Snow shoeing & XC skiing with dog at Kirkwood, CA- Jan 2018

     I thought we ought to take our husky-malamute, Sweeney, to the snow since he is supposed to be a snow dog and generally likes to pull on leash walks.   So I organized a trip for him!   First, I bought him the right gear, including a harness for me and a harness for him.   I also bought a tow rope, but I ended up just using our long Halti leash so I could also wrap it around my waist and use it with a pincher collar to get him through the parking lot and down the highway to the Kirkwood meadow.  One we got to the meadow, I used it as a tow rope, connecting his harness to mine.  It was just the right length so that he could run ahead of my skis.    

  

     Of course I took him jogging with the new harnesses a week before we went to the snow.  It was hard controlling him without having him at my side, so we really didn't get very far, but at least his 80 pounds couldn't overpower me with the harnesses.  I tried teaching him Gee and Haw, Let's Go and Woah!   We did pretty good at the latter two.
     The next plan that had to be made was where to go.  That took a whole day because it wasn't so easy finding a hotel that took dogs, had a good cancellation policy in case there was no snow and was located near a XC ski center that rented skis and allowed dogs.   So with all that in mind, we decided on Kirkwood Cross Country and Snowshoe Center.  The phone receptionist was very friendly answering all my questions.  We would have to stay in Jackson, 1 hr and 11 minutes before Kirkwood.   Jackson's Best Western Amador Inn, took dogs and gave a refund up to 24 hrs in advance.  We'd take it!
    So we loaded up the van with luggage for 4 people, including downhill skis, and a dog!

     He had a nice cozy spot on a blanket in the back with the rear seats folded down.   It was his longest car ride ever!  2.5 hrs to Jackson!  But we gave him one 10 minute break in Stockton and another 10 minute break at Camanche Lake.

     Sweeney had a great time at the hotel and on the ride!  There were plenty of cows to bark at in Gold country!  Walking downtown Jackson was dog-friendly enough.  Then, instead of keeping him in the hotel room during dinner and leaving our liability to luck, we put Sweeney in the van with his dinner and a chew toy.  Everyone was happy.

     The next morning, we arrived at Kirkwood and were so excited to see Sweeney's reaction to his first snow encounter!  He took to it right away as if knowing snow was innate to him.  There was no surprise on his part, just total comfort.  He hopped through the deep snow, licked it, rolled in it and looked generally content.  Dogs weren't allowed in the lodge, so we hooked up his leash to the staircase.  Meanwhile we got fitted for snow shoe rentals!

     It was our first time on snow shoes, and the kids might have though it was less exciting if it were not for Sweeney.  But the kids took turns hiking with Sweeney and his leash wrapped around their waists so they could hold their snow poles.  The trails were groomed the width of a body, just for snowshoers.   Sometimes we left the trail, but Sweeney quickly learned that it's easier to walk on the groomed trail.  He didn't even need to know Gee or Haw!  He just followed the trail.

Kirkwood's groomed trails-  groomed for the width of single file snow shoers.

a junction of snow shoer trails.  Time for a doggy snack.

the views at Kirkwood XC ski center

After completing the snow shoe circuit in an hour, we switched shoes and all took cross-country ski lessons, except for my husband, Dima, who was already quite comfortable on XC skis. He hooked up Sweeney to his harness right away and followed us during our lesson.  Seeing Sweeney pull Dima was very motivating for the other students in the class.  The teacher even snarked, "Or we can all just hire Sweeney and forget about learning to do it ourselves."  My family figured out the skiing quickly and everyone took turns being pulled by Sweeney.  Falling didn't hurt as much as if you were falling off a bike onto pavement, so everyone was comfortable mushing.

Sweeney watching our cross country ski lesson at Kirkwood.  The snow was hard enough that not even the weight of his paws could damage the groomed tracks.

I fell a few times, but then Sweeney always waited for me. 

      After the lesson, my kids were eager to get some downhill skiing in, so they opted for the half day downhill ticket at Kirkwood.  It was a rushed trip because we didn't know how well Sweeney would do on an overnight trip, so my kids did snow shoeing, XC skiing and downhill skiing all in one day.   I dropped them off there and came back to ski on my own with Sweeney in the meadow.  It was a hot day, so there was no need for my long underwear, ski jacket or even the Musher's Secret, which failed to come by Amazon Prime in time for the trip, for Sweeney's feet.  All I needed was a helmet, just in case.  I didn't expect to do so well since it was hard to get Sweeney to move when we were jogging in my neighborhood.  But Sweeney and I made the entire loop!  He just followed the trail and did what he was born to do.  He was in his element!  And he was a great companion!  Together we admired the Palisades and beautiful winter lodges on the meadow trail.

We skied in both the tracks and on the skater's section.

There were plenty of ice cold creeks for him to wade in and drink from along the way.  It wasn't too cold for him.  The only times he really got distracted were when we passed by other dogs.  That happened four times.  The first was a stray dog that came up to us.  I didn't want to get literally pulled into a fight or play match, so I just took a seat while they sniffed each other.  Then another skier with an off-leash dog came along, sniffed us and passed.  There was a jogger with a dog and finally skiers with their Golden Retriever on a regular leash instead of a skijorn leash.  They knew their dog wasn't so friendly so they trekked through the deep snow while I passed.  There was a little barking war that had me on the ground, but soon enough we continued on.  Everyone we passed was very impressed by Sweeney and a little jealous of me.   The only commands we really needed were "Wait," "Let's go," and "Woah!"  He just followed the trail!  At the end we ruffed in the snow and and had a little snowball fight.  Sweeney then took his deserved rest in the car while I got filled up on mac n cheese at the Kirkwood Inn & Saloon.
     All in a all, it was a terrific day enjoying dog powered snow sports.  Next time we will take Sweeney on a 4 day, 3 night trip to North Tahoe for more skiing.  There we have reserved a cabin with a fenced in backyard!  He has graduated from the 2 day, 1 night trip, and we are ready to move on!  If only we had a few more huskies, so we could all enjoy dog powered skiing at the same time!  Not!