Jack got his first experience skijoring the "Spring Crust" yesterday morning.
Needless to say, he had a great time :)
Shoulder-to-shoulder Zorro & Jack laying fresh tracks in about an inch or two of new snow
atop a solid springtime crust.
What is spring crust? Well, it is the time of year where temperatures rise well above freezing in the daytime but still fall well below freezing overnight. The result is the snowpack softens every day and then the "soft layer" refreezes overnight into a crust that can support Zorro's weight (and, thus Jack's too) while also supporting my weight on skis (I would punch through the crust off skis, but can glide atop the crust on skis). What is so fun about the spring crust? Well, you no longer have to follow set trails, you can simply skijor and glide wherever your heart desires. This also provides great left and right training for Jack as he has to listen to me and/or follow Zorro's lead instead of sticking to set trails.
Come along for a short excerpt of Jack's first time skijoring the spring crust. You'll note Jack is a little "bouncy" in his execution but does a very good job of snapping back into line with Zorro whenever he drifts. Pretty good for a young guy on his first unset trail!
Back to the beginning of yesterday's outing. Zorro and I did a quick 4.1 mile skijor on Prospect Hill before collecting Jack for the finish. You get some great views of Breckenridge Ski Resort across the valley from Prospect Hill:
Zorro sprinting atop the spring crust as we make our own path on Prospect Hill and take in
the nice view of the snow-covered ski runs of Breckenridge Ski Resort.
For our second short video of the day... Come along with Zorro and I gently gliding and setting our own path on a great crust layer. It is fun to pay special attention just over 20 seconds into this video. If your volume is up loud enough, you'll hear me call out a "right" to Zorro (which he quickly executes) as I initially think drifting right is the best path to avoid obstacles. But, almost immediately after I say "right", I notice a better line of unobstructed crust to the left. As a result you can hear me call out "left" and see Zorro immediately abandon the right and cut us left instead. Zorro is such a great listener!!!
Back to the 0.6 mile skijor we did with Jack to end the day. Everybody glancing back to me as I request a right turn from my partners:
"Got it... turning right!" says happy Zorro.
"This sure is fun making your own path!" states happy Jack.
We ran out of open terrain at one point so it was time to turnaround. But, my partners had other plans first. Must pause and roll dual snow angels to cool off before making a new path:
Rub-a-dub-dub, dual snow angels from Zorro and Jack!
Our first spring crust fun of this season! 4.7 miles traveled (4.1 with Zorro then 0.6 with Zorro and Jack) with 700 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 18 MPH.
2017/2018 Season to Date: 43 days on the trails covering 306.5 miles with 27,800 feet of elevation climbed.
Despite still being too young to skijor, Rudy provided PLENTY of entertainment at all of the trailhead interactions on yesterday morning's skijor :)
"I'm still having trouble with this 'too young to go' concept. Explain that again. I think I am PLENTY big enough!" states perplexed Rudy who is more than convinced he is
big enough to run with the big boys :)
Despite many questions from Rudy at the start of the day's run, Zorro and I still left him (and Jack and Nancy) behind to do a quick 5.4 mile skijor before arriving back to pick up Jack...
Flying Z as we are 2nd or 3rd tracks on a freshly groomed speed track!
Done with a quick out/back with Zorro and time to pick up Jack for his turn to skijor:
"Hey little bro, ready to go?" says Zorro to Jack.
"You bet, hook me up!" declares Jack.
"Wait, wait, WHAT ABOUT ME!!! Didn't you come back for ME!?!?!?!?!" exclaims silly
Rudy trying to look as big as he can so he can run with the big boys.
As I split the gangline off Zorro to add Jack, Rudy made sure he was front and center to get my attention. Clearly the musher (me) was unaware that we had really come back for Rudy :)
"Just say it! JUST SAY IT! Say you came back for MEEEEEEE!!!!" demands silly Rudy.
"Really, this silly kid!" states happy Zorro.
Despite the question (and protests) from Rudy, we really did come back to hook up Jack and not Rudy. Zorro, Jack and I did a fun 0.4 mile skijor as we are slowly building growing Jack into more distance. If you remember years past, Max and Zorro were famous for their "hover husky" shots where they would appear to be levitating above the trail in unison. Well, we almost got our first hover husky of Zorro and Jack; but Jack was just a few toes away from a perfect shot:
Sprinting hover huskies as Jack is a couple of toes away from levitating with Zorro.
Time to call it a day and get our "end of run" pork treats:
"Serve 'em up!" declares happy Zorro.
"Don't forget about me!" states happy Jack ducking under my left arm to make sure he is in view.
"I'm still confused on this 'too young to go' thing; but I'll certainly accept the treats!" declares
silly Rudy.
Amazing how entertaining a 3 month old puppy can be when he is left behind and his only interactions are at the trailheads! Silly Rudy! Anyway, the big boys did a 5.8 mile skijor (5.4 with Zorro and then 0.4 with Zorro and Jack) with a top speed of 22 MPH and 700 feet of elevation climbed.
2017/2018 Season to Date: 42 days on the trails covering 301.8 miles with 27,100 feet of elevation climbed.
Yesterday morning was young Jack's longest skijor - 1/3 mile of sled dog fun!!! Go Jack, Go!
"Now this is FUN!!!!" declares happy Jack at our turnaround point of his 1/3 mile run.
"The kid is really coming along!" states fun Zorro happy to have a skijor partner again,
if only for short distances...
It was a beautiful morning to run the trails at Breckenridge Nordic Center yesterday. Before hooking up young Jack for his 1/3 mile, Zorro and I did a fast out & back on the trails for just under 5 miles. It was zoom, zoom Zorro to start the day:
Zorro catching air as he flies along the fast trails.
After a quick run with Zorro, we hooked up young Jack for his 1/3 mile skijor. Zorro is so good at changing his pace to allow Jack to keep up. While he could floor it and go much faster than Jack, he instead takes his speed down a notch to let Jack keep pace and gain confidence. Here is a great shot of "jogging Zorro" with "floored Jack" next to him. Love Jack's form - airborne sprint tuck with ears tucked in for aerodynamics! He really gets it :)
On to the video highlight of yesterday's outing. Come along for a fun 30 seconds skijoring with Zorro and Jack. Nice effort from Jack on just his second skijor longer than a 50 yard sprint and nice form from Zorro keeping the speed to a Jack Pace.
End of the day's run and time for "end of run" pork treats. Little 12 week old Rudy gets to join in for the treats too :)
"Fun day, fun day!" exclaims happy Zorro.
"My turn, my turn!" declares happy Jack.
"Yum, yum!!!!" says little Rudy getting one of his pork cuts.
1/3 a mile for Jack - whew, that's work! Sideline cheerleading for Rudy - phew, that's REAL work....
Young Jack and little Rudy zonked out in the back of the Jeep on the way home.
What a big outing :)
A fast & short solo run with Zorro followed up by a fun 1/3 mile run with Zorro and Jack: 5.2 miles traveled with 500 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 22 MPH.
2017/2018 Season to Date: 41 days on the trails covering 296.0 miles with 26,400 feet of elevation climbed.
