Hello

Yesterday morning was a PERFECT day to follow groomer tracks up, down and around the Buffalo Park area of Rabbit Ears Pass. Wheeee!

Cool wide angle shot of Jack & Rudy towing me for miles & miles1

We were pleasantly surprised to find that the groomer trail created Tuesday morning was still relatively untouched 24 hours later. While we only had time for a short outing, we certainly made use of this groomer track. Apparently most people think it is Spring and the snow season is over. Ha, not us! :)

Jack & Rudy catching air as we top 23 MPH along this perfect trail.

Now come along for a cool video clip showcasing a variety of highlights. We start with Jack & Rudy in a gentle jog as they are towing me along a winding trail through the forest. So nice of them to keep the speeds down while I work the skis to stay with then through the bends in the trail. Then, we come upon an open straightaway. Without any command from me, the two fun kids know "straightaways are speedways" and they really open up the throttle! Note that as we enter the speedway, Jack & I are thinking the right side of the trail is "best" while Rudy is centered down the middle. It only takes a few seconds for Jack & I to notice that Rudy is right and we both move to the middle to join Rudy and top 23 MPH. Zoom!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Even with the great speed track trail, you cannot ignore rodents stirring under the snow. The hunters had to stop for one session of rodent excavation:

"Digging, digging, gotta find the rodents!" says digger Jack.
"Incoming, rodent excavation!" adds diving Rudy.

Partway through the excavation and time to check our progress :)

"Hello (hello, hello - echoing)!" calls the goofy kids.
"No need to worry, just a couple of innocent predators up here!" adds
innocent little sled dogs ;)

Despite such fine excavation work, we failed to come up with any rodents from under the snow. Well, we might as well settle for 'end of run' treats with retired mentor Zorro instead:

In tight, centered, focused & READY for 'end of run' treats!!!

A wonderful short but speedy day atop Rabbit Ears Pass again: 6.4 miles traveled with 800 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 23 MPH.

2021/2022 Season to Date: 147 days on the trails covering 1239.1 miles with 115,900 feet of elevation climbed.

Endless Groom

It was a fast day on endless groomed trails starting from Dumont Lake atop Rabbit Ears Pass!

The freshly groomed trail went on for miles & miles and Jack, Rudy & I
were first tracks on the fresh groom. Endless fun!

We are members of the local snowmobile club (Routt Powder Riders) who groom the primary trails atop Rabbit Ears Pass. Jack & Rudy are snow machines after all, so we proudly contribute to the club to enjoy their grooming operations. The kids were VERY happy with today's perfect conditions on endless miles of freshly groomed trails. Just ask them yourself :)

"Having so much fun!" declares happy, happy Jack.
"Having a WOOO-nderful time!" asserts wooing in appreciation Rudy.

Every direction we turned was perfect, perfect, perfect! What an amazing day!

Shadows reversed from the first photo but everything else is just
the same - endless groomie zoomie!

Now come along for some video fun from the outing. Watch as Jack & Rudy tow me from the sun into a great and wide trail winding through the forest. Wheeee!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Of course, such great conditions means you need to roll snow angels to "cool your jets" during any pause on the trail. Jack often steps off trail to get in deeper snow for his angels while Rudy tends to enjoy cooling himself on the groomed track.

Snow angel antics from the comedians :)

An absolutely perfect day to report back to retired mentor Zorro:

"I feel the groom on my toes - perfect!" says focused Zorro.
"I can taste the 'end of run' treats in anticipation!" adds slurping Jack.
"Happily waiting my turn!" adds cool Rudy.

What a perfect endless day: 11.2 miles traveled with 900 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 23 MPH.

2021/2022 Season to Date: 146 days on the trails covering 1232.7 miles with 115,100 feet of elevation climbed.

April POW

Blasting through 8 inches of fresh powder in late April! What a powder POW treat!

Cool shot of Jack & Rudy blasting through the powder with a glimpse
of my skis gliding behind. Wheeee!

Today was a fun & unexpected test on the new skis. Recall the skis are only 8 days old and were bought in an emergency after the last pair busted. I always buy skis that are rated "on & off trail" for skijoring as we love both groomed/packed trails and powder trails. Well, I did not think I'd really get the chance to test the "off trail" capabilities of these new skis until next season. But, mother nature had other plans and gave us a great powder day this April 24th to give the skis an off trail test. As you see in the photo above - success!

We started the day laying fresh tracks on the established trails around Sally Barber Mine as we beat everyone else out to get the fresh snow!

Gliding through 6-8 inches as we crest at the Sally Barber Mine.

While laying fresh tracks around the mine was fun, the most fun found us abandoning set trails and blasting through 8+ inches of powder making our own path in the backcountry. We did two such off trail powder excursions to enjoy the soft & fresh powder.

Jack & Rudy zipping through the trees as we enjoy the fresh POW!

Now come along for a video glimpse into the off trail fun. It's not often you get such a great powder adventure this late in April. Go guys go!!!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Of course, powder blasting is quite an aerobic activity. That means you need to roll snow angels at any break during the outing :)

The gate behind Rudy marks a point to leave the set trail and go exploring
in the backcountry. As I paused to set my skis to go off trail, the kids did
their patented 'stop, drop & roll' - goofballs :)

Whew, what fun. Let's go tell retired mentor Zorro all about it!

"Ah, I'm in powder too!" says cool Zorro.
"Late April POW - Wheeee!" adds powder hounds Jack & Rudy.

What a powder treat this morning: 7.2 miles traveled with 700 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 20 MPH.

2021/2022 Season to Date: 144 days on the trails covering 1213.9 miles with 113,500 feet of elevation climbed.