Flying Reindeer

Rudy the Flying Reindeer!!!!

Nice lift from Rudy the Flying Reindeer!

Rudy has had the nickname "flying reindeer" since he was roughly 6 months old. Why reindeer? Well, he was born on December 29th and he has a red nose. With his birthday so close to Christmas, he is named after Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Why flying? Well, Rudy has an absolutely beautiful running stride and when he gets going, well, he's practically flying as you see above. Thus, Rudy the Flying Reindeer!

Now, Jack is no slouch, he is just barely out of sync with Rudy in the prior photo. Plus, Jack does not tend to get as much lift as Rudy when out-stretched sprinting. On the other hand, Jack is almost always hovering over the trail when in a sprint tuck. See for yourself:

The hover huskies doing what they do :)

Put it all together and you get the following fun video clip. Jack & Rudy topping 23 MPH as they propel me along the great trails at Gold Run Nordic Center. Wheeee!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

At our midpoint of the outing, we had a choice between going right, left, forward or upside down. Jack chose upside down :)

"You paused, I 'stopped, dropped & rolled'!" demonstrates silly Jack.
"He's really my 'older brother and mentor'?" asks cute little Rudy.
Note, Rudy just finished rolling a snow angel himself; Jack just rolls his
for longer given that Jack is the Snow Angel Professional.

Done rolling snow angels and we are once again zipping along the fast trails. Here's a nice piece of history to go along with the impressive sled dogs:

Fast running Jack & Rudy. Wheeee!
The historic Jessie Mine & Mill to the far right - one of the more lucrative
gold mines of the mining heydays of Breckenridge in the 1800s.

Fun day, I'm sure retired mentor Zorro will approve:

"Approved! How about those 'end of run' treats now?" asks focused Zorro.
"Hehe, haha, playing King of the Mountain again!" adds silly Jack & Rudy.

A great "fast action day" on the trails this morning with a cool shot of Rudy the Flying Reindeer along the way: 9.7 miles traveled with 800 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 23 MPH.

2021/2022 Season to Date: 115 days on the trails covering 972.7 miles with 91,700 feet of elevation climbed.

 

Bluebird

Smiles all around from the happy, happy kids on this morning's skijor!

"Having a great time! Let's go dad!" says the happy pair as they look back
waiting for me and my skis to get behind them on the trail this morning.

It was a beautiful bluebird morning today as Jack, Rudy & I got out to enjoy the bright sun.

We started the day away from well-published trails and found a solo snowmobile track to follow for miles & miles away from any crowds. What a gorgeous start to the day:

Following a solo snowmobile track as the ski runs of Breckenridge Ski
Resort are visible across the valley. All the "Saturday crowds" are way over
there on the ski runs :)

We followed this snowmobile track for quite a ways until it came close to the trails of Gold Run Nordic Center. At that point, we dropped off the snowmobile track and onto the freshly groomed nordic trails. We were delighted to find ourselves to be first tracks on the nordic groom! Wheeee!

Catching air as we are first tracks on the groomie zoomie.

The shade in the prior photo does not do justice to our first tracks delight. So, here you go with a "sun shot" to showcase the perfect groom as Jack & Rudy tow me along. 

First tracks on the groomie zoomie for my and my partners delight!

So much fun footage to showcase! For today's video highlight, we'll return to the beginning of the outing. Come along as we are having a blast cruising in the solo snowmobile track as you also get entertained with the views of Breckenridge Ski Resort across the valley to our right. So peaceful away from the crowds!!!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Zorro would have really appreciated today's fun. Let's go celebrate the day by sharing our 'end of run' treats with cool, retired mentor, Zorro:

"Me first!" declares cool Zorro.
"Me second!" adds cool Jack.
"Hi Mom - waiting my turn!" says cute Rudy flashing Nancy with
the camera a smile :)

From solo snowmobile tracks to wide nordic trails, what a fun morning: 9.6 miles traveled with 800 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 24 MPH.

2021/2022 Season to Date: 114 days on the trails covering 963.0 miles with 90,900 feet of elevation climbed.

 

Talk

Never at a loss for words Rudy on the trail this morning :)

"Woo! I ALWAYS have something to say! Woo!" declares wooing Rudy.
"Sigh, just wait for him to finish...." says Jack & I (we know, from experience,
that you cannot ask him to 'stop talking' :)

What was always talkative Rudy talking about? Well, I paused to ask if everyone was having a good time today. As usual, I got a glowing smile of agreement from Jack and a wooing burst of happiness from Rudy! At least he's consistent.

Anyway, after two days of clouds and on/off snow Wed & Thu, we were treated to the return of the sun on this morning's skijor. With two days of fresh snowfall behind us, the trail conditions were wonderful and the bluebird morning was awesome. Such pretty photos today...

Zooming along with snow poofs behind Jack & Rudy and great views
along with the bright morning sun!

We were skijoring the upper elevation trails at Breckenridge Nordic Center. So, as a result, we were near treeline most of the outing. Once you get up this high, the trees thin and the views are great!

Zipping along again as the panorama of Rocky Mountains to our
front and right is incredible.

Opposite direction from the previous photo (notice the shadows are reversed). Different direction, same result: incredible views of snow-covered mountains all around us1

Wheeee!

Of course, all this work towing me around means you need to really roll snow angels to "cool your jets" at the turnaround point of the outing :)

"Ahh, cooling!!!" demonstrates the silly snow rolling kids.

Eventually we had to head back towards the trailhead to finish the outing. This meant coming back down from treeline and into the thicker forest. I love this section of trail in the video. Come along as we are cruising along a wide nordic trail that gently winds through the trees and forest. Such a peaceful trail to glide behind Jack & Rudy!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Done for the day and time for 'end of run' treats with retired mentor Zorro. The kids are in "silly mode" while Zorro is wonderfully focused on me :)

"Ready!" says super focused Zorro.
"Slurp, smack! We can taste them already!" shows the silly slurping kids!

Another fun, fun day! 9.3 miles traveled with 900 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 22 MPH.

2021/2022 Season to Date: 113 days on the trails covering 953.4 miles with 90,100 feet of elevation climbed.