First

First tracks to start the first of the year! Wheee!

First tracks on the newly groomed trail at Breckenridge Nordic Center.
Oh, and some nice mountain views through gaps in the trees to our right!

What an amazing way to start the new year as we were first tracks on the trails almost all morning long!

Still first tracks as we are flying along. Zoom!

Yet another impressive shot of the kids laying first tracks with snow poofs flying off their feet at we approach an upcoming right in the trail:

Fast, fast, fast!

Sometimes keeping pace (or upright :) skijoring with Jack & Rudy requires some real effort on my part. Come along for today's video fun. But, watch as we take two hard rights along the trail (the first is the upcoming right in the photo above). During these rights, Jack & Rudy will dip out of view of the camera a bit. Why? Well, I'm in a serious ski tuck driving my weight into the skis to keep pace and turn with the fast cornering sled dogs. Work the Human :)

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

As has been the case lately, we were going so fast that we were way ahead of schedule to meet Nancy at the trailhead. What to do? Well, we redid two nice stretches of trail and then went up and back the Peak 6 service road (towards the ski runs of Breckenridge Ski Resort). Well, that "up & back" required a turnaround at the top. Yep, turnaround, roll around!

Silly kids cooling their jets rolling in the snow.

Eventually we had to head back to the trailhead, so time to entertain the crowds along the way :)

Putting smiles on the faces of these onlooking snowshoers who also
gasped and cheered as we flew on by!

New year, same end of run treat fun :)

"We had a BLAST today!" says the happy, happy kids.

New year, same results - flying on the nordic groomie zoomies: 10.4 miles traveled with 1200 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 24 MPH.

2023/2024 Season to Date: 51 days on the trails covering 432.0 miles with 41,400 feet of elevation climbed.

TOM

This morning's skijor had a mix of fast & fun skijoring along with a set of Team Organization Meetings...

"Wanna play!" bows silly Rudy.
"No back down here!" replies Jack.

A Team Organization Meeting (or TOM), you ask? Well, a few times a season, I have to stop the team and discuss the objective of skijoring and remind everyone what is not allowed. Not allowed? Provoking, pouncing, dorking and wrestling on the trail. As you see above, we had an outbreak leading to a TOM discussion.

Ok, the discussion went well. Here's a great cornering shot!

Flying around a corner. But, wait, my knee rarely shows on  the camera.
I must be in a serious skiing tuck!

Sometimes skijoring requires some real skiing from me! Come along for a fun wild ride as Jack & Rudy are propelling me along this winding stretch of trail. Anytime you see this much of my skis (or my knees) and/or see Jack & Rudy disappear briefly from the camera, that means I am in a serious tuck trying my hardest to keep upright and in pace with the fun kids! Phew, I made it through this wild stretch upright!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Given that nice video, it seems the TOM went well, right? Well, a little further along and POW from Jack.

Time for another Team Organization Meeting.
But, nice left hook Jack :)

The second meeting went well. Here we are restarted again. Three nice things in this photo: 1) Jack & Rudy are behaving :) 2) the skies have clouded over; 3) it started snowing lightly (notice the snowflake hitting the camera up and left of Rudy).

Yay for a successful TOM!
Yay for snow!

Back to the trailhead and Jack & Rudy were very proud of their antics this morning :)

"I think those meeting went very well!" says innocent Rudy.
"Yea, good discussions!" adds innocent Jack.

A lot of fast & wild skijoring in between two Team Organization Meetings: 9.1 miles traveled with 700 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 20 MPH.

2022/2023 Season to Date: 16 days on the trails covering 120.2 miles with 9850 feet of elevation climbed.

React

Cool shot of some serious "snow poofs" flying up behind fast running Jack & Rudy!

That's a lot of POOF coming off the fast moving sled dogs!!!!

Every once in a while, it's fun to highlight the "work" I do out on the trails with my partners. While "propelling me" is Jack & Rudy's primary job, I do have to read & react to various situations. Come along for some of my reaction jobs this morning :)

With two fast kids in front of me, I always have to be aware of snowballs or slush bombs flying off Jack & Rudy's feet and into my face and chest!

Look straight up from Rudy and a little to the left. The white blob is a
chunk of snow coming off Rudy and into my face!!! Since the camera is
on my chest, a snow or slush ball up from the camera is coming right
at my head. Look out human :)

I also have to remember that Jack & Rudy are shorter than me. I like to stay directly behind them as often as possible, but I also have to be aware of our differences in height!

Low to the ground Jack just went under the tree branch on the right and he
is ducking more to go under the upcoming branch in front of him. I have
to remember to swing out from behind them to avoid branches taller
then them but shorter than me!!!!

Another read & react scenario for me. We were in known moose territory in and around Gold Run Nordic Center today. I need to read & react to Jack & Rudy's "moose detectors" to know when to scan the trail and trees for moose! When Rudy has his "outside ear" up, he's hearing something nearby. When Jack glances into the trees, he's scanning for something (i.e., moose) that he hears or smells nearby. I have to scan all the terrain for moose to react to!!!

"Beep, beep - outside ear listening for moose!" demonstrates talented Rudy.
"Scan, scan - I detect moose nearby!" says forest scanning Jack!

Next, I have to "hang on" when we top 20 MPH. Come along for the today's cool video of fast running Jack & Rudy. Also, note Jack really hugging the right side of the trail in this clip. There are multiple low hanging branches I need to swing left to avoid along the way :) Look out human!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Finally, I have to remember that retired mentor Zorro always gets the 'end of run' treats first! Haha, this is not really something I have to remember. Zorro is always quick to remind me and Jack & Rudy politely wait their turn!

"Me first!" declares mentor Zorro.
"Us second!" adds wonderfully patient Jack & Rudy.

See, I really do have to pay attention and read & react out on the trails :)  10.3 miles traveled with 800 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 23 MPH.

2021/2022 Season to Date: 92 days on the trails covering 766.4 miles with 72,000 feet of elevation climbed.

Angels with a View

Snow Angels with a View - by Jack & Rudy :)

Nice snow angels! Nice views!
Snow Angels with a View - by Jack & Rudy!

We spent this busy Saturday morning far away from town on trails you can only get to by snow machine. Either snowmobile or sled dog - one of those two types of snow machines is required to get to where we were at. I chose sled dog :)

Nice power from the sled dog snow machines as we cruise
around the backcountry following snowmobile tracks.

Along the way, we encountered many technical features on the trail for the human on skis to try and handle behind the snow machines. What a workout on the human!

Riding Jack through a tight corner in the trail.
Oh my aching legs :)

Come along for a little video glimpse into the morning work as there is a lot of fun in this minute of skijoring. We start in a gentle trot following a fresh snowmobile track. Then, we dip into a tight left whipping me around a corner in the trail. Finally, we straighten out into a fast straightaway and off Jack & Rudy go (with me hanging on behind :) The low angle of the camera is about all you need to know to realize how hard I am driving & riding the skis to keep pace with my fast & fun sled dog monsters! Oh my aching legs!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Let's give the human a breather while we inspect these fresh moose tracks a few steps off the trail!

"Fresh!!!!" declares the moose sniffing brothers.

I made it back alive! How about getting some end of run treats for all?

"Ready! Don't drop them!" says handsome Zorro.
"We kept you upright, dish them out!" states focused Jack.
"Let me know when you are finally ready!" adds mellow Rudy.

A peaceful Saturday morning to give the human a workout on technical backcountry trails: 8.7 miles traveled with 900 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 22 MPH.

2021/2022 Season to Date: 79 days on the trails covering 645.8 miles with 60,600 feet of elevation climbed.

Cornering

 We had a fast & fun sunrise skijor yesterday morning:

Jack & Rudy zipping along as the sun begins to emerge from behind
the mountains in front of us.

We had a bunch of appointments yesterday, so had to get out early for a skijor outing and didn't have time to summarize and share the fun until this morning. Jack & Rudy got the message that the sunrise skijor also meant a short outing. The result? The two speed demons hit a top speed of 24.2 MPH!

Come along for some more cool sunrise shots:

Approaching Kathy's Viewpoint warming hut as the sun peeks over
the mountains in front of us. Zoom, zoom!

Further along and we are closer to the same mountains as the prior photo but now the sun is still behind the mountain. That is, Jack & Rudy were approaching the mountains faster than the sun was rising!

Approaching the Hallelujah Warming Hut as we have beat the sun rising
to this point on the trail :)

Today's video highlight: as I said, Jack & Rudy were in top "fast form" yesterday morning. The trails were also packed and fast. This meant I really had to ski to take the corners with Jack & Rudy. Come along and see as you'll lose sight of Jack & Rudy on multiple corners as I am tucked and putting all my weight into the inside ski to whip around with the kids! Also, nice form to end the clip as we get to the narrow "end of trail" and it only takes a subtle "Easy, easy" request from me for them to finish gently. Good boys!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

That clip shows just a few of the tight corners I had to drive into to keep pace with the kids. My knees are still feeling the impact of the outing this morning!

All done with the quick outing, let's enjoy 'end of run' sunrise treats with elder Zorro:

Nice shot again of the sun peeking over the mountains.
Nice shot of happy & attentive Zorro, Jack & Rudy :)

A quick & fast run yesterday: 6.2 miles traveled with 600 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 24 MPH.

2020/2021 Season to Date: 70 days on the trails covering 558.3 miles with 49,300 feet of elevation climbed.

Bumpy Fun

Jack & Rudy demonstrating how proficient they are at rolling snow angels in any (and all) snow conditions :)

What bumpy conditions! But look at talented Jack & Rudy rolling
snow angels while (both) eating snowcones as the same time. Talented!

While there was still a lot of snow on the ground near Walton Peak, the warmer than normal days the past couple of weeks has done some real damage on the smoothness of the snowpack. We started the day with just the youngsters, Jack & Rudy, once we saw just how bumpy the trail was at the start. It was so bumpy to start that we had to proceed at a gentle jog!

Toes on Snow! But what BUMPY snow as we move along
the bouncy trail in a gentle jog.

As we went further (and up), the trail got less bumpy but there were still plenty of other obstacles to navigate on by!

Smart kids moving "over the left" to pass this water obstacle.
Smart kids knowing the "faster you go, the quicker you pass the obstacle" too!

Now, the following may not look different; but believe me, it was. Compare the first photo with the following - can you see it is much less bumpy in the following versus the prior? Well, despite lots of bumpiness to the right and left, we are actually on a much smoother snowmobile trail that is not quite as bumpy as it had been packed daily for the entire winter.

Not as bumpy, so the kids open up the throttle. Zoom!

Come along for the video counter part of the prior photo. Yes, it is still somewhat bumpy, but two things: (1) it is smooth enough to uncork the skijoring engine; and (2) regardless of bumpiness, it's toes on snow on May 21st! Yay!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

After a fun, albeit very bumpy, out & back with Jack & Rudy, we joined up with Zorro for a mini finish with the elder gentleman. There was a nice stretch near the trailhead that was not "as bumpy", so we headed there for our run to the finish with Zorro. Well, Zorro was ANYTHING but the "elder gentleman" once he joined today! Once we had the threesome connected, I tried to release us for the mini finish BUT Zorro lunged forward so hard (before I released them) that he pulled me over. Yes, 10 days from 12 years old Zorro was TOO much! That's nice to say, but painful to experience :)

Oh, and look who was concerned about my safety. Perfect Rudy!!!!!

"Whoa dad - what a spill! You ok?" asks perfect Rudy.
"Get up, let's go!" says happy Zorro the MONSTER.
"I'm with Zorro, let's GO!" adds happy, but wanting to go, Jack.

Despite the lunging forward by MONSTER Zorro, I did finally get up and make it to the trailhead in one piece. Time for 'end of run' treats but first a moment to remind Zorro about skijor politeness and not killing the human:

Having a private word with Zorro :)
"Waiting my turn!" says patient Jack.
"If only you had 3 Rudys, you'd be in perfect shape!" adds mellow Rudy.
Hahaha, mellow Rudy, who thought I'd ever say that?!?

A bumpy, but still fun toes on snow, morning with Jack & Rudy and then a MONSTER Zorro pulling the human over multiple times before finishing the day's run: 6.6 miles traveled with 550 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 19 MPH.

2019/2020 Season to Date: 172 days on the trails covering 1175.8 miles with 108,000 feet of elevation climbed.

Dead Gulch

Cautiously towing the human as we complete a short (and ugly) out & back in French Gulch!

Exposed puddle behind Zorro's right leg.
Exposed ground behind and right of Jack,
Dangerous skiing conditions in French Gulch!!!
Good partners towing me cautiously given the conditions!

We've had a good amount of snowfall the last few days. So, despite warm afternoons/evenings, I expected us to be able to get one last skijor in French Gulch for this season. The plan was to do a short out & back in the gulch with elder Zorro before doing the Sally Barber Mine Trail with the kids. Well, I was wrong. French Gulch is officially DEAD GULCH and is off our list of trails until next season.

Just "how" dead & ugly was the terrain in French Gulch? Well, look for yourselves at the following photo. The middle of the trail is completely dead. Veteran Zorro and "becoming a seasoned veteran" Jack have both figured out how/where to proceed cautiously. Youngest Rudy is baffled on how we can make any forward progress; but will hop behind his brothers' lead and give it a try :)

"Not pretty, but this way is the only way!" demonstrate veterans Zorro & Jack.
"Really? Well, ok, I'll come along but I don't see a way forward!" says youngest Rudy.

Now consider this. The photo above is NOT the section of French Gulch I expected to require cautious crossing. This was supposed to be the "good" part of the trail. Well, as you see, French Gulch is dead for the season.

Well, at least our plan was to give elder Zorro a short run this morning! After a VERY short "out, fail and back" in French Gulch, the kids and I skijored up to Sally Barber Mine. I paused at the mine to roll snow angels:

"Got it! Paused to roll snow angels!" demonstrates the goofball twins
in front of the historic mine.

No, really,  stopped to turn left at the mine but a "pause is a pause" to the stop, drop and roll kids. After getting the sillies upright, it was left and onto the fun albeit narrow Trail of Tears:

Gliding through the trees on a very narrow trail.
It takes a lot of trust in your partners and excellent trail skills from
them to skijor such a narrow trail!!!

After the fun & narrow out & back on the Trail of Tears, it was back to the mine to fly back down to meet Zorro and Nancy. I did not pause this time, so the kids knew what to do :)

Zoom: you go = we go.
You stop = we stop, drop & roll!

The trail may look very nice in the prior and next photos. Well, compared to French Gulch, the trail WAS very nice. But, Sally Barber is one of the most popular trails around Breckenridge, so it gets a lot of traffic, leading to a very uneven and bumpy surface under the snow.

Looks perfect, right?

Now come along for the reality of just how beat up the trail was under the shallow layer of fresh snow. In the video clip you sill see three things that you do not see much of in most of our videos: my skis, my waistband and the carabiner attaching me to the sled dogs. What does it mean to see so much of these three things? Well, it means the trail was very choppy & bumpy under the snow and I am using all my abilities to get in a tuck and work the skis to stay upright! Whew, what a workout on the human's legs!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

It is late April, so not surprising that we had a day atop deteriorating conditions; but still sad to bid French Gulch farewell for the 2019/2020 skijor season: 5.7 miles traveled with 500 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 19 MPH.

2019/2020 Season to Date: 156 days on the trails covering 1066.6 miles with 97,200 feet of elevation climbed.

Skiing

A fun day exercising the human to start the outing and then the Siberians to end the outing :)

"What a fun day! Glad you could keep up back there!" say the happy trio at our turnaround
point of the outing.

How did we exercise the human? Well, we started the outing on a narrow backcountry trail. The trail is about one snowmobile wide which is wide enough for Zorro, Jack & Rudy to fit side by side and go fast. But, it is too narrow for me to put both skis in the set track. If I do, then I have no room to snowplow and my partners take that as a release signal to go as fast as they can with me having no ability to stop or slow down! What do I do? Well, put one ski "in track" to allow speed behind my partners and one ski "out of track" for speed control behind my wild partners.

Right ski "in track", shift weight there to encourage & allow speed.
Left ski "out of track", shift weight there to slow the speed machine.

Come along for a short glimpse of me skiing in/out of the single track. This is a real workout on my legs keeping the speed machine under control in such a narrow trail. We had about 1 mile of me working the terrain before finally dropping onto the wide trails of Gold Run Nordic Center. The video ends as we drop onto the wide trails. Love how polite Jack slows, looks back and makes sure I am ok before taking off with Zorro & Rudy on the wide trail :)

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Ok, done exercising the human, now it is Zorro, Jack & Rudy's turn. The next 4.6 miles of the outing were on wide nordic trails where I could sit back on my skis and let the sled dogs do all the work!

Aaaahhh, now this is what *I* like :)

End of the day's run and look who is rolling a snow angel to cool off - Rudy!!!

"Gotta roll and cool my jets!" demonstrates goofy Rudy.
"Snowcones, yum!" says snow eating Zorro.
"Tasty indeed!" adds snow licking Jack.

Jack, of course, rolled a snow angel during the outing too. He has an incredible streak of rolling at least one snow angel in every skijor outing of his young life! What a funny goof!

Exercise the human, then exercise the sled dogs: 5.6 miles traveled with 500 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 21 MPH.

2018/2019 Season to Date: 81 days on the trails covering 442.0 miles with 39,700 feet of elevation climbed.