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.

Ashes

We took the opportunity to spread some of Zorro's ashes atop Rabbit Ears Pass this June 1st which would have been Zorro's 14th birthday. We sure miss you special Zorro, Woooo!

The black "cloud of dust" directly up from Jack are some of Zorro's
ashes being sprinkled from my right hand.
"Woo, we sure miss you special Z!!!"

It had become a tradition over the past 13 years: to skijor (or dog sled) on whatever snow we could find to celebrate Zorro's birthday with him. Zorro had a true love and passion for snow, so "toes on snow" in some form of skijor or dog sled outing was always the best present Zorro could receive. Still mourning the recent loss of wonderful Zorro, Jack, Rudy & I decided to keep the tradition alive and celebrate what would  have been Zorro's 14th birthday with a skijor in memory of Zorro and a chance to sprinkle some of his ashes atop Rabbit Ears Pass along the way. 

It is June, though, so conditions are naturally deteriorating. Yet, we did find some nice stretches of snow to open up the skijoring engine. Whee:

Great stretch of snow along the Harrison Creek Trail at Rabbit Ears.

But, for every nice patch of snow, we also encountered an ugly patch of exposed ground! Yuck!

Uh-oh.....

When we did get on a nice stretch of snow, it was the usual "go, go, go" from talented Jack & Rudy. Come along for a video look into one nice stretch near the trailhead as we completed this morning's outing in celebration of Zorro.

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Not many people in the northern hemisphere get the chance to celebrate Zorro's June 1st with a skijor and toes on snow - Jack & Rudy really appreciated the day!

"Fun, fun! But we sure miss our mentor Zorro!" says the wonderful kids
awaiting 'end of run' treats.

A short run on deteriorating conditions; but still a wonderful June 1st celebration of Zorro: 3.6 miles traveled with 300 feet of elevation  climbed and a top speed of 17 MPH.

2021/2022 Season to Date: 157 days on the trails covering 1306.1 miles with 122,300 feet of elevation climbed.

We may have one more skijor left this season (on Buffalo Pass this Saturday) or today may have been our last outing. Stay tuned to see if we can squeak out one more skijor run...

Birthday Finale

Our final skijor of the 2019/2020 Season this morning, June 1st, for Zorro's 12th birthday!

"Happy 12th Birthday Zorro!" say Jack, Rudy and myself to happy
Zorro awaiting today's 'end of run' treats!

Our goal every year is to skijor in some way on Zorro's June 1st birthday. Some years we have had wonderful extended skijors on June 1st while other years we have been hiking over dirt/mud as we search for extended patches of snow to ski. It all depends on what snow conditions are still available on June 1st.

Today was a slightly less than average June 1st outing. We were able to find a nice extended patch of snow atop Rabbit Ears Pass to skijor but the patch was only about 1/2 mile long. We did an "out & back" on this 1/2 mile stretch with the trio, Zorro, Jack and Rudy. We then dropped elder Zorro off with Nancy with the intent of going further with the kids, Jack & Rudy. But, we were confined to the same 1/2 mile stretch as we ran out of snow and into wide, fast running creeks and rivers on all sides. So, the day's total outing was an "out & back" with the threesome and then another "out & back" with the kids.

Oh well, it was still Toes on Snow on June 1st for Zorro's 12th Birthday! Yay!

Starting the outing on what looks like a pretty nice stretch for June 1st!

We were on one of the main snowmobile trails at Rabbit Ears. So, as you see above, the trail was more packed and smooth than the bumpy snow off trail. But, we still had our share of "hole obstacles" along the way.

Approaching a hole obstacle in front of us as Rudy takes the left of
the hole while Zorro & Jack go right. I went right too :)

A little further along and now Zorro & Rudy go left of another hole obstacle while Jack goes right. I went left with Zorro & Rudy too.

A little bumpy on the remains of the snowmobile trail; but
look at how bumpy it is off trail to our right and left!

Here we go for today's video highlight. It is not the prettiest skijor video ever; but it is Toes on Snow on June 1st for Zorro's 12th Birthday! Yay!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Finally, a shot of the happy trio ending our initial "out & back" with the entire team:

All the smiles are visible despite the bright sun right behind us!

A fun little 2 mile skijor to celebrate Zorro's 12th birthday with a skijor in June!

That brings us to a conclusion of the 2019/2020 Skijor Season. We had an interesting and entertaining season balancing Zorro approaching 12 years old with Jack & Rudy maturing into professionals in the prime of their lives. A great time was had by all as Jack & Rudy eclipsed 1200 miles of skijoring for the season. Meanwhile Zorro came along for every outing but only participated in a portion of most runs as he happily hung with Nancy before and/or after his stint while the kids and I went out for more exercise. As you witnessed from the happy, happy faces in the posts all season long, a great time was had by all!!!

2019/2020 Final Season Stats: 176 days on the trails covering 1204.1 miles with 110,800 feet of elevation climbed.

Elder Zorro's 2019/2020 Final Season Stats: 176 days on the trails covering 626.4 miles with 57,000 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...

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.

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.

Rain

Look at the following great skijor shot for June 7th.

But take note of the ominous sky too!

Beautiful stretch to open up the skijoring engine and top 20 MPH!

Nice shot of great snowpack and fast running sled dogs. Yet, look at that dark sky. In January/February I would have been thrilled by this sky as snow would be on the way. But, it is June, so that sky means RAIN!!!! Egad, RAIN!!!!

As the sky implies, our outing was cut short by rain. We waited for some early morning rain to move by before getting out on the trails. Then, we tried skijoring two different directions from the Harrison Creek Trailhead. Each time we eventually skijored into RAIN and had to turnaround! Ugh!

This morning is most likely our last run of the season atop Rabbit Ears Pass. You are probably wondering why given that beautiful first photo. Well, here is the counterpart to that photo as there is only a narrow "ribbon of death" of snow for my skis to cross!

"We can make it, we can make it!" says Rudy powering forward despite
the narrow ribbon of death for me.
"We should slow and save the human!" says smart veteran Zorro.
"Fast or slow, I'm torn!" adds 'in between' Jack :)

By tomorrow morning the ribbon in the prior photo will be gone. We hit 3 patches during the outing where there was not even a ribbon but all dirt & mud! Couple this photo with the fact that we can not return to Rabbit Ears for at least 4 days and you know why this is most likely our last run on Rabbit Ears this season.

Here is a rare "opposite of normal" shot for you - Zorro rolling snow angels at a turnaround point while the kids wait for him to get restarted :)

"Ha - Zorro does it too!!!!" says Rudy looking on.

Back to the fun patches that still existed this morning. Come along for a great stretch of skijoring. But also notice the deteriorating conditions we fly by about 35 seconds into the video. Despite having sun and shadows in this video, we got rained on just 3ish minutes past this stretch and had to turnaround!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

A rain shortened run with 'toes on snow' is better than anything else we could have done today, right guys?

"YES!!!! We still had a blast!" declares the happy trio.
(You cannot see Rudy's face, but he was beaming just like Zorro & Jack :)

A rain shortened last run atop Rabbit Ears Pass this season: 3.8 miles traveled with 300 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 20 MPH.

2018/2019 Season to Date: 131 days on the trails covering 767.6 miles with 71,100 feet of elevation climbed.

Melt Mist

Cool shot of the "melt mist" coming off the snowpack in front of us!

It almost looks like smoke. It almost looks like fog. But, no, it's mist coming off a
section of shallow, and thus melting, snowpack.

Our plan was to make a tour around Walton Peak at Rabbit Ears Pass this morning. There are two ways to access Walton Peak. One route is a service road and the other goes across wide and snow covered meadows. The meadows route is always a lot of fun until...

Until the evil river of snowmelt cuts through the meadow and leaves you no way to cross. We chose the meadow route this morning, hoping that one of the snow bridges over the river would still be intact. Well, here is what we found:

"Impassible, time to turnaround!" declares smart veteran Zorro.
"Really, we crossed this river less than a week ago! Can we jump it?" asks young curious Jack.
"I'm just going to drop & roll until you three figure out where we are going!" declares youngest Rudy.

Well, of course we followed Zorro's decision and turned away from the river. The opposite direction takes you on a series of snowmobile trails between Walton Peak and Harrison Creek. These trails are packed by snowmobiles & groomers all winter and maintain their snowpack the longest. Zorro was right, head towards Harrison Creek and it was perfect:

A hovering Rudy Ball with sprinting Zorro & Jack to his right.

A little further and a hovering Jack Ball:

Hovering Jack Ball with sprinting Zorro & Rudy on each side.

Put the two prior photos together and you get today's fun video clip. Come along and watch us skijor this PERFECT patch of trail between Walton Peak and Harrison Creek!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Eventually it was time to turnaround. Everyone having a good time?

"Why YES! Glad you asked!" responds the happy, happy trio.

But wait, did I stop to ask that question? Uh oh, you know what that means...

"Aaahhhh - we stopped I roll!" demonstrates silly snow rolling Jack.
"Well, I'm still having a great time despite goofball Jack!" adds happy Zorro.
"Really? And you all call me the wild one? I can't bear to look!" states Rudy in disbelief :)

A little re-routing necessary to keep on snow; but still a very nice June run atop Rabbit Ears Pass: 7 miles traveled with 500 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 20 MPH.

2018/2019 Season to Date: 130 days on the trails covering 763.8 miles with 70,800 feet of elevation climbed.