Lane Change

Fresh powder in the backcountry this morning! Yay for Snow!!!

The fun kids blasting through some nice powder.

Technically, we only got about 1-2 inches of fresh snow overnight. But, it was also VERY windy. As a result, we encountered many deep, wind blown snowdrifts to blast through in the backcountry this morning. Come along for today's video highlight to see what I mean.

I really love the start of this video. Jack starts on the right of the team but then decides he wants to change lanes. Watch as he perfectly backs off, dips under the gangline and then thrusts forward to be back even with Rudy (but on the left side now) - TALENTED!!!! I love watching these occasional lane changes at high speeds from these talented kids! Then, after the lane change, watch as we gallop along while blasting through the occasional wind drift. Talented again - whee!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Of course, blasting through wind drifts is quite aerobic and warrants rolling snow angels to cool off when the opportunity arose:

"Aaaaah - rolling to cool the jet!" goes the snow rolling sillies.
I Love the snow Rudy has generated all around his head by dipping it in the
snow before flipping it up. Can't you just see the expression of bliss on
his happy, snow covered face!

Then, after blasting through wind drifts and rolling snow angels, it was time to floor it on the trails at Gold Run Nordic Center. The kids know what to do with a groomed nordic trail - zoom!

Catching air on the groomie zoomie!

It turns out we were FIRST tracks on the freshly groomed trail! It's hard to see that in the prior photo, but we were first tracks. As if often the case, if we are first tracks, then there is a groomer not far ahead of us to chase and catch. Jack & Rudy love catching up with the groomer!

"Caught it, caught it! We caught the groomer!" says the speedy kids.

As I've described and shown many times in the past, the groomer drivers know us from years of skijoring these trails and, eventually, they will pull over and wave us on to pass. But, we have to wait until the trail is wide enough to do so safely. As you see in the prior photo, the trail was exactly "one groomer wide" between trees when we caught the groomer. As a result, we had to slow down and trot behind for a bit before the trees thinned and the groomer paused to wave us on, so the video is pretty boring to watch until we can pass. As usual, as we passed, I gave the driver a wave & smile and he gave an enthusiastic wave & smile back.

While the wind gave us some nice drifts to blast through, it was also still blowing while we were out. Temperatures were near 10 (F) when we started with the wind chill being well below zero, probably approaching -10 (F). As a result, the wimpy human cut today's outing a little short to save himself. But, still a fun time had by all:

The freezing human handing out end of run treats to the perfectly
comfortable Siberian Huskies! :)

A fun albeit temperature shortened skijor: 4 miles traveled with 300 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 21 MPH.

2025/2026 Season to Date: 50 days on the trails covering 304.4 miles with 32,200 feet of elevation climbed.

Realign

Nice shot of the tight flying sled dog trio!

The "shoulder to shoulder to shoulder" speed machine.
In case you cannot tell, it's Zorro on the left, Rudy in the middle and Jack on the right.

We spent the morning running snowmobile trails around Walton Peak at Rabbit Ears Pass. The snowmobile tracks were pretty fresh, leading to nice & soft trails to run. When the tail is soft, you get cool "snow poofs" behind the threesome:

Nice set of poofs behind Jack.
Fun poofs behind Zorro & Rudy too. Wheeee!

Today's video highlight goes along with the prior photo. Come along as we start out gently cruising and then everyone kicks it up a notch about 25 seconds in. Then, about 30 seconds in and Jack is having trouble fitting on the right shoulder (next to wide Rudy) so Jack backs off, realigns himself into the middle of the team, launches back into the group and off we go. Zoom! Note that Jack could have tried to move Rudy to the left to give himself more room on the right. But, I understand Jack's decision - it is easier to back off, realign and launch than to move Rudy the Tank :)

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Now for the daily comedy routine. Time to turnaround, but snow angels from the kids first

"Seriously? Do these two ever just 'turn around'?!?" asks Zorro perplexed with his goofy little brothers.

Snow angels done and we are turned around. Almost ready to go.

"All set up here." says the happy trio.
"But you better get us restarted SOON!" adds the goofball kids.

I still needed to text Nancy our anticipated arrival time. Well, as the kids said in the prior photo, "We better restart soon or else..."

"Too late - rodent dunks & dives!" demonstrates the comedy duo.
"What will they add to their routine next?" asks Zorro glancing in disbelief :)

Finally turned around and restarted. Fun shot from the front as we cruise to the end of the day's run:

Smiles all around, such fun partners!

We only had time for a short run this morning, but we sure made the most of it: 5.4 miles traveled with 500 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 23 MPH.

2019/2020 Season to Date: 38 days on the trails covering 253.7 miles with 25,500 feet of elevation climbed.

Lane Change

Synchronized hover huskies - wheeee!

Nice shot of the trio in a synchronized sprint tuck as we fly along the fast trails this morning.

We did an "out & back" on the highest elevation trails of Breckenridge Nordic Center this morning. The conditions were fast packed and perfect. It was almost "too packed" at the trailhead, but the further we went the less used and better the conditions became. At the highest elevations we were probably the 4th or 5th tracks on the trail - just perfect!

Love this shot of out-stretched Zorro & Rudy with hovering Jack to the right. Notice
all the "powder puffs" behind their feet as the trail had seen very little use this
far out and up in distance and elevation.

Today's video fun showcases a high speed, high precision lane change from Zorro. Come along and note about 27 seconds into the clip and the right side of the trail has some exposed ground. Zorro clearly does not like the conditions of the right side of the trail. So, he simply backs off, gives a glance to the left to check for clearance and then launches himself over to the left side of the team. Then, once repositioned, off we go again - ZOOM! Nice lane change Zorro!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

At our turnaround point of the morning and guess what happened?

"You expected something different?!?" asks Zorro.
"Turnaround is also roll around!' demonstrates the goofy kids.

Another quick pause on the trail to rest my legs from flying on the fast packed trail. Let me catch my breath, everyone having a good time?

"YES!!!!!" declares happy Zorro & Jack.
"I WAS until you stopped!!!!" states all business Rudy :)

It is Thanksgiving, so we are very thankful for great trail conditions to skijor but we are also very thankful for 'end of run' pork treats!

"You have our FULL attention - dish them out!" says the happy & focused trio.

A fast & fun morning on the upper nordic trails: 7.8 miles traveled with 850 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 22 MPH.

2019/2020 Season to Date: 27 days on the trails covering 174.2 miles with 17,900 feet of elevation climbed.

Summer Jor

June 24th? Yes. Summer? Never!!!!

Following snowcat tracks atop Rabbit Ears Pass in Summer!

The calendar may say it is Summer but the mountains have declared Winter is still here!

Today was our first ever skijor in summer. Sure we have had lots of June skijors; but today was our first ever when the calendar says "summer" instead of "spring".

It started snowing in the Colorado High Country on Saturday and continued on and off through Sunday. Upwards of 12 inches of snow fell on top of Rabbit Ears Pass so we headed back to Rabbit Ears this morning for our first ever Summer Jor.

As you can see in the first photo above, we found some really nice conditions and even found a snowcat track to follow out and back. But, it was really summer at Rabbit Ears just a few days ago and, as a result, we did encounter the occasional treacherous stretches.

Yikes! Just enough ice in the cat track to continue going.

For the majority of the day, though, we were on a snowcat track that felt like the middle of winter!

Perfect cat track again - wheeee!

Despite lots of stretches of great snow from the weekend storm, summer is fighting hard to break through!

"Egad, now what?!?" asks Rudy.
"Oh boy!" adds Jack.
"This is a 'skis off' patch!" declares veteran Zorro.

People often ask if I fall when skijoring. Well, yes, but not very often and typically in the sketchy conditions of the shoulders of the season (October and May/June) when my skis catch something hidden under the snow. So, here is a rare "wipeout shot" but notice how nice, polite and patient my three partners are! The youngsters have certainly learned from Zorro this season that preserving the human is a good thing!

"You ok back there?" asks the happy & polite trio.
Notice the sideways skis and chunk of loose ice bottom/center that gave way and caused my spill.

Today's video highlight is a first for young and maturing Rudy. I have documented Jack's skill at changing lanes while skijoring (often at high speeds). Zorro is also a skilled lane changer. But come along for Rudy's first time changing lanes at moderate speed. Sure we are not going as fast as we have when Jack or Zorro change lanes; but you have to start somewhere :) What a skilled and mature sled dog he has become this season!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

End of day's fun run, time for a group celebration :)

Happy boys all circling and focusing on the musher.

Our first ever skijor in summer!!!! Temperatures are supposed to rise quickly this week so this was our last run at Rabbit Ears. Are we done for the season? Heck no - Buffalo Pass still has enough snow to keep us going. Stay tuned for MORE...

Yay for Summer Jor: 5.9 miles traveled with 700 feet of elevation climbed and a modest top speed of 15 MPH (too may obstacles to open the throttle more than this).

2018/2019 Season to Date: 135 days on the trails covering 793.2 miles with 74,150 feet of elevation climbed.

Beautiful Day

It was a beautiful morning with perfect conditions to skijor the trail to Buffalo Park atop Rabbit Ears Pass. Wheeee!

What incredible conditions! Is it really March 31st?  :)
Love the "snow poofs" behind Zorro and Jack's feet.

The prior photo exemplifies the trail conditions we had most of the day. If you look closely you can see that we are on a groomed trail with an inch or so of fresh snow over the groom. There was the occasional snowmobile track on the trail too (as you see above) but we were able to ride on the untouched sides of the trail almost all morning. Perfect conditions for the human to let the sled dogs go as fast and far as they wanted :)

A little further along and same conditions:

Zorro & Jack riding the freshies on the side of the trail with me as Rudy flirts in & out of
the snowmobile track going down the middle.

For today's video highlight, we feature Jack and his now patented "high speed, high degree of difficulty and high precision" lane changes. Typically everyone maintains their current position when we are going fast. But, Jack has become our team expert at changing lanes. Sometimes he just wants to be in a different lane and he executes the "lane change" with perfection: back off, change lanes and then launch back into the sprinting pack. Nice work Jack!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

It's fun to note Jack giving me a few glances as he does the lane change. I give him a "yes" head nod whenever he does. He just wants to know I am ok with the maneuver - of course I am, he is so good at it! The "head nod" comes from his therapy dog training as this is a positive reinforcement I give him when working and I do not want to talk and interrupt his therapy work.

Time to turnaround and head back and...

"They are both doing it again, aren't they?" asks Zorro.
"We stop, I roll!" demonstrates Jack who has rolled at least on snow angel on every skijor
outing of his young life.
"I'm following suit too!!!!" adds goofy Rudy who has recently started rolling snow angels
almost as much as Jack!

After following the main trail most of the morning, we decided to abandon the set track at one point and skijor the "spring crust" covering the meadows atop Rabbit Ears Pass. This was young Rudy's first ever skijor on spring crust - a fun time of year when you can abandon trails and simply skijor any direction you want atop the solid crust!

Freshies on the Spring Crust! Wheeee!

Not the best "triple face shot", but you can still see the happy & satisfied expression on everyone's face when I paused to check our distance and ask how they were doing:

"Perfect, let's keep going!" declare the happy & satisfied trio.

A beautiful morning with perfect conditions: 7 miles traveled with 600 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 21 MPH.

2018/2019 Season to Date: 86 days on the trails covering 475.5 miles with 42,600 feet of elevation climbed.

Timber

A hilarious "timber" from Jack as he falls into his patented snow angels at our turnaround point of the morning's outing :)

"Timber!" demonstrates comical Jack.
"What a goof!" says happy Zorro.
"I can't bear to look!" adds cute Rudy.

We had a fast & fun skijor on the groomed trails at Breckenridge Nordic Center this morning. I love the following shot of Zorro & Jack. Rudy is just barely out of sync - almost a perfect hover husky trio:

The adults (Zorro & Jack) as a perfectly synchronized skijor machine.
Big Rudy just barely out of sync. We cannot call him "little Rudy" any longer as he is
bigger than both Zorro & Jack! Can't wait until the brain matches the body :)

Some video fun from the day. Come along as we are flying along the fast trail. Near the end of the video, Jack decides he wants to "change lanes". It is beautiful to watch him slow, step back, change lanes and the launch back into the group. Impressive skills considering we were running in the neighborhood of 20 MPH!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Why the lane change from Jack? Well, I've come to learn he really loves to run in shallow shoulder powder if it exists. After executing the perfect lane change, I watched him dip in & out of shoulder powder:

"Love dipping my toes in the shoulder powder!" declares fun Jack. Notice the "snow poofs"
behind him from his dips in&out of the shallow shoulder.

There are a few "monster dips" on the trail we took. I know to slow and/or stop to get under control before letting the strong trio launch me into a dip. We were going so fast today, I decided to come to a complete stop before entering one of the dips....

"But why stop before launching?!?" asks perplexed Rudy.
"Just say 'when', I'm ready!" declares happy Zorro.
"You ok back there?" asks always polite Jack.
Notice the CAUTION sign on the tree behind Rudy. This is why we are stopped to collect
ourselves. If they have to warn a cross country skier about upcoming steep terrain, imagine
what happens when you enter the dip behind three sled dog machines!!!!!

End of the day's run as I plant my left ski to slow the endless kids:

"Can we go again?" ask the happy happy trio!

Fast & fun but still short for young Rudy (he may be big, but he is still in the 'limited time/distance' age): 5.2 miles traveled with 500 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 22 MPH.

2018/2019 Season to Date: 51 days on the trails covering 278.1 miles with 24,850 feet of elevation climbed.

Changing Lanes

Beautiful morning for a fun skijor on fast packed trails in French Gulch!

Jack & Rudy in a synchronized sprint tuck in the little bit of shoulder powder while Zorro
sprints down the fast packed middle.

The highlight of today's skijor - young Jack realized you can "change lanes at high speeds" while skijoring. Come along and watch as Jack starts the clip on the left and masterfully changes lanes to the right. A perfect "back off slightly, change lanes and then launch back into the pack" :)  You might wonder why Jack wanted to change lanes. Well, I have come to discover he prefers running in soft powder over hard packed snow. If you watch closely, he is changing from the hard packed middle of the trail to the shallow layer of soft snow on the right shoulder. Talented guy that Jack!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Further along in the outing and...

There's Jack in the soft snow to the right again (notice the snow poofs and footprints behind him)
while Zorro & Rudy fly along the hard packed center of the trail.

Short break at our turnaround point of the morning and...

"You said 'wait', I say 'roll'!" demonstrates silly snow angel rolling Jack.
"I think we could continue this way, let's break trail!" says Rudy studying the untouched
snow in front of us.
"I agree, we should break trail!" adds Zorro.
Not yet young Rudy, you need to be a little older before we let you break trail!

End of the day, end of the run pork treats to share:

"<smack>, I had fun today!" says affectionate Zorro.
"You have my full attention!" adds focused Jack.
"Me too! Me too!" adds intense little Rudy.

Fast day in French Gulch with some talented lane changing skills from Jack: 4.2 miles traveled with 400 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 20 MPH.

2018/2019 Season to Date: 28 days on the trails covering 147.4 miles with 13,300 feet of elevation climbed.