Dives

Another wonderful day skijoring with Jack & Rudy in soft snowmobile tracks atop Rabbit Ears Pass!

Whee! Zipping along! I am in a serious ski tuck to keep pace, thus the reason
you can see so much of the carabiner in the lower right of this photo.

We started on the Harrison Creek Trail at Rabbit Ears as was the case yesterday. But, a few miles in and we got to a junction. Yesterday we went straight at the junction, today we turned right to mix it up. As with yesterday, this was still an "out & back" route. So, we had to turnaround at some point. You know what that means from Jack & Rudy:

"Turnaround! Roll around!" goes the snow rolling sillies to cool
themselves off before turning and restarting :)

On the way back, those pesky "rodents under the snow" apparently were very active and caught Rudy's attention. So, off Rudy went rodent diving off trail and into the deep snow. Jack, of course, was quick to follow (with his typical "rodent lunge" versus Rudy's high arching dives).

"I sense rodents! Incoming!" says rodent diving Rudy.
"What? Really? Well I'll certainly join too!" adds Jack.

Today, instead of my usual video highlight showcasing hard working/running Jack & Rudy, I will expose the comedians. Come along for today's episode of diving & dunking and diving & dunking again from the silly kids determined to find one of those rodents under the snow! Goofballs :)

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Ok, comedy interlude over and it was back to Jack & Rudy the professional sled dogs:

Whee, back to "normal"!

Back to the trailhead and a nice snow wall to climb for end of run treats:

"We heard you laughing! You loved our rodent dive comedy event!" says
the happy kids very proud of their performance on the trail today :)

A nice day for following soft snowmobile tracks and, apparently, a nice day to dive off trail in search of rodents under the snow: 8.7 miles traveled with 800 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 19 MPH.

2024/2025 Season to Date: 21 days on the trails covering 164.8 miles with 16,100 feet of elevation climbed.

Postcard Shot

Wonderful shot of super happy Jack & Rudy towing me to the finish of this morning's skijor:

"Wheeee! Winter has finally arrived! Wheeee!" exclaims the happy kids.

While the prior photo is really nice, that is not the "postcard shot" for which this blog entry it titled. It has been cloudy and snowing every day since last Sunday. Normally, I'd be bummed to not see the sun for a week. But, with the bone dry October we had, I was thrilled to skip the sun for 7 days in favor of daily snowfall instead. Well, today the sky opened for the first time in a week and we got this beautiful postcard shot of Breckenridge Ski Resort across the valley from us:

Jack & Rudy providing a postcard shot of Breckenridge Ski Resort.

Come along for today's video highlight as we started the outing in the morning shade on backcountry trails in Dry Gulch. As the snow base is not very deep yet, you'll notice all of Jack, Rudy and I bouncing around a bit as we navigate over somewhat bumpy terrain. But, we'll take a "bounce & glide" in the backcountry over no snow at all any day :)

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Along the way, Rudy wanted to make sure I heard his exclamation of pleasure to be back on snow after a long summer and early fall:

"CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW!" belts Rudy wooing as close to my ear as
he could get (I was kneeling adjusting my equipment).
I always love how Jack could care less about Rudy's conversations, he's
got snow angels to roll, after all :)

Then, on the way back to the trailhead to finish the day and it was time to awe and inspire the onlooking crowds.

A group of snowshoers pausing to watch impressive Jack & Rudy tow me
as they fly on by. Wheeee!

Finally, our tallest snow wall for end of run treats yet this early 2024/2025 skijor season. I didn't have to slouch or kneel at all, just let Jack & Rudy climb a tall wall right up to my level :)

"We'll happily climb to you! Now how about those treats?!?!?" says the
snow wall comedians.

Fun day on backcountry terrain: 8.8 miles traveled with 700 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 19 MPH.

2024/2025 Season to Date: 6 days on the trails covering 47.7 miles with 4400 feet of elevation climbed.

Success

Happy boys at one of our "trail junctions" this morning!

"I'm having a blast!" declares ecstatic Zorro.
"Me too! Can we go this way?!?" adds happy Jack.

We took a calculated risk this morning and boy did it pay off. The risk? Well, deciding to try and skijor the French Gulch Trail. Why a risk? Well, some rude people have moved into the gulch the last few years and they PLOW the trail when it snows too much. Ugh! The "calculated risk"? Well, it has been snowing on & off the past few days but never a heavy & deep dump. I figured the gulch should be driven but not plowed. It has to cost these rude people a fortune to plow the entire trail (the county will not do it for them, they are footing the bill themselves). So, with a few days of light fresh snow, why would you waste money on plowing when you can drive it with a capable 4WD vehicle?

What did we find? Success!!!! Just as I hoped, the lower sections of French Gulch had been driven but not plowed. Nothing wrong with that as tire tracks simply make a packed & almost groomed trail for Zorro and Jack. See for yourself below:

"This is a 'groomie zoomie' to me!" says Zorro sprinting in the tire track.
"Middle powder for me!!! Wheeee!' demonstrates fun Jack ignoring the tracks and
having fun running the powder between the tracks.

In fact, the condition of the gulch far exceeded all of our expectations. We got to skijor the full range of conditions. First was the "fast packed" lower terrain you see in the prior photo.

Second was a narrow single track in the mid gulch (once you got past the rude people's cabin):

Running in a set single track barely 2 sled dogs wide. You've gotta like your brother to
run shoulder-to-shoulder this narrow :)

Third was out-skiing all existing tracks and finding ourselves breaking trail in 12+ inches of powder in the upper gulch! Wow!

No humans have made it this far - sled dogs making the trail :)

Fourth was taking a detour off French Gulch to flirt with tourists on the Sally Barber Trail. Young Jack is still learning the "on by" concept with people & dogs; but he is really "getting it":

"Just follow my lead." demonstrates all business Zorro.
"Hi folks! Are you having as much fun as me?!?" asks fun Jack as he trots by.
As usual, all smiles from the tourists seeing the crazy guy getting towed by sled
dogs on skis!

For today's video highlight - back to the "calculated risk success". Come along as we skijor tire tracks and shallow middle & side powder in French Gulch. Wheeee!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

I was hoping to get a 10+ mile outing with the big boys. But, we were happily slowed by narrow single tracks and breaking trail in the mid and upper gulch: 9.3 miles traveled with 800 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 19 MPH.

2018/2019 Season to Date: 23 days on the trails covering 122.5 miles with 11,000 feet of elevation climbed.

Rec Path

Skijoring the "Blue River Rec Path" from Breckenridge to Frisco this morning. Fun time!!!

Flying Zorro in the middle with sprinting Rudy & Jack hanging off his left & right sides. Zoom.

The Blue River Rec Path connects Breckenridge to Frisco for bikes in the summer. But, last winter the parks department started grooming the path to connect Breckenridge to Frisco for skis in the winter. The rec path is the PERFECT training ground for young Rudy. It is basically downhill from Breckenridge to Frisco so the rec path is almost exclusively downhill or flat.

Our training pattern with Rudy is the same as we did with Jack at this age: we skijor 30 minutes with a minimum of 2 extended breaks as part of that 30 minutes. The result of this training pattern on the easy rec path: we skijored 4.2 miles with 4 breaks (that's covering 4.2 miles in under 20 minutes). Zoom!

Come along and watch the zoom for yourself in today's short video clip. Wheeee!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

The trail was perfect the majority of the route with one exception - a sketchy bridge crossing:

Yikes - only about 2/3 of the bridge has snow! Luckily everyone knew to slow down to
make sure the human on skis made it across.

Why 4 breaks in today's short run? Well, the rec path crosses roads 4 times...

"Check both ways before crossing!" demonstrates smart Zorro.
"You sure we have to stop and take the skis off?" ask young Jack & Rudy.

Another road crossing and we are stopped for me to put the skis back on:

"Having a blast!' states happy Zorro.
"Fun, fun, fun!" adds happy Jack.
"Let me know WHEN you are FINALLY ready to restart!" says silly Rudy ignoring the slow human.

End of the fast & fun run and time for end of run pork treats:

"You have our attention!" says the focused trio :)

What a perfect training route: 4.2 miles traveled with a top speed of 19 MPH.

2018/2019 Season to Date: 21 days on the trails covering 109.5 miles with 9950 feet of elevation climbed.

Fresh and First

Taking a break in deep powder as we scan the forest for moose.

Come out, come out wherever you are!!!

The meadow in front of us is a known moose habitat and Zorro & Jack KNOW it!!!
"We smell you, where are you?!?!?!" ask the moose scanning pair.

It was a great day of skijoring as we were laying fresh tracks in 2-4 inches of snow on backcountry trails and setting first tracks on perfect terrain in the groomed country. Beautiful mix of perfect conditions all day long!

We had 2-4 inches of new snow overnight, so we started the day laying fresh tracks in the new snow:

Zorro kicking up powder all around him while Jack is gliding through too! Fun!

After laying fresh tracks in the backcountry, we connected with the groomed trails of Gold Run Nordic Center. We were first tracks on the newly groomed trail - zoom!

Flying Siberians along the freshly groomed trail!

Back to the start of the day - come along and watch as Zorro & Jack are galloping through 2-4 inches of new snow as I glide behind. Love laying fresh tracks!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Of course Jack rolled snow angels during our quick midpoint break.

"You are silly, silly, silly!" comments Zorro.
"But... You LOVE skijoring with meeeeeee!" adds Jack mid snow angel.
"Ok, I do, but you are still SILLY!" replies Zorro :)

Finally, a rare "puppy moment" from wily old Zorro. Jack dove off trail to hunt for rodents in the deep snow. Typically Zorro will simply roll his eyes at such "puppy behavior"; but today the rodents must have been 'fresh' as Zorro quickly leapt over Jack to dunk for rodents too!

Headless rodent hunters :)

Fresh tracks, first tracks and comedy in between: 9.2 miles traveled with 900 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 19 MPH.

2018/2019 Season to Date: 14 days on the trails covering 74.1 miles with 7000 feet of elevation climbed.

Nordic Cruising

10+ miles of skijoring at Breckenridge Nordic Center this morning! Woo Hoo!

"Whew, this is FUN!" declares happy Jack resting at our midpoint break of the outing.
"Stay with me kid, I'll show you how to pace yourself for mile & miles & miles!" declares Zorro.

A big day for young Jack as we are early in his first season of real skijoring - his first 10+ mile skijor (10.2 miles) and his fastest speed yet of 19 MPH. Now that the condition are great, I foresee 20+ MPH in the near future! Go Jack Go!

As usual, Jack was rolling snow angels before we even got started! Silly Boy!

"I'm ready to go if anyone else cares to join me!" declares all-business Zorro.
"Don't care if we haven't even started yet - rub a dub dub!" demonstrates silly Jack.

We started on a narrow single track winding through the forest:

Tight, shoulder-to-shoulder as we glide the narrow track through the forest.

The reward for traversing the single track was to connect to the Breckenridge Nordic Center and open up the skijoring throttle - zoom!

Great view of the flying Siberians in front of me and the snow covered Rockies to our right!

Come along as we cruise the fast groomed terrain at Breckenridge Nordic Center. Wheeee!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Eventually we exhausted all terrain at the nordic center and checked the snow off the groomed trail. Too deep to get to 10 miles so we turned around and repeated the groomed loop.

"Ok, let's repeat the groomed fast track!" suggests happy Zorro.
"Hehe, deep off the trail! But, yeah, let's repeat the groomie zoomie!" adds happy Jack.

An impressive outing for young Jack (and veteran Zorro too :) - 10.2 miles traveled with 950 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 19 MPH.

2018/2019 Season to Date: 12 days on the trails covering 62.3 miles with 6000 feet of elevation climbed.

Perfect

Absolutely perfect conditions to skijor Walton Peak at Rabbit Ears Pass this morning.

Is it really May? :)

Zorro and Jack catching air as you see a perfect spring crusts as far as the eye can see!

We knew there was enough snow to skijor Walton Peak this morning; but we were beyond ecstatic to find a hard crust to skijor any path we chose! With temperatures rising every afternoon, you never know whether the snow will re-harden over night or if you'll find punchy or slushy conditions. Well, today was PERFECT as the temps cooled enough last night to make a solid spring crust to support our weight all morning long. Fun...

But, it is spring, so temperatures rise every day. You know what that means Jack will do during any break, right? Snow angels...

"This little bro is goofy!" says happy Zorro at one of our two breaks.
"Aw man, must roll and cool my jets!" declares silly Jack.

On to today's video highlight. Come along as we make our own path to sprint & glide all over Walton Peak at the top of Rabbit Ears Pass. What a perfect spring crust!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

We continue to take 2 breaks every outing as we are training and growing young Jack. Second break, same as the first...

"Goofy I tell you, this kid is goofy!" states happy Zorro.
"Hehe, haha, hoho!" adds silly Jack as he is just finishing rolling another snow angel.

End of the day's run and time to try and get a puppy shot with little Rudy. Unfortunately, Rudy kept aligning himself in between Zorro and Jack and was not visible during most of our "end of run" treats. But, here is one shot where you can at least see him :)

Focused, just focused! Three sled dogs very focused on their end of run treats.

A great day with a perfect spring crust all outing long: 3.1 miles traveled with 400 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 19 MPH.

2017/2018 Season to Date: 51 days on the trails covering 329.3 miles with 31,700 feet of elevation climbed.

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Ski Resort

Young Jack's first "hover husky" shot alongside Zorro as we skijored Breckenridge Ski Resort this morning. Quite impressive, Jack!

Zorro and Jack catching air as they are synchronized flying along the fast & groomed terrain!
Impressive!!!

It had become a tradition with Max, Zorro and I: we would "skijor Breckenridge Ski Resort" within a few days of its annual closing every year. Well, yesterday was closing day for the ski resort, so this morning we introduced young Jack to our annual tradition. Boy did we have a blast!

The beauty of skijoring the ski resort soon after closing is that the trails would have been recently groomed and not too chopped up and/or icy yet. But, this morning we found a real treat: the ski resort had run a groomer up the main trail from Beaver Run to Ten Mile Station. We were first tracks on the fresh "groomie zoomie"! You can see how beautiful the groomed trail was in the first photo.

Of course, we are still doing short runs with young Jack so our outing was to skijor from Beaver Run up to Ten Mile Station and then down to the Maggie. Turning around at Ten Mile Station, everybody having a good time?

"Oh yes, oh yes! We are having a blast!!!" declare my happy pair as I call out time to stop
and turn around at Ten Mile Station.

Coming back down and a fun shot of the galloping sled dogs, a ski lift above us and the Beaver Run Conference Center coming into view to our left.

Zoom, zoom, fun fun!!!

A fresh groomie zoomie on fast downhill trails and guess what happened? Jack hit his top speed of his young life: 19 MPH! Wow, I did not think we would hit this speed until Jack was much older (Zorro, of course, can top 20-24 MPH regularly, but we keep our speeds to Jack's limit right now). Come along and watch as we topped 19 MPH somewhere in this video clip. Zoom!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Done with the day's fun run and we gathered puppy Rudy to join in for our "end of run" treats. It is safe to say Zorro and Jack had a GREAT day...

"So much fun, young Jack was a blast today!" exclaims ecstatic Zorro.
"I'm a sled dog! I'm a sled dog!" exclaims happy Jack.
"Treats? Did someone say 'treats'?!?" asks silly puppy Rudy.

An impressive outing for young Jack on a perfect groomie zoomie trail on Breckenridge Ski Resort: 2.75 miles traveled with 700 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 19 MPH.

2017/2018 Season to Date: 48 days on the trails covering 321.2 miles with 30,300 feet of elevation climbed.

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Crest & Go

Cresting the trail at Sally Barber Mine as Zorro kicks it into overdrive to fly down the front side of the trail. Wheeee!

Sally Barber Mine to the left with a nice patch of sun to show off sprint-tucked speedy Zorro :)

Sally Barber is a popular cross county ski destination in Breckenridge, so the trail is typically wide, packed and fast (especially when it has been many days since fresh snow). Come along with Zorro on the Sally Barber Sprint Track as we crest the trail at the mine and take off skijoring the front side of the trail. Zoom!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Zorro and I skijored 3 trails yesterday morning (Sally Barber, Trail of Tears and Weber Gulch) before arriving near the bottom of Sally Barber to pickup Jack for our usual "group finish" to the morning's skijor. We got to practice a new command with Jack - ignoring people on the trail and skijoring on by. This is a hard one for a nosey puppy who typically wants to stop and flirt with everyone and everything! But, with my verbal encouragement and Zorro's forward guidance, Jack executed a perfect on-by as we flew past a pair of people on the trail. What a good boy!

"Wheeee - come with meeeee!" says Zorro flying by the on lookers.
"Really? Ok, I'll fly by too!" demonstrates little Jack barely slowing down as he gives the
on lookers a quick glance as he flies by too!
Love the smiles on the faces - who couldn't smile at a flying Zorro and zipping Jack :)

Great day flying all over the trails near Sally Barber Mine, right Zorro?

"Yes, yes, fun indeed! I love the trails around this mine!!!!" exclaims happy Zorro at a
turnaround point on the trails.

Fast & fun day with Zorro topped with a perfect on-by from Jack: 7.1 miles traveled with 700 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 19 MPH.

2017/2018 Season to Date: 15 days on the trails covering 105.4 miles with 9600 feet of elevation climbed.

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Freshies and Zoomies

Having a blast skijoring the backcountry trails on peaks 6 and 7 near Breckenridge Ski Resort.

Just ask Zorro!

"Why YES! I am having a blast!!!!" exclaims happy Zorro at our midpoint of the day's outing.

It was a fun day of "freshies and zoomies"!

We started out following a snowmobile track on Peak 7. But, after a short distance, the snowmobile veered left towards the ski resort while Zorro and I had plans to go right. What did we find to the right? Well, miles & miles of untouched terrain as we found ourselves laying fresh tracks in 2-4 inches of fresh snow for about 3/4 of the day's outing. Fun!

Cruising along as Zorro is laying fresh tracks in 2-4 inches of fresh snow!

After skijoring a large loop through the forest, we reconnected with the snowmobile track higher up on the mountain. You know what that meant... Zoom! Zorro and I had a blast uncorking the skijoring engine along this set track for a fast sprint to the finish.

Zooming along as Zorro opens it up in the set snowmobile tracks.

Put these two activities together (freshies and zoomies) and you get today's fun video clip. Come along as the first 1/2 of the clip has Zorro laying fresh tracks and then the second 1/2 has him opening up the throttle on the set track. Freshies and zoomies...

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

A day of 9's skijoring with Zorro: 9.2 miles traveled with 900 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 19 MPH.

2017/2018 Season to Date: 6 days on the trails covering 43 miles with 4300 feet of elevation climbed.

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Thanks

Showing our thanks and appreciation of this great May snowstorm from last few days:

"Aaaahhhh, fresh May snow to roll in!" demonstrates snow loving & rolling Max.
"Yum, fresh May snow to chomp on!" shows snow loving & eating Zorro.

We returned to French Gulch today as this will be the first trail to lose snow from the storm of the last few days. We've got to make use of one of our favorite trails while it is still alive! Conditions were great far back and up higher in elevation:

Zooming along with just enough new snow to open the throttle.

Today's video highlight is amazing simply because of the fact that we are sprinting along the French Gulch Trail on May 20th. Come along and watch the fun - wheeee!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

One of the main attractions of French Gulch: the search for moose!!!! Only the "scent (or sight) of moose" can bring Max & Zorro to a halt and draw their complete attention off trail. No sighting of moose today, but the following photo shows you the scent was clearly in the air!

"Beep beep - our 'moose radar noses' say they are nearby to the right!" say the moose
seeking sillies.

Okay, now for the grim reality... French Gulch is one of the first trails to die because its entrance is lower elevation (compared to other trails in Breckenridge), it is sun exposed and it can get driven on by the owners of the few private cabins in the gulch. This morning was the official "last day in French Gulch" for this season. While the photo is ugly, we were still excited being able to get an outing on this trail on May 20th and get the upper elevation conditions you saw in the photos & video above.

Yuck... Trail dead.... The skis were still on; but only because Max & Zorro know to go
slow so the human can stay upright on such sketchy terrain.

A May 20th French Gulch Treat: 8 miles traveled with 900 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 19 MPH.

2016/2017 Season to Date: 159 days on the trails covering 1326.7 miles with 140,500 feet of elevation climbed.