Nordic Zooming

Jack & Rudy were FLYING around the trails at Breckenridge Nordic Center this morning!

Hang on human!!!!!

The hover huskies catching air as the fly along this excellent stretch of
recently groomed trail.

It has been a warm & pretty dry week after a great snowy week before. As a result, all of our favorite backcountry trails have turned to sheets of slick ice after warm days and cold nights. So, until it snows again, our only skijor option is the groomed upper elevation trails of Breckenridge Nordic Center. But, one option is better than none! So off to the nordic center we went this morning...

We went zipping by Kathy's Viewpoint Warming Hut:

"Who needs a warming hut? Not us!" says the flying duo.

We kept on zipping past the Hallelujah Warming Hut:

"Still not interested in a silly warming hut! Floor it!" says the speedy kids.

With all that zooming around, did we ever stop? Well, one thing can bring Jack & Rudy to a halt: MOOSE! While we did not see a moose today, we did encounter some fresh smelling moose prints on the trail. Apparently moose like groomie zoomie trails too :)

Jack's nose & head firmly planted in a fresh smelling moose footprint.
Rudy inspecting another moose footprint.
Look in the lower left (just below Rudy) and you can see another moose
footprint in the trail. Look just below Jack's head (almost the center of the
photo) and you can see yet another footprint between Jack & Rudy.
I'm told by my pals that these were very fresh smelling :)

Once done inspecting the moose prints and it was off to the races again. Come along for a great video clip of the action as we topped 22 MPH along this stretch. About 28 seconds into this clip and we come upon a right or left option in the trail. 90% of the time we take this right turn. But, today, the trail was in better condition to the left. So, I call out a "Left" then "Forward" to get the team going the non-traditional direction at this intersection. Good listeners :)

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

We also had to turnaround at one point along the outing. We first drifted off trail into the side snow and then the comedians did their usual Stop, Drop and Roll!

"Rub a dub dub!" goes snow rolling Jack.
"Ah, I love rolling snow angels!" adds blissful Rudy.

Finally, back to the busy trailhead (this is the only useable cross country ski trail right now) and it was time to get in close for end of run treats:

"You have my full attention!" declares focused Jack.
"This is a close as I can get without climbing on you!" adds tightly packed in Rudy.

A fun nordic zooming day: 8.8 miles traveled with 900 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 22 MPH.

2024/2025 Season to Date: 9 days on the trails covering 71.9 miles with 6600 feet of elevation climbed.

Dive

Rudy's first rodent dive of the 2024/2025 skijor season!

"Sniff, sniff - I detect rodents under the snow!" declares head dunking Jack.
"Really? Rodents? Well, then, INCOMING!" goes Rudy with on of his
patented, fox-like rodent dives.

Usually Rudy does not do his beautiful, high arching rodent dives until the snow is a bit deeper. But, Jack dunking his head so deep in the snow today got Rudy motivated to launch one of his pretty dives :)

Aside from hunting for rodents under the snow, we had a wonderful skijor in Dry Gulch this morning. We found ourselves laying fresh tracks in 1-2 inches of fresh snow almost the entire outing!

Snow poofs coming off Jack & Rudy's feet as we gallop along laying
fresh tracks in the morning's new snow.

Now come along for the video version of laying fresh tracks in 1-2 inches of new snow. Wheeee!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

The only time we were not laying fresh tracks is when we did an out/back side tour from the main trail. Then it was second tracks to ourselves on the return leg:

Second tracks to ourselves as we cruise through some abandoned
mining buildings in one of the many ghost towns in Dry Gulch.

At turnaround time on our out/back side tour, it was snow angels with a view from the comedians:

"Hi! You know you want to join us!" says happy Jack looking back to me.
"Aaaahhhh, just aaaaahhhhh!" adds blissful Rudy.

Did Jack & Rudy enjoy today's outing? Well, just see the happy, happy kids for yourself as we arrive at the trailhead to end the day:

"Wheeee, we love snow!!!" says the super happy sled dogs.

Finally, a nice snow wall to climb for end of run treats to conclude the beautiful day:

"Ready! Now dish them out!" says the fun kids.

A quick but very fun run in Dry Gulch this morning: 6.4 miles traveled with 400 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 20 MPH.

2024/2025 Season to Date: 8 days on the trails covering 63.1 miles with 5700 feet of elevation climbed.

High vs Low

Snow angels from Jack and woos from Rudy at our turnaround point this morning.

Shocking, huh? Hahaha!

"Turnaround, roll around!' goes snow rolling Jack.
"Turnaround, woos abound!" belts singing Rudy.

Today's outing took us to the upper trails at Breckenridge Nordic Center. It was almost like we skijored two different locations, though. The groomer had last run on the trails yesterday morning and it was in the 40s yesterday afternoon and then under 20 overnight. So, the trails closer to the trailhead were well used yesterday, warmed in the afternoon and refroze overnight. The result? Well, there was no real evidence the groomer really ran yesterday!

The classic ski track between Jack & Rudy is the only evidence of a recent
groomer. All the groom corduroy has been tracked up and the trail
was fast packed and SLICK!

Then, go a few miles from the trailhead, and few others had been out this far since yesterday morning's groom.  How few? Well, at our furthest point there was only one pre-existing classic ski track and one pre-existing skate ski track. The rest of the trail was untouched groomer corduroy! You know what that means:

Groomie zoomie as we top 21 MPH on the good conditions this morning!

Today's fun skijoring clip highlights my right ski. We are at about mid-distance from the trailhead in this clip; so more than two but not many previous skiers had been on this stretch. Then I noticed the right shoulder of this section of trail is shaded and still had some untouched corduroy from yesterday's grooming. Thus, all my weight is on my right leg this entire clip while the left glides down the slick middle. So, you'll see a lot of my right ski tip on & off throughout this clip if you can take your eyes off impressive running Jack & Rudy :) Wheeee!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

There is one very steep, sun exposed and rocky short section of trail we encounter on this route. The warm Sunday & Monday had caused the rocks to start poking through the snow. So, I had to take my skis off for this short section. I can get them off pretty quick, but we all have to stop while I put them back on. Well, you guessed it, Stop, Drop & Roll from the Siberian comedians:

Stop, Drop and Roll! What else to do while the slow human puts the skis back on?
You can see one ski, off the ground, to the right of this photo. 
Jack & Rudy make full use for comedy interludes at any stoppage :)

Finally, back to the trailhead and, unfortunately, no snow walls of any significance to climb for end of run treats. So, we'll sit patiently in the snow for our treats instead.

"We'd rather climb a snow wall for treats; but we certainly will
accept them down here!" says the focused & happy pair.

Slick down low, beautiful up high - what a difference in conditions on today's outing: 9 miles traveled with 900 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 21 MPH.

2024/2025 Season to Date: 7 days on the trails covering 56.7 miles with 5300 feet of elevation climbed.