Cold

Cruising the Sallie Barber Mine Trail behind fun Jack & Rudy!

Whee we go!

One thing to notice in the prior photo: both Jack & Rudy are very ALERT in their body language and head & ear positioning. I know this "alert posture" from years of skijoring with these two. Both clearly caught the "scent of moose" wafting through the air. After noticing this posture from them, I was on high alert. But, alas, we never spotted the stinky moose who was clearly within "nose range" but not eyesight!

Today's outing was, well, FRIGID! It was -11 (F) when we started and -9 (F) when we ended. Along the way, we climbed up the Sallie Barber Mine Trail which means it only got colder along the way! With such cold temperatures, I was planning on a short run today. 

Typically when we skijor around Sallie Barber Mine, we will make 2 to 4 passes by the mine. Jack & Rudy like to execute all sorts of antics when passing by the mine, but usually they reserve one comical skit for each pass by. Well, today they clearly got the "mental memo" from me that we were only making one pass by the mine. So, it was a double comedy from the goofs today :)

First act: we paused to roll snow angels (Jack) and sing woos of pleasure (Rudy)
as we approached the mine.

Second act: flying by the mine (this is moments after Jack finished rolling
and Rudy finished singing in the prior photo).

So, the smart & talented kids knew to get in all their antics on the one pass by the historic mine.

We then completed the day laying fresh tracks down the popular side of the Sallie Barber Mine Trail. But, with such frigid temperatures, we had the fresh snow and whole length of the popular side of this trail to ourselves this morning. Fun!

You need temperatures around 10 below Zero to be first tracks on
the popular stretch of this trail! No complaints from Jack & Rudy and
I just tucked all my extremeties into warm equipment.

So, here we go for today's video highlight: laying fresh tracks in a light layer of new snow on a frigid morning that clearly scared everybody else inside!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Finally, back to the trailhead and we found a mini snow wall to climb to get end of run treats at my waist level:

"Ready!" says focused Jack!
"Where is everybody, it's wonderful out?" asks nosy Rudy who loves
to flirt with crowds at this usually busy trailhead (that was empty today).

A quick, due to frigid temperatures, outing today; but any outing is better than none at all: 3.6 miles traveled with 300 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 20 MPH.

2024/2025 Season to Date: 37 days on the trails covering 271.2 miles with 25,300 feet of elevation climbed.

Tuesday Freshies

Super happy kids coming back to me at our turnaround point on the trail this morning.

"Whee! We are having a blast!" says the happy Siberians!

It was a snow gorgeous, albeit cold for the human, morning to lay fresh tracks in French Gulch with light snowfall coming down around us all outing long:

Tuesday Freshies - wheeee!

We did an out & back in French Gulch, which means we got to reuse the tracks we set on the way out to go fast on the way back:

Jack & Rudy tucked in our out paw & ski tracks to go as fast as possible :)

This trail in French Gulch is actually a road under the snow. The road is closed to the public; but there are a handful of private cabins in the gulch. The owners have keys to unlock the gate at the trailhead so they can drive to their cabins. So, occasionally we will run into a 4WD vehicle going to or from the cabin. Today was such a day as we encountered a truck leaving a cabin partway through the outing. Not a problem, though, with such good snow. Jack & Rudy simply view tire tracks like a groomed trail and they go ZOOM :)

Rudy flooring it in one tire track while Jack is enjoying the side powder at first.
Notice my ski tracks to Rudy's left. I intentionally skied next to, but out of,
the tire track after we encountered the truck to pave a nice return path for
my pals (ski tracks for one, tire tracks for the other).

Now for today's video highlight to put it all together. We start the clip running tight in the tracks we set on the way out. Then, after two corners, we come up the driveway where the truck entered the trail. Jack & Rudy adjust to make use of the track to speed up. Powder Jack starts out running in the shoulder snow while Rudy is in the tire track. Finally, as the clip ends, Rudy finally moves left into the ski tracks so Jack can take the tire track and then we can really floor it :)

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Back to the trailhead and nothing makes a Siberian Husky happier than having snow frozen all over your head and face :)

Look closely, both have snow frozen on their noses and forehead with
some fun snow beard icicles on their chins. Siberian bliss!

Great day laying fresh tracks in French Gulch although the wimpy human (ME) cut it a little short due to extreme cold temperatures: 5.7 miles traveled with 500 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 20 MPH.

2024/2025 Season to Date: 10 days on the trails covering 77.6 miles with 7100 feet of elevation climbed.

Wind

Cruising by the historic Sallie Barber Mine on this morning's skijor.

Zipping on by - wheeee!

The prior photo is about the cleanest I footage I have from the entire outing this morning. What do I mean by that? Well, it has been ridiculously windy across just about the whole state of Colorado starting yesterday, through last night and into (and through) today! Come along to see the "wind impact" on this morning's skijor outing.

To begin with, we started our skijor on the road leading to the trailhead due to a downed tree across the road. This wasn't really a problem as the road was snow covered (albeit very hard packed); but it made for an interesting start to the outing:

Starting the skijor on the road to the trailhead because of a downed
tree across the road behind us.

The real impact, though, was downed trees on the trails. Take a look at this interesting obstacle to get by. In this case we had to dip down into the deep snow off trail to the left, go around the trees and then come back up onto the trail. This was easy for Jack & Rudy to do; but you try it on skis!!!!

Uh-oh, trail completely blocked by downed trees!

A little further along and more downed trees; but at least this one hit a tree on the other side of the trail and has a gap to the right that I can fit under!

Slow down, move to the right and DUCK :)

Total tree obstacles for this morning's short outing: 5 - 1 blocking the road to the trailhead, 2 blocking the entire trail (requiring us to dip off trail in deep snow to get around) and 2 crossing the trail but with enough clearance for me to duck under.

Even when the trail was clear of downed trees, it was littered with wind-blow tree debris!

A nice open stretch as Jack & Rudy are catching air but notice
all the wind-blown tree debris on the trail.

Today's video highlight is, of course, Tree Debris Skijoring! Come along and watch as we are still able to open up the throttle but there sure is a lot of tree debris to navigate around and slow my skis!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Despite a day of tree debris and downed trees, a great time was still had by all!

"We still had a blast!" declares the happy kids.

I mentioned two of the impacts of the ridiculous wind: downed trees and tree debris littered trails. The third impact? Well, the wind chill was approaching -20 F (yes, 20 degrees BELOW zero). As a result, the wimpy human cut the outing short this morning: 5.2 miles traveled with 400 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 20 MPH.

2023/2024 Season to Date: 60 days on the trails covering 507.3 miles with 48,500 feet of elevation climbed.

 

Blustery

First on the trail to lay fresh tracks in the new snow on the Sallie Barber Mine Trail this morning!

Fresh tracks fun!

Our outing took us up the front side of Sallie Barber, down the back side, back up the back side and then down the front side. This meant we passed the mine twice. As usual, Jack & Rudy put on a different show on each pass.

On pass number one, I paused to check our time out on the trail so far. Well, I paused...

"Stop, drop and ROLL!" goes Jack with gusto.
"Stop, turn and SING!" belts out wooing Rudy.

If you look closely at the prior photo, you can see Rudy's frozen mustache and beard around his wooing mouth. Well, it was a very cold outing this morning. The temperature was 5 degrees F when we started the outing. That's not actually too bad; BUT there was a constant wind with blustery gusts taking the wind chill to somewhere near 20 below. As a result, I made the executive decision to make today a short skijor outing! The temperature had no impact on Jack & Rudy (as you see in the photos) but it sure did on me!

I did not need to pause for any reason on our second pass by the mine, so the kids flew on by this time:

Zipping by the mine with blowing snow from a strong gust
of wind visible in the upper right of this photo. Brrrrr!

Needless to say, we did not encounter any other people out on the trail until the very end of our outing. Come along for today's video highlight as we swing around two fun corners and then take off on an open straightaway. The tracks you see in the video are our own tracks set on the first pass by this section of trail. 

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Now go back to the video one more time. Pay close attention to the tracks we set on the way up at about 19 seconds into the clip. What happened on the right side of the trail on the way up? Well, the kids sensed some delicious rodents under the snow and decided to investigate.

Rudy investigates rodents by doing beautiful, high arching swan dives (as a fox does). Such pretty form:

"Rodents under the snow! Incoming!" declares rodent diving Rudy.

Jack, of course, is just as interested in finding rodents as Rudy; but he has a different technique. I call Jack's rodent investigation technique a "rodent lunge" - not a high arching dive but a low lunging dive:

"I'm with ya bro - incoming too!" goes rodent lunging Jack.

Very different technique from the comedians but the end result is identical!

Dive or lunge but the result is the same. Deep in the snow trying
to find those pesky rodents!

Finally, back to the trailhead for our usual end of run treats:

"You cut the run short, not us - so you still owe us the usual
amount of end of run treats!" states the happy kids.
Yes, I agreed and dished out the treats generously :)

A fun but short & frigid outing this morning: 6.8 miles traveled with 600 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 20 MPH.

2023/2024 Season to Date: 59 days on the trails covering 502.1 miles with 48,100 feet of elevation climbed.

 

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from Jack & Rudy, the happy little elves, towing me in my Santa hat to the end of this morning's holiday skijor.

The jolly kids always have a smile on their faces when skijoring!

This morning's outing took us back to French Gulch which we skijored yesterday.  Why return to the same trail two days in a row? Well, as expected, French Gulch got plowed after we were done skijoring yesterday. But, there was light snowfall and cold temperatures all day yesterday and last night. This meant we had a nice layer of new snow on the otherwise plowed, but frozen, ground. There was just enough new snow and minimal trail damage due to cold temperatures to open up the throttle again and again...

They flying kids floating over the trail.
Note we are laying fresh tracks in new snow in this shot and you can also
see our "out tracks" to our left.

Enough new snow for flying means enough new snow for hovering :)

The hover huskies catching air.

Now come along for some video fun from the morning. We start this clip with Jack & Rudy towing me up a gentle rise in the trail. Why pull the human up the rise? Well, because the other side of a rise is a downhill run; so let's get the human up quickly so we can sprint the other side!!! Wheeee!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

As with yesterday (and every trip to French Gulch), eventually Jack & Rudy catch the scent of moose in the area (usually more than once). When the smell is strong, you must pause to peek into the gulch for the big moose!

"We smell moose!" declares the moose seeking kids.
As with yesterday, we did spot a moose in the deep snow across the
gulch but it was too far away to show up on camera.

Back to the trailhead and time of end of run Christmas treats! I somehow misplaced my red Santa hat this past year, so I'm now decked out in my blue Denver Bronco Santa hat.

"We were very good boys today and this ENTIRE year!" says the happy,
fun kids.

The only downside of this morning's outing? Well, it was -11 F outside when we started our skijor and -10 F when we finished (yes, that is "11 below zero"). As a result, I cut the outing shorter than usual to preserve the human in such cold temperatures (Jack & Rudy thought it was lovely out): 5.2 miles traveled with 400 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 21 MPH.

2023/2024 Season to Date: 44 days on the trails covering 366.4 miles with 34,700 feet of elevation climbed.

 

Cold

Nice shot of flying Jack & Rudy on the Sallie Barber Mine Trail this morning!

Wheeee!

It was -6 F (yes, 6 below) when we started this morning's skijor. What did Jack & Rudy think of that?

"So hot! Must roll snow angels to cool off!" go the silly kids after towing me
up the frontside of Sallie Barber Mine.

We've adopted Sallie Barber as one of our "cold day" routes this season. It is a shorter skijor by our usual standards so the wimpy human does not have to be out in the cold too long. We skijor up the popular frontside of the mine trail, then down & back up the less busy backside and then back down the frontside. A gentle outing when we want to preserve the human from the cold :)

Jack & Rudy have NEVER been cold, they simply use the temperatures as a reason to run fast:

Zipping down the backside of Sallie Barber. They love opening the throttle
on this stretch of trail.

Doing this route means we pass by the mine twice. The first pass (above) is often celebrated with rolling snow angels to cool off. The second pass is typically celebrated with punching the pedal to the metal:

Cruising by the mine on pass number 2.

Why pedal to the metal on the second pass? Well, Jack & Rudy know once we pass the mine it is a super fun and fast sprint down the frontside of the mine trail. Come along for a video few into the final frontside sprint. The kids really love opening it up on this trail with its long, open straightaways.

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Finally, back to the trailhead for frozen end of run treats (I keep them in my front thigh pocket and they tend to freeze on days like today):

"We LOVE frozen pork treats!" announces the focused fun guys.

A cold day for the human, a perfect day for the Siberian Huskies: 7.4 miles traveled with 600 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 22 MPH.

2022/2023 Season to Date: 88 days on the trails covering 768.4 miles with 70,600 feet of elevation climbed.

Blustery

It was a blustery morning on Baldy Mountain, that had no impact on Jack & Rudy :)

Hard to capture blowing snow (white on white) but you can see a bit of the blow
with the snow against the trees to the left.
Skip ahead to the video below for real evidence of the wind.

We started (and ended) the skijor in single digit temperatures (F) and there were gusting winds. So, I wanted to pick a route that kept us in the trees and definitely below treeline for the entire outing. The solution was to get creative in the backcountry and connect Boreas Mountain to Baldy Mountain. Fun!

We started the morning laying fresh tracks on Boreas. Surprising to be first tracks on popular Boreas; but, as I mentioned, it was single digit temps with below zero windchill. 

Laying fresh tracks up Boreas!

After cruising up Boreas for a bit, we cut over to the Baker's Tank and the Mountain Pride trails. These trails are very heavily forested, so plenty of tree protection from the wind. But, these trails are also infrequently used, especially Mountain Pride which is far back in the forest and very technical.

Testing all of my skiing abilities on the narrow, barely 2 Siberians wide,
Mountain Pride Trail!

Eventually we connected onto Baldy Mountain at the historic Iowa Mill. What do Jack & Rudy do at the historic mill? Well, roll snow angels and woo of course :)

Nice shot of Iowa Mill. The kids are slightly out of sync as Jack is finishing his
snow angel as Rudy is starting his woo. Usually they roll & woo in harmony!

Once to Iowa Mill, Jack & Rudy LOVE the skijor here on down to the trailhead. Come along for a video glimpse into the fun. If your volume is up, you can hear the wind whipping against the camera microphone. You can also see the wind blown snow flying across the camera, especially during the last 30 seconds or so of this clip. 

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

The only downside of far below zero windchill? Well, not many others were out on the trails. Normally we encounter a lot of backcountry skiers on Baldy and Jack & Rudy love to flirt with them. Today, though, we only encountered 2 solo skiers. Oh well, 2 flirts are better than none :)

"Hi! Bye! Coming through! Made you smile!" go the flirts cruising by this
oncoming skier.

Jack & Rudy thought it was a beautiful morning, just see for yourself!

"Anytime we end the outing with frozen heads was a GREAT day!" says the
silly kids with icicles frozen all over their happy faces.

Fun day in the backcountry hiding from the wind: 8.8 miles traveled with 1000 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 20 MPH.

2022/2023 Season to Date: 87 days on the trails covering 761.0 miles with 70,000 feet of elevation climbed.

 

Cold

Cruising by Sallie Barber Mine on what looks like a beautiful morning.

Zipping by the historic mine.

What did I mean by "what looks like a beautiful morning"? Well, it was -9 F when we started our skijor this morning (yes, that's 9 below zero)! What did Jack & Rudy think of such cold temperatures? Well, they LOVED it!

Flying along the backside of the Sallie Barber Mine Trail. Going 20+ MPH
at 9 below zero sure put a chill on my face!!!

Any sign that this was cold to the kids? Ha, not a chance! We did a lap on the backside of Sallie Barber before skijoring the frontside. Doing a lap means a turnaround point...

"Rub a dub dub!" goes Jack rolling snow angels at 9 below.
"WOO! Beautiful morning!" woos Rudy.
Yes, talented Rudy can walk and woo at the same time :)

Any chance that 9 below slowed them down? Ha, no!!! Come along for a fun video clip from today's outing. You'll momentarily lose sight of Jack & Rudy midway through this clip. Well, that's me getting into a tight ski tuck and driving the skis hard so that I can take the tight left in the trail at Jack & Rudy's speed! Wheeee!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Okay, so any impact of 9 below? Well, yes, the wimpy human (me) cut the outing short to preserve the human. I felt 9 below even though Jack & Rudy thought it was a lovely day! Short runs still get end of run treats :)

"Ready!" announces focused Jack.
"Silly wimpy human, we barely broke a sweat!" adds cute Rudy.

A wimpy human dictated 5.6 mile outing with 450 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 22 MPH.

2022/2023 Season to Date: 75 days on the trails covering 650.1 miles with 58,850 feet of elevation climbed.

Blame

Jack & Rudy wondering why we turned around "early" on this morning's skijor...

"Why are we turning around? Who's to blame?" asks the silly kids.

I tried to remind Jack & Rudy "why" we had a shorter than usual skijor outing this morning. The reason, you ask? Well, it was -13 (F) when we woke up this morning. We kept staring at the thermometer, waiting for the temps to rise; but it was a slow, slow warmup. We finally gave up and hit the trails in the single digits below zero. With such cold, I made the decision we'd do a short run. Did Jack & Rudy buy into my explanation of the "sooner than usual" turnaround? Nope! :)

"No, it's YOUR fault!" declares Jack to Rudy.
"I dare you to say that to my face!" responds Rudy :)

Oh well, I tried to explain to them how cold it was for the wimpy human...

Despite the injustice of the "shorter than usual" skijor, the conditions were wonderful for our teeny tiny outing. See for yourself:

Great conditions as we zoom around a right bend in the trail.

How about a great video clip from the morning fun? Come along for a skijor minute on the Otter Slide Trail at Breckenridge Nordic Center. Does it look like the injustice Jack & Rudy claimed happened this morning?!?!?

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Back to thaw the human and dish out 'end of run' treats with retired mentor Zorro:

"Silly kids, ALL outings are great outings!" declares mature Zorro.
"Well, ok, we DID have fun; but still, 'so short'!" adds the silly kids.

I'm happy to report that I am thawed and frostbite free, see my decision for a 'shorter than usual' skijor was justified! 5.8 miles traveled with 600 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 22 MPH.

2021/2022 Season to Date: 107 days on the trails covering 896.0 miles with 84,700 feet of elevation climbed.

Laps

Nice shot of historic Iowa Mill on Baldy Mountain!

"Stopped for views? Well, then, I'm rolling snow angels!" demonstrates silly Jack.
"Does he ever skip a 'stop, drop & roll' opportunity?" asks Rudy :)

The temperature when we started our outing was 8F, the temperature when we ended was 4F. Our route took us up Baldy Mountain, so our low temperature of the morning was somewhere well below 4F. Did that make a difference to Jack? Ha! Look at the prior photo of the goof rolling in the snow in temperatures below 4! Did it make a difference to me? Well, yes!!! There was also a breeze, so no way was I taking us above treeline and into wind chills far below zero (probably approaching -20F). The outcome? We did three laps around Iowa Mill on Baldy Mountain to stay below treeline our entire outing.

Lap 1: zooming along behind fast running Jack & Rudy:

Zooming on Lap #1.

Lap 2: the kids switched positions at our turnaround but same result :)

Zooming on Lap #2.

By our third lap around Iowa Mill, other skiers had finally started appearing on the trail. So, lap 3 involved flirting and putting smiles on the faces of all we encountered!

Lap #3: entertaining the crowds - smiles all around watching Jack & Rudy
propel me along the trail.

Today's video highlight? Well, how about a minute of fast packed action during lap #2. Come along for the fun. Wheeee!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Three laps + entertaining the crowds - that's a way to earn your end of run treats:

"Been there, done that. How about those treats?" asks focused Zorro.
"Great day! Wonderful temperatures!" adds giddy Jack.
"I could stay out all day long!" says silly Rudy.

Fun laps keeping the human below treeline this morning: 7.1 miles traveled with 900 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 22 MPH.

2021/2022 Season to Date: 50 days on the trails covering 396.0 miles with 37,600 feet of elevation climbed.