Shade

Yay for the shade on the lower section of the Middle Fork Trail in Swan Valley!

Great November 5th conditions as we started the day in the shade on the Middle Fork
Trail in Swan Valley!

Boo for the melting in the sun exposed sections of the Middle Fork Trail:

Yikes! Barely enough snow to keep the skis on! Luckily my partners know to slow to a
trot when conditions are sketchy! 

Although we had some great snow to end October, we have had a warm & dry start to November. I was wracking my brain yesterday trying to think of a trail that may have survived the last few warm days. What we needed was a trail with lower elevation shade so the snow would still be intact as we climbed elevation to where the snow is still extremely good. The decision was to try the Middle or South Fork trails at Swan Valley this morning. As you see in the first photo, Middle Fork had the perfect amount of shade to start our run. As you see in the second photo, it was sketchy whenever we encountered sun exposed sections of trail.

Then, once we got up in elevation a bit, it was as I expected - great upper elevation snow! The only drawback was the trail had been driven by 4WD vehicles, so it was a bit tracked up and tested all of my ski abilities to stay upright behind my sprinting trio :)

Great snow in the upper elevations as I am riding the skis in the track behind Jack while
Zorro & Rudy run in the tracks to the left.

How great was the lower shade? Well come along for the start to this morning's run as I am riding the "sled dog tow rope" up the Middle Fork Trail on perfect conditions in the shade.

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

I had to take my skis off once to walk over a stretch of exposed ground. Once back on snow I stopped to put the skis back on. Did I say "stopped"? Well, you know what that means from the youngsters...

"Back on snow, I'll wait for you to get in the skis!' says happy & polite Zorro.
"Stopped = rolling in snow!' demonstrates Rudy.
"Rolling AND eating snowcones - I'm talented!" adds snow rolling & eating Jack.

A perfect early November outing with just enough shade to enjoy the snow and not too much sun exposed terrain to hike over. A well earned set of end of run treats:

"Perfect! Hand out the treats!" says the happy & focused trio.

A great choice of trail this morning to get in a short fun run on what snow is still available in the shade and upper elevations: 5.2 miles traveled with 600 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 18 MPH.

2019/2020 Season to Date: 15 days on the trails covering 89.9 miles with 8850 feet of elevation climbed.

Sun

Skijoring into the morning sun on French Gulch :)

Just a few toes shy of a "hover husky" shot as we skijor into the morning sun.

Today's skijor found us going out & back in French Gulch. It is still early November, so despite the great early season skijoring we have been having, it is still early season. As a result, we had the full range of early season conditions.

Far back in the gulch was WONDERFUL. There were set tracks on each side of the trail with shallow powder down the middle. I rode in the shallow powder and Jack & Rudy took turns being in a set track versus the middle powder while we let elder Zorro have a set track to himself.

Zorro & Jack in the set tracks as Rudy & I cruise along in the shallow middle powder.
Great conditions!

The lower part of the gulch was icy and sketchy! The upcoming week is forecast to be warm (above freezing and approaching 40F) and dry and the lower part of French Gulch is 1-2 warm days away from being un-skiable! Yikes!

Jack on ice (which will be water later today and mud in a few days).
Zorro on a mix of ice & snow.
Rudy and I on the last bit of snow left on the shoulder of the trail.
Ugly conditions!

The middle of the gulch was skiable but bumpy. Come along and watch as we have enough snow to go but I am bouncing around on the bumpy terrain. Not great conditions but still usable.

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

From ugly to usable to great - the full range of conditions on the outing. A quick pause to let the human catch his breath, everyone having a great time?

"You bet! It's toes on snow!' states the happy trio.

Finally, no day is complete without the turnaround antics from the children:

"You know you want to roll too! Come on, join us!" says goofy Jack to Zorro.
"You kids are strange!" responds Zorro.
"Ah!" adds Rudy burying himself in the snow.

A fun out & back in French Gulch this morning but the upcoming warm & dry week is going to put a real pause or slow down in our skijoring plans! 5.6 miles traveled with 500 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 19 MPH.

2019/2020 Season to Date: 14 days on the trails covering 84.7 miles with 8250 feet of elevation climbed.

Yay Gate

Yay for the winter gate to Boreas Pass being closed!

"Oh boy, the gate is closed!" says happy Jack.
"Cool!" add Zorro & Rudy.

Why a "yay" for the gate? Well, this means that only skis, snowshoes and fat bikes will be on Boreas from today until May or June! No more vehicles tearing up the terrain driving up the pass. The forest service always closes the gate at some point in November; but today's November 1st closure is the earliest we've ever seen (it has been as late as Thanksgiving some years).

With the gate closed, the conditions on Boreas are wonderful, especially the higher you go up the pass. Here we are zooming along on perfect conditions on November 1st!

Zoom, zoom, zoooom!!!

Come along for a glimpse of perfect November skijoring on Boreas Pass. We had such a fun day cruising up & down Boreas.

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

In addition to wonderful skijoring terrain, Boreas is also a great place to get stunning views of Breckenridge Ski Resort across the valley:

Look at all those snow covered ski runs of Breckenridge Ski Resort across the valley.
There have been previous November 1s when the run were still completely brown!!!

Once again, the "turnaround antics" from Jack & Rudy :)

"They really are goofy!" states happy Zorro.
"Rolling, rolling, keep on snow rolling!" adds the snow angel pair.

Another momentary pause on the trail while waited for some traffic (people & dogs) to clear in front of us. Everyone having a good time?

"Yes, yes, yes!" states the happy trio.

Time for some well earned end-of-run pork treats:

"What a fun morning! Now hand them out!" states the focused & happy trio.

Yay for the earliest closing of the Boreas gate we've ever seen, bring on a great winter! 7.2 miles traveled with 650 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 21 MPH.

2019/2020 Season to Date: 13 days on the trails covering 79.1 miles with 7750 feet of elevation climbed.