check out the incredible conditions "up high" on the Harrison Creek trail at Rabbit Ears Pass:

October 4th? Really? Pinch me :)
Beautiful snow as we follow a snowmobile trail through the forest.

Ok, now before you jump in your car for a road trip to Harrison Creek, let me temper your enthusiasm. As incredible as the previous photo looks, here's what we encountered on the way to the nice snow up high...

(1) Wide water crossings.... Large (partially frozen) puddles dominated the terrain for the first 1/3 of the outing.

Just enough snow & ice to cross this large puddle to the right.

(2) Narrow "ribbons of death"... Narrow patches of snow weaving through ice & water on both sides of us dominated the terrain for the middle 1/3 of the outing.

Just close your eyes and let Max & Zorro guide you through - they will ALWAYS avoid water
and keep me on the most suitable terrain.

Ok, "enthusiasm tempered", now back to the incredible conditions for the upper 1/3 of the outing. Watch today's short & fun video clip of immaculate conditions up high for October 4th...

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

It was well worth the sketchy conditions down low to get onto the perfect conditions up high. As a bonus, we were treated to bear tracks along the way. It is only early/late season (Oct or May/Jun) that we get to inspect bear tracks on the trail:

Max's nose in a bear track (Zorro's too, but you cannot see his nose).
Another bear track to the left of my ski tip.
"Sniff, sniff - we don't get this nose treat often!" say the track inspecting pair.

Sketchy down low, narrow in the middle and perfect up high: 8.4 miles traveled with 800 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 18 MPH.

2017/2018 Season to Date: 2 days on the trails covering 17.2 miles with 1900 feet of elevation climbed.

Last Sally Barber

Our last run on the Sally Barber Mine Trail this season.

Fun run but sad to see Sally Barber drying up...

Love this fun interaction between Max & Zorro at our turnaround point of the morning:

"You sure roll a lot of snow angels. You been 'sippin the sauce'?!?" asks Zorro to snow
rolling Max. "Ah, feels so good, you should try it!!!" responds funny Max.

Here's the sad evidence as to why Sally Barber is done for the season:

Barely enough snow to go and temperatures were above freezing this morning and should
top 60F today. This narrow strip will probably be all dirt tomorrow (along with many
other sections that looked similar to this).

But, if you get past the dwindling snow at the lower elevation trailheads, it was still very nice up higher. As we crested at Sally Barber Mine, the terrain was all snow with a solid crust that could hold our weight! Wheeee!

Cruising by Sally Barber Mine. So nice up high but all the trailhead entrances will be
void of snow tomorrow.

At Sally Barber Mine, you can connect onto a narrow side trail called "Trail of Tears". This is a fun trail albeit extremely narrow through the trees. It takes a lot of trust in the team to skijor this trail!

This really is the trail as we weave through tight trees touring the forest.

We cut this morning's outing short due to rising temperatures. A short but still very fun time had by all: 6.4 miles traveled with 600 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 18 MPH.

2016/2017 Season to Date: 146 days on the trails covering 1223.5 miles with 130,100 feet of elevation climbed.

Woo

Fun day laying fresh tracks on narrow backcountry trails!

Weaving through the trees on a tight trail. About 2/3 of the outing found us on
narrow backcountry terrain like this - fun!

You have probably noticed by now that Max is famous for "rolling snow angels" on our skijor outings. Occasionally Zorro joins in, but Max is almost guaranteed to roll at least one snow angel per outing. This morning Zorro decided he wanted to take lead in rolling snow angels. Well, Max objected :)

"Woooooo - whoooo gave you permission to roll snow angels first?!?!?" woos Max at Zorro
when he stopped us all on the trail to roll a snow angel.

When it comes to "snow angels", Max has short term memory :)

"I'm stopping to roll angels, I'm the lead dog, rub a dub dub!!!" demonstrates silly Max.
"Talk about the 'pot calling the kettle black'! I got wooed at for doing this!" says all business
Zorro waiting for Max so we can get restarted on the trail.

In between snow rolls and woos, we did do some skijoring :)

We toured the seldom used backcountry trails connecting Baldy Mountain to Boreas Mountain. This is a fun sequence of narrow trails winding through dense trees.

Laying fresh tracks all morning long!

Eventually we landed on Boreas Mountain and then it was time to drop out of the forest and onto the wide Boreas Trail at Bakers Tank:

Still laying fresh tracks as we transition from "tight trees" to "open trails" at Bakers Tank.

I wonder what Max would say if I stopped to roll a snow angel? Maybe I'll have to try :)  8.9 miles traveled with 900 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 18 MPH.

2016/2017 Season to Date: 138 days on the trails covering 1156.6 miles with 122900 feet of elevation climbed.

Snowing

It was snowing & blowing on Rabbit Ears Pass so Max & Zorro were happily going :)

Nice shot of sprinting Max & Zorro with heavy falling and blowing snow all around us.

The forecast called for "light snow and occasional wind" at Rabbit Ears this morning.

Instead, mother nature brought heavy falling snow with constant 20 MPH winds and 40+ MPH gusts. So much for the forecast....

No complaints here, though, as Max & Zorro thought the conditions were exceptional. Fresh snow on the ground and heavy falling snow all around - a Siberian's dream come true:

Nice shot of Max kicking up powder around himself as you can see all the big snowflakes
against the trees.

How about a little video to showcase the morning's conditions. Come along as we are laying fresh tracks in 2-4 inches of powder with snow falling and blowing all around us. You'll also see the occasional deep "wind drift" for Max & Zorro to plow through. What snow fun!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Okay, snowing + blowing + temps below 20 F. That's cold, right?

"Oh man, must roll snow angels to cool off!" demonstrates silly Max.
"Really? Why are we stopping?!?" asks Zorro.

A little later in the outing and role reversal:

"You were right, must roll in snow to cool my jets!" shows silly Zorro.
"Really? I would never cause us to stop for such silly antics!" declares Max.

A great outing with active falling & blowing snow laying fresh tracks and plowing through wind drifts for 8.4 miles with 900 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 18 MPH.

2016/2017 Season to Date: 124 days on the trails covering 1032.9 miles with 109,500 feet of elevation climbed.

April Freshies

Laying fresh tracks in 4-6 inches of new snow in April! Yay!

Nice shot of "sprint tucked Max" and "sprint stretched Zorro" as we bounce up & down
laying fresh tracks.

We did a lollipop route on Rabbit Ears Pass this morning meaning we were laying fresh tracks out (lollipop stick), then laying fresh tracks around a large loop (the lollipop) and finally running in our original tracks back (repeating the lollipop stick). As a result, we were laying fresh tracks in the day's new snow for about 2/3 of the outing. What an April treat!

Galloping along on the "out path" as you can see powder kicking up around Zorro whereas Max
is above the snow in his gallop.

It is hard to get an appreciation for the day's powder in the previous sprinting shots. So, here is a good view on a section of trail where we slowed to a gentle trot:

Untouched snow as far as you can see in front of us with Max & Zorro's 4-6 inch deep
footprints behind them.

Interesting observation from the first two photos versus the next photo. In the first two you might think Max & Zorro are out of sync as one is in a tuck while the other in a stretch. But, after watching them for years, I am convinced this is actually their "sync pattern" for complex terrain. They will often get in a perfectly alternating tuck vs stretch with one another when the terrain is complex. It is like they are balancing one another with the terrain. Yet, when the terrain gets smooth, they are typically back to synchronized sprints:

Synchronized sprinters as we are on smoother terrain running in the tracks we laid on the
out direction of the lollipop stick.

How nice was the fresh powder? Well...

"Nice enough to BURY my entire head!" shows silly snow rolling Max.
"Nice enough to lay fresh tracks forever!" says route planning Zorro.

An April treat laying fresh tracks almost all day long: 7.7 miles traveled with 700 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 18 MPH.

2016/2017 Season to Date: 119 days on the trails covering 994.8 miles with 105,600 feet of elevation climbed.

Fresh Loop

Doesn't Max's face look absolutely content while rolling a snow angel!

"Completely 'at peace' with my elements!" displays snow rolling Max.
"Me too! You just cannot see my face!" adds snow rolling Zorro.

We had a very serene glide through the forest this morning. We skijored a large loop through trees and open meadows which found us laying fresh tracks in 1-3 inches of new snow all morning long. We did not encounter another soul all day - just my partners and I gliding all over the terrain.

Laying fresh tracks as we wind through one of the dense sections of trees.

When we encountered open meadows with a stiff spring crust, we would open up the throttle and speed along - wheeee!

Galloping along as Max & Zorro leave their footprints in the morning's fresh snow.

We got to one point in the trail and Max & Zorro's "wildlife radar" fired and they had intense interest in the trees to our left. I noticed we were ahead of our scheduled end time, so I let them take me off the main trail and follow their noses into the trees. We did not find the source of their intensity; but not from a lack of trying :)

"Oh boy - he agreed to our 'left' request! Let's go hunting!!!" say the intense pair on full alert
to follow their noses into the trees.

A peaceful day laying fresh tracks on a loop around the forest: 8.4 miles traveled with 1000 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 18 MPH.

2016/2017 Season to Date: 114 days on the trails covering 953.7 miles with 101,300 feet of elevation climbed.

How Dry

Just "how dry" has this March been? Well, dry enough that the trails are packed hard enough (from lack of new snow) that the joggers are out! Egad!

"Dude - your feet are not properly equipped!" states concerned Zorro.
"Joggers? JOGGERS?!? I refuse to look & acknowledge it!" say in-denial Max.

Typically March is one of the snowiest months for Colorado. But we've had barely a few inches of new snow as of today, March 22nd! March is supposed to alternate between "warm spring days" and "heavy snowfall"; yet all we have really had is "warm spring days" so far. We are praying the last week of March has some good correction to this abnormal pattern!

Anyway, back to today's outing. We skijored up & down Boreas Pass with the following conditions: (1) awful down low - barely any snow and even down to dirt a few times; (2) just enough snow, but choppy conditions, to skijor gently in the mid elevations; and (3) wonderful up high. If only we could start up high....

Cruising by Bakers Tank on the nice, upper terrain:

Wheeee - so nice up high!

But, in the mid elevations, exposed ground was everywhere and, although there was enough snow to ski, we had to keep the speed down due to choppy terrain.

Breckenridge Ski Resort coming into view across the valley.
Snow giving way to exposed ground to our left - eek!
Choppiness on the existing snow - keep it to a gentle jog...

Despite less than ideal conditions down low, it was "toes on snow"....

"I'll take this over 'no snow' any day!" says happy Max.
"It still tastes good too!" demonstrates Zorro chomping down on a snowcone.

A gentle jog up & down Boreas Pass: 9.1 miles traveled with 850 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 18 MPH.

2016/2017 Season to Date: 109 days on the trails covering 909.8 miles with 96,600 feet of elevation climbed.

Freshies

Kicking up powder far back in French Gulch - wheeee!

Kicking up powder all around Max & Zorro as they hop & tow me through an untouched 2 feet
of snow. POW!

It was a cold morning, so that must have been what kept people at home as we got to French Gulch on the early side and found a layer of fresh snow all to ourselves!

There was about 1-2 inches of new snow on the well-traveled lower section of French Gulch:

Laying fresh tracks in the morning's new snow in lower French Gulch. Fun!

The 1-2 inches in lower French Gulch turned into 3-5 in mid & upper French Gulch:

Untouched snow as far as the eye can see as we lay freshies in 3-4 inches here. Wheeee!

Finally, as we transitioned out of French Gulch and started towards French Pass, it was DEEP! We skijored up one path through the trees and then came back down another path. Max & Zorro were having a great time hopping and towing me through roughly 2 feet of untouched powder. What a "powder cache"!

My trail breakers having a blast plowing through the deep snow. They love "powder plowing"!

From laying fresh tracks to breaking trail - what a powder day! 8.3 miles traveled with 900 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 18 MPH.

2016/2017 Season to Date: 93 days on the trails covering 769.0 miles with 83,400 feet of elevation climbed.

Cruising Boreas

A peaceful morning cruising up & down Boreas Pass with Max & Zorro:

Gliding by Bakers Tank, about halfway up Boreas. The tank is a relic from the 1800s when
Boreas Pass had a railroad track connecting Breckenridge to Denver.

Conditions were "nice up high" and "delicate down low" as we have been in a heatwave for February the last few days. Our definition of heat wave is temperatures in the 30s/40s (F) with 2 straight days of no temperatures below freezing! Max & Zorro smartly put themselves into a gentle trot all morning long - you do not want to go too fast and overheat (and, thus, end the run early) on such hot days. Smart guys!

Usually we get a great photo of Breckenridge Ski Resort from Boreas. Not today, though, as we had low clouds with developing snow. But, we'll take it - we need to get the weather back to winter-like!

Rounding a corner that has incredible views of the ski resort on sunny days. Today the tops
of the mountains are hidden by low clouds and developing snow. But, you can make out a
few of the ski runs cut into the trees on the mountains across the valley.

Today's "interesting photo shot"... It has been incredibly windy the last few days with wind gusts topping 80 MPH and approaching 100 MPH. So, below is an interesting shot of the trail covered in red dirt! The wind has been so strong that it is eroding the rock wall to our right and depositing the red erosion on the snow. That is some strong wind!

It's still perfectly ski-able, just looks weird as we glide over a red dusting across the trail.

A little warm for our liking; but it was "toes on snow" and that is all that matters:

"Exactly! If there is snow, we go!" say my happy partners looking back at me at after a short
pause on the trail.

A gentle glide up & down Boreas this morning: 9.1 miles traveled with 900 feet of elevation climbed and a mild top speed of 18 MPH.

2016/2017 Season to Date: 79 days on the trails covering 640.6 miles with 69,300 feet of elevation climbed.

Ski Resort

Nice view of Breckenridge Ski Resort across the valley from us as we skijor the mountain across from the resort. 

Nice view of the ski runs carved in peaks 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 of Breckenridge Ski Resort.

We had a great morning touring the forest and gliding by old, abandoned mining cabins. Zorro has a fascination with all such cabins, he cannot trot or run by without inspecting them intensely. Max can take them or leave them, he'd rather keep going :)

Trotting by one of the cabins on the outing. Notice Zorro's ears turned to align his head
and eyes to inspect the cabin. Such a funny & nosey little guy!

Comical moment of the outing... We were skijoring along at a nice pace when suddenly Zorro's head snapped to the left. Typically only a moose or some similar type of interesting wildlife can snap either Max or Zorro like this. I quickly started a snowplow as I swung my head left - completely expecting to find moose to our left. But, alas, I did not see a thing nor did Max feel the need to snap his attention left either. False alarm Zorro :)

"Left, left - something to the left!" demonstrates silly Zorro snapping his head left
without breaking skijoring stride!

Fun morning - just ask Max & Zorro:

"So much fun this morning!" exclaims happy Max.
"I'm having a blast!" says happy Zorro.
Unfortunately Zorro was close to my leg, so he is almost cropped out of the photo.
But, you can see both HAPPY faces. Such fun partners.

A peaceful day gliding through the forest with great views of Breckenridge Ski Resort from all the open sections of trail: 8.4 miles traveled with 1200 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 18 MPH.

2016/2017 Season to Date: 72 days on the trails covering 577.1 miles with 61,900 feet of elevation climbed.

Track Tracks

Laying fresh tracks in 2-4 inches of new snow over an old snowmobile track all morning long. Fun!

You can barely make out the old snowmobile track. But we found it and followed it, laying
fresh tracks in it, all morning long. Such fun!

It was snowing during our entire outing. It is amazing how "white flakes on a white background" can hide how much it was actively snowing! Here we are trotting by one of Zorro's favorite "old abandoned mining cabins"...

Look at all the white on Zorro's black fur. You can also see white covering Max's back. It really
was snowing (hard at times) even though you cannot see the "white on white" flakes in this
photo.

The following photo shows it really was snowing all morning long :)

Snow blur over Zorro, snow blur over the tree to Max's right. Two big flakes in the upper
left of the photo. You get the idea...

Most of the day's footage looked like the previous photo - various snow blurred spots all over the camera. No complaints here, new snow is always welcome - just ask Max:

"Aaahhh, love it! Love rolling in fresh new snow!" demonstrates silly Max.
"I'm ready to go, anybody else available?" asks all-business Zorro, lined up and ready to go.

Laying fresh tracks in an old, snow-covered snowmobile track all morning long: 8.1 miles traveled with 1100 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 18 MPH.

2016/2017 Season to Date: 54 days on the trails covering 418.2 miles with 43,800 feet of elevation climbed.