Record Season Finale

Yesterday was our final outing of a record setting skijoring season!

Way to go Jack & Rudy!!!!

"We did it! 1444.0 miles traveled! We set the record!" declares the happy kids.

Our record season had been 1433.5 miles traveled with Max & Zorro in 2016/2017. I knew going into this season that Jack & Rudy were primed to give the record a challenge. All we needed was the snow to hold up. Well, despite ending in late May (we often skijor into early/mid June), the impressive kids set a season record for our pack!

Our final outing of the season found us at Buffalo Pass. This location typically has the deepest snowpack in all of Colorado. But, it's a real haul and challenge to get to; thus, we typically do it only once or twice a season. Come along for the highlights of our season finale.

We started out on VERY sketchy conditions with little snow and spans of no snow at all!

Starting up on a narrow ribbon of snow with exposed ground ahead of us.

Why not drive past this point of the trail, you ask? Well, we start out driving up Buffalo Pass until we can drive no further. What happens is we will encounter a very deep (usually shaded) impassable span of snow at some point on the way up. Even with our 4WD Jeep, we will get to an impassible span at some point. So, we must start the skijor from the impasse, even though we know we'll encounter tough & exposed sections like the prior photo on the other side of the impasse.

We also know, though, that the further & higher we go, the better it will get!

Ah, nice deep snow covering the entire trail!
Notice the power in Jack & Rudy as my hands are on my hips as I ride
the Siberian Tow Rope up this stretch of trail.

Along the way, I paused at the location of some of Max and Zorro's ashes. While Jack & Rudy never got the chance to meet special Max, they did learn everything they know about skijoring from wonderful Zorro. As I paused to reflect back on Max & Zorro, Jack and Rudy did their "pause usual" :)

Rolling snow angels in snow over the location of Max and Zorro's ashes.

Then, as expected, we found some incredible conditions up high. Wish there was an easier way to get here, we'd come back every day if so :)

So, so, so nice up high!

Now, come along for our final clip of the season. We are a bit lower in elevation in this clip compared to the prior photo, so we start out cruising along nice albeit soft snow. Then, near the end of the clip, you get to see Jack & Rudy slowing to perfectly navigate me on skis through two narrow passages before opening up the throttle again. Perfect partners!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

We cannot end the season without one final hover husky shot!

Catching air again. Wheeee!

Finally, concluding the season with our final end of run treats. No snow walls to climb this time, it must really be the end of season :)

"We LOVE snow!" declares the cool dudes awaiting end of run treats.

A monster outing to complete the season. You have to make full use of the difficult trek to get on snow at Buffalo Pass: 14 miles traveled with 1100 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 18 MPH.

2022/2023 Season  Total: 164 days on the trails covering 1444.0 miles with 130,600 feet of elevation climbed.

Very Impressive Jack & Rudy! Very Impressive!!!!

See you all in September (we hope) or October for the 2023/2024 Skijor Season beginning.

 

Season Finale

Our final skijor of the 2021/2022 season with a beautiful ride from the top of Buffalo Pass.

1315.4 miles for the season - great job young Jack & Rudy!!!!!

So nice at the top of Buffalo Pass. Yes, this was June 5th with over 5 feet
of snowpack still atop the pass!

Buffalo Pass is always the last pass to have significant snow in Colorado. It is often the location of our last (and sometimes first) skijor of every season. Today was that, a final run up & down Buff Pass to end the season with an impressive 1315.4 miles traveled. 

Once at the top of the pass, we took an opportunity to spread some of Zorro's ashes. Zorro and his love for skijoring and passion for snow is how we discovered Buffalo Pass years ago. Our wonderful mentor and great buddy will appreciated part of him living atop Buff Pass for years to come!

Zorro's ashes coming off my right hand and Jack & Rudy watch the
ashes drift away in the breeze. Miss you Z!!!

Along with great snowpack atop the pass, we also had great stretches of open terrain on the trails near the top. Time to zoom!

Whee we go along an open straightaway near the top of Buff Pass.

Come along for the video counterpart to the prior photos. Yes, the camera (and, thus, me) are bouncing around quite a bit on the choppy terrain. But, it's skijoring in June! You can't beat that.

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Ok, so, why the last run of the season? Well, it's getting harder & harder to reach this snowpack atop the pass with fast melting happening in every direction. We had to climb over 700-800 feet in elevation before the conditions got as nice as you see above. On the approach (up & down), it was soft, melting and slushy:

Soft slush coming up from Jack & Rudy's feet.
All the white dots against the trees are balls of slush flying off the kids too!

Of course, with warm June temperatures, we had lots of snow angels from the kids to cool off! It was in the 40s! Jack & Rudy were melting! :)

Rub-a-dub-dub demonstrates the snow rolling goofballs.

Time to celebrate the end of a bittersweet albeit very fun & successful 2021/2022 season. The great success was Jack & Rudy surpassing 1300 miles of skijoring (and having their third straight season with over 1200 miles). The bittersweet sorrow was losing our super fun elder and original skijor mentor,  Zorro,  on  May 20, 2022.  We sure miss you Zorro!

"Z would really have appreciated this June 5th on snow!" declares
happy Jack & Rudy.,

The tally from yesterday's last run of the season: 9.3 miles traveled with 1000 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 20 MPH.

Final 2021/2022 Season Totals: 158 days on the trails covering 1315.4 miles with a top speed of 27 MPH and 123,300 feet of elevation climbed.

Perfect Plan

Beautiful views to our right as we gallop along in a snowmobile track between Rabbit Ears Pass and Buffalo Pass!

Cruising along! The white patch you see down to our right are the
shores of Dumont Lake at the top of Rabbit Ears Pass. Yes, we
are this high above Rabbit Ears as we are returning from skijoring
halfway up from Rabbit Ears Pass to Buffalo Pass.

I had a great plan for our outing today and was really hoping the conditions matched my plan :) We started on a lesser used trail on Rabbit Ears Pass. This trail had evidence of a previous snowmobile track that was now covered in a couple inches of fresh snow. Perfect, we were able to lay fresh tracks along this section of trail for about 1-1.5 miles.

Freshies - Wheeee!

The trail we started on eventually connects with more popular trails on the pass. My hope was that we would find a snowmobile or ATV track to follow on the popular trails with a snowmobile track much preferred. Success again!

A wonderful solo snowmobile track to follow for miles & miles.

Rabbit Ears Pass and Buffalo Pass are two wonderful snow collecting passes in Colorado. By straight line, the passes are actually only about 7 miles apart. But, there is no "straight line trail" and, by snowmobile (or skis), it is roughly 15 miles of trails from Rabbit Ears up to the base of Buffalo Pass. The snowmobile track we found was on this path to Buffalo. 

We did not go all 15 miles to Buff, but, instead turned around after 7.1 miles and came back the same way. The result? Young Jack & Rudy's first ever 14+ mile skijor! Yes, the kids are full grown into professional sled dogs. I have lofty expectations for the two professionals this season as long as Mother Nature (i.e., the snow) matches our abilities!

After yesterday's breaking trail in 15+ inches of powder, Jack & Rudy were able to floor it today following this solo snowmobile track. Come along for a video glimpse into the fun. Wheeee!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

7.1 miles out before 7.1 miles back - the kids needed to "cool their jets" rolling in snow before the return leg :)

Is it me or are Jack & Rudy's back feet touching?
Playing patty cakes while rolling snow angels, talented!

Zorro, of course, had run many 14+ mile skijors in the prime of his career - he's still accepting 'end of run treats' for past accomplishments :)

"Serve 'em up!" declares Zorro.
"Slurp, we can taste them in anticipation!" demonstrates the tongue
slurping kids.

What perfect day finding an endless snowmobile track between Rabbit Ears and Buffalo passes to cruise to young Jack & Rudy's longest skijor of their career: 14.2 miles traveled with 1100 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 20 MPH.

2021/2022 Season to Date; 6 days on the trails covering 43.9 miles with 4250 feet of elevation climbed.

Janu-June

Look at all the snow on the top of Buffalo Pass!

"Amazing - just AMAZING!" exclaims ecstatic Zorro.
"Perfect for snow angels!" adds the goof twins :)

26th of June or 177th of January? You tell me...

Looks like the 177th day of January not the 26th day of June!

We returned to Buffalo Pass this morning to continue our incredible endless June of 2019. Sadly, things are finally starting to melt everywhere except the top of the pass. How's the following for some narrow & sketchy conditions?

It might not look pretty, but, heh, the skis and Rudy are still gliding on snow!

Interesting changing of the guard in the prior photo. In Zorro's first 9 seasons skijoring he was always the one to keep toes on snow at all cost and keep the skijor going. But, at 11 years old, it appears as Zorro has handed the torch to Rudy and young Rudy is assigned the job of trotting with me in the soft and slushy shoulders.

Despite deteriorating approaches to the top of the pass, near and at the top was still incredible this morning. Wheeee!

Just beautiful up high on this January 177th.

Today's video highlight is full of dips. We start in a gentle trot and then I almost lose it in a large dip. Then Jack takes a dip to the right to grab a mouthful of snow before rejoining the team to cruise along (think of a marathon runner taking a dip to the side to get a shot of water :) Lots of dips, but lots of fun!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

A quick break in the action along the way. Everybody having a good time?

"Yes! Is it really the end of June?!?" reply happy Zorro and Jack.
"Sniff, sniff, do I sense moose in the area?" suggests Rudy.

Despite Rudy's speculation, we did not find any moose (or elk, deer or other delicacy that is tickling his nose :)

Remember that it really is late June, not mid January. That means even Zorro will join in on the snow angels antics now and then to cool off.

"Ahhhhh!" says Zorro.
"I'll roll angels with ANYONE!" adds Jack.
"Now let me get this straight - *I* am the goofy young one?" asks mellow Rudy.

Here is an amazing stat: it is June 26th and today was youngest Rudy's first 10+ mile skijor. I never dreamed he would hit 10 miles this year since he was not mature enough to consider it until June. Well, welcome the record June in the Colorado High Country giving Rudy his first 10+ mile skijor: 10.1 miles traveled with 1000 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 16 MPH.

2018/2019 Season to Date: 136 days on the trails covering 803.3 miles with 75,150 feet of elevation climbed.

Are we done for the season yet? Of course not! I think we will get one more outing, probably on July 1st. Stay tuned...

Endless June

Look at all the snow still on the trails near the top of Buffalo Pass. Wow!

"Wow indeed! Can we skijor ALL summer?" asks the super happy trio at
our turnaround near the top of Buffalo Pass.

If you weren't impressed by the prior photo, how about this one: opening up the skijoring engine on June 19th! Wheeee!

June 19th - Wow!

If you look closely at the previous photo, you can see some of the slush bombs coming off Zorro, Jack and Rudy's feet. You can also see their footprints showing the snow was a bit soft; but it was still plenty firm enough to open up and run up/down Buffalo Pass this morning!

Come along and watch an excerpt from this morning's outing. You can see the softness slowing us a bit; but it was still firm enough to go, go, go! Is it really June 19th?

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Given warming June temperatures, you knew what would happen at our turnaround point of the morning :)

"Goofballs!" states happy Zorro.
"Rolling, cooling, aaahhh!" adds the goofballs.

Today was our latest ever skijor outing and I had my skis on the entire outing! Typically in June we will hit stretches of dirt or mud and have to take the skis off and hike over. But not today, our latest skijor ever and the skis never came off! There were a few patches that will be dirt/mud soon, but not yet today - yay!

"You kids do not know how incredible this June has been!" Zorro is telling the youngsters
as we see a bit of exposed road for one of only a few times all morning!

It really is June, so even Zorro rolled a snow angel to cool off. But, Zorro waited until the outing was OVER before rolling to cool. The goofball twins rolled snow angels before, during and after the morning outing :)

"My turn. Ahhhh and YUM!" says snow rolling and eating Zorro.

The happy trio congregating around me for end of run treats:

"We had so much fun! Now hand them out!" declares the happy & focused trio.

A beautiful run up/down Buffalo Pass this morning: 6.6 miles traveled with 700 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 16 MPH.

Are we done for the season yet? Most likely not; but things really are melting, so we'll see. Stay tuned...

2018/2019 Season to Date: 134 days on the trails covering 787.3 miles with 73,450 feet of elevation climbed

Slush Bombs

This June 14th was our latest day ever skijoring and a GREAT time was had by all!

SO HAPPY to still be on snow!!!!!
Just look at those ecstatic faces!

Our previous "last day" record was June 13th in 2017 with Max and Zorro. We have now eclipsed that record and I think we may still have more to come!

Of course this is Rudy's first season skijoring, so he has no idea just how impressive June 14th really is! It is Jack's second spring skijoring and he made June 1st last year with really sketchy conditions; so he has a little context for how great today was. Zorro on the other hand, has been skijoring for 10 of the 11 springs of his life. As you can see by his happy face, I think he knows how special today really was!

We headed back to Buffalo Pass this morning as the snowpack on top of the pass is still measuring over 7 feet! We start driving up the pass and go until the snow is too deep to keep driving. Today we had to stop driving over 4 miles from the top of the pass. With this much distance to travel, I expected we would hit a few dry patches along the way skiing up. Well, as I expected:

"You better take those skis off and hike!" says veteran Zorro.
"Whoa!" say the youngsters!

So, skis off and hike a bit, then back on snow to restart. But, I have to stop to put my skis back on. Well, stop....

"Did you expect any different?" asks Zorro.
"A stop is a stop and a stop is a roll in the snow!" demonstrate the goof twins.

We ended up having to take my skis off 3 times on the way up (and, of course, 3 times on the way down). But, once we got high enough it was INCREDIBLE. We did not make it all the way to the summit, but we did make it high enough to see just how much great snow is still near and on top of Buffalo Pass.

Beautiful up high! Sprinting sled dogs having a great time running up high!

Today's video has two fun plots. First, come along as we are opening it up on the great conditions up high - wheeee! Second, notice the slush bombs flying off Zorro, Jack & Rudy's feet and into me and the camera. About 15ish second into the video and, SPLAT, a slush bomb hits the camera dead center! You see some blurry Zorro, Jack & Rudy for a bit until it occurs to me to wipe the camera clear of slush and then you get a great view of the running sled dogs again :)

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

What a wonderful June 14th and I do not think we are done yet. Stay tuned...

"That was so much fun!" cute Rudy is telling me.
"Yum, 'end of run' treats!" slurps Jack.
"Ok, I guess you can have your share." says Zorro to Jack :)

Yay for June 14th skijoring: 5.4 miles traveled with 750 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 16 MPH.

2018/2019 Season to Date: 133 days on the trails covering 780.7 miles with 72,750 feet of elevation climbed.

For Max

All smiles as we complete beautiful 7.7 mile skijor on June 12th!!!

"Hi Mom!" flashes Rudy towards Nancy.
"What a beautiful mid June morning!" exclaims happy Zorro.
"I'm all smiles too!!!!" adds happy Jack just barely visible to Zorro's right :)

This morning was our first skijor on Buffalo Pass since Max's last skijor outing on Oct 9, 2017. Buffalo Pass is always one of the top 3 places in Colorado for depth of snowpack and, thus, snow lasting into June. It is a far drive to get to the trailheads; but this was a goto place for Max, Zorro and I for years to finish out the skijoring season in June. Since losing Max, we had baby Jack and then baby Rudy so we did not make the effort to get to Buffalo Pass last season (Rudy was too young to run and Jack was too young to go more than a couple miles). Today, though, we returned to Buffalo Pass with mature Zorro, Jack & Rudy and took a moment to sprinkle some of Max's ashes along the way. A fun new trail for Jack & Rudy and a bittersweet June outing for Zorro and I.

Upper right are Max's ashes coming out of my hand.
"Max, Max - we spread Max!" says Zorro watching the ashes spread.
"Smells like he was a COOL dude!" states happy Jack.
"Wish we still had that legend with us!' adds Rudy.

The snowpack on Buffalo Pass is near historic levels this June. Only once in the past decade has the SNOTEL atop the pass been reporting deeper snowpack that this morning. Just check out these incredible mid June conditions:

Almost a mid June hover husky as Zorro's right front toenail is barely touching the trail :)

Come along for a glimpse of the mid June treat. You might notice the video is quite bouncy and you see my skis bouncing all over too. But, it was skijoring on June 12th - we'll take bumpy & bouncy snow over dirt any day!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

The outing would not be complete without the turnaround antics from the children :)

"Aaaah, LOVE rolling snow angels!" demonstrates goofy Jack.
"Aaaahhh, me TOOOO!!!" adds rolling Rudy.
"Children, oh children, can we get upright and continue running please!" states Zorro.

Max, Zorro and I have skijored as late as June 12th before, but never with conditions as good as today. What a fun outing:

"Now that was fun! How about those 'end of run' treats?!?" says the focused trio.

A return to Buffalo Pass to honor dear Max: 7.7 miles traveled with 900 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 17 MPH. Miss You Max!

2018/2019 Season to Date: 132 days on the trails covering 775.3 miles with 72,000 feet of elevation climbed.

Blustery

A snowy and blustery day skijoring atop Buffalo Pass.

A day only a Siberian Husky could love! :)

Happy tails in the air as we find 4-6 inches of fresh snow at the top of Buffalo Pass. Yay!

The haze you see in the prior photo is not low clouds or fog, it is actively falling and blowing snow!

We expected a snowstorm last night and hoped to wake to enough fresh snow on trails close to home. Unfortunately we only got a trace of new snow on local trails; but we saw via satellite radar and snotels that Buffalo Pass did get the overnight snow reward. So, we all packed into the Jeep for the rough ride up Buff Pass. It was worth it as the snow was incredible atop the pass!

Another snowy & blustery shot as we cruise along the morning's fresh snow:

Once again, the haze is actively falling and blowing snow.

Ok, temperatures in the low 20s to high teens (F) plus actively falling snow plus a steady wind with occasional 30-40 MPH gusts. Some would think that lead to a cold day, right? Well, some would not...

"Oh man, so hot, must roll snow angels to cool off!" demonstrates silly Max.
"Really, I would never stop skijoring to do such silliness!" declares all-business Zorro.

What was that you were saying in the caption in the last photo, Zorro???

"Ok... phew, must roll to cool my jets too!" shows silly Zorro.
"Loving my snow-covered back!" states happy Max.

Only time for a short blog today as the ride to/from Buffalo Pass is a doozy. The wicked wind kept our outing to a mild one (due to the cold human - I swore my nose blew off at one point :)

5.2 miles of fun with 500 feet of elevation climbed on a snowy & blustery day atop Buffalo Pass.

2017/2018 Season to Date: 3 days on the trails covering 22.4 miles with 2400 feet of elevation climbed.

Finale

Our final run of the 2016/2017 Skijor Season this morning.

A great 12 mile run on Buffalo Pass bringing us to 1433.5 total miles for the season!

1433.5 miles traveled with 152,200 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 26 MPH.
"Every single mile was a BLAST!" declare my super happy partners at our turnaround
point of the morning.

With it being June 13th, you are probably wondering what kinds of snow conditions we found. Well, see for yourself below.

Nice at the upper elevations near the top of Buffalo Pass:

Whee we go along slightly choppy but "great for June" trails near the top of the pass.

The top of Buffalo Pass will blow you away. It was "snow as far as the eye can see" once you crested onto the open meadows at the top. As you can see, it was a bit choppy due to being on melting snowpack over uneven meadows. Choppiness just means you slow to a trot instead of a sprint; but we'll take any "toes on snow" in June!

3+ feet of beautiful, albeit choppy, snowpack to enjoy atop Buffalo Pass.

After those last two photos, you are probably wondering why this is our last run of the season. Well, the lower elevation approaches are narrow or down to dirt/mud for long sections:

Still enough snow for skis & toes; but barely. Another day or two and this patch will be all dirt/mud.

We had to hike 1 mile in (and out) to get to skiable snow and then had to take the skis off 6 times (3 up/3 down) to walk over a few extended patches of no snow. Not too bad for June 13th, though, and today's short video highlight shows you it was worth it as are on a great stretch of "all snow" and only slightly choppy conditions. Wheeee!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

We had an additional bonus for our last run of the season: it got below freezing last night! This meant two things: (1) the terrain was frozen and fast packed all morning (instead of increasingly soft slush you typically get in June); and (2) perfect temperatures for Max & Zorro to stay cool and go as long as the human could hold up. The result? We skijored 12.2 miles for our last outing and reached Summit Lake atop Buffalo Pass!

The choppy snow we are on is the beach of Summit Lake. The smooth snow behind Max & Zorro
is the "still frozen" Summit Lake.

We were quite surprised to find Summit Lake still 100% ice covered this late in June.

A great outing for a season finale: 12.2. miles traveled with 1500 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 20 MPH.

Final 2016/2017 Season Stats: 172 days on the trails covering 1433.5 miles with 152,200 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 26 MPH.

On to the summer doldrums... We hope to be back running on snow in late September or October at the latest.

Pray for Snow!!!

Gangline

An interesting skijor up/down Buffalo Pass this morning...

"Interesting indeed. But 'toes on snow' is fun no matter what goes along with it!!!" exclaim my
happy & adaptable partners.

So, what was so interesting, you ask?

Well, first off, the Forest Service had closed the gate on the access road at about 9400 feet elevation up Buffalo Pass. Yet, there was NO snow at 9400 feet! The Forest Service does not always close this particular gate during the summer melt; but decided to this year for some reason. We knew there was still 4.5 feet of snowpack high up on the pass. So, we got out of the Jeep and proceeded to hike up the road with our gear until we found skiable snow (at around 9700 feet elevation).

Okay, not so bad, we simply had to "hike to snow", right? Well, then came the really interesting part. Can you see it in the following photo?

Uh, what's with the colorful leashes attached to Max & Zorro instead of a skijoring gangling?!?

Well, I forgot the gangling back in the Jeep - argh! We hiked up the road with Max & Zorro on their leashes and my skis on my backpack. It was not until I reached down to switch them from leashes to gangline that I realized there was no gangline!!! Not to be deterred, I told Nancy, "We are not going to be denied - just hook the leashes to me!" The leashes are attached to a waist belt that we use on summer hikes and trail runs. So, why not use a trail running setup for skijoring, right?

Looks to be working just fine as we fly along the trail....

While the prior photo may look just fine, there was a catch...

The leashes are much shorter than a gangline so I was skiing closer than I've ever been behind Max & Zorro (and, thus, a much shorter reaction buffer for me). Also, the gangline has a bungee in one part to act as a shock absorber between the flying Siberians and the helpless human. But, no shock absorber today!

What did this all mean? Well, I needed every last ounce of skiing ability I have to keep upright in this tight & jerky setup. But, I never fell or wiped out!!! Yay!

Come along and watch some of the live action skijoring with a trail running setup.

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Oh, by the way, it is June:

"Whew, need to roll snow angels to cool off!" demonstrates silly Max.
"I just stay in the shade to keep cool!" says happy little Zorro.

Was it worth it? Well, look at how much snow is still high up on Buffalo Pass in the photos above. So, yes, it was worth the hike up and creative use of equipment. 7.2 miles traveled with 900 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 17 MPH.

2016/2017 Season to Date: 171 days on the trails covering 1421.3 miles with 150,700 feet of elevation climbed.

Given the closed gate far down the road up Buffalo Pass and the increasingly long hikes to snow this introduces, we probably have only 1 more outing this season. Tune back Monday or Tuesday for our season finale on Buffalo Pass.