Snow, snow everywhere but not enough to ski

We welcomed 2026 with temperatures in the single digits and snow blanketing everything with a deep, airy layer of flakes, that hinted at the possibility of fabulous cross-country skiing.  But by morning the “inches of snow” showed themselves to have been an illusion, brought about by huge fluffy flakes falling while temperatures were so cold that they held their shape, building lattices of snow and air on all the surfaces they covered.  Over the next few hours the snow collapsed, like the center of a cake pulled from the oven too soon, and what had looked like many inches of snow at midnight turned out to only be one to two.  Never-the-less, having decided in the middle of the night that I was going cross-country skiing in the morning, I enthusiastically donned my skis.  It was a beautiful morning, with the sun shining off a bright white landscape. Unfortunately, the skiing was disappointing.  Not enough snow!  But I can’t complain too much.  Taking advantage of the trails we share with neighbors I have already gotten in some great skiing this winter, thanks to some early snow. 

The dogs join me when I ski.  On cold mornings like this one, getting us ready can be quite an undertaking.   The dogs wear sled-dog booties, to keep ice balls from forming between their paw pads.  They are amazingly good about letting me put them on, which I anthropomorphize as meaning they are glad to have them.  On very cold mornings they wear their thunder shirts, as an extra layer against the cold, and no matter the temperature, I put them in orange vests, in part because it is still deer hunting season in Michigan, but more so because I can more easily see them.  Then I need all my layers, plus ski boots, spats, dog treat bag, fanny pack with wax and emergency supplies (also loaded with leashes in case I need to corral misbehaving dogs), goggles, scarf, hat, mittens, phone….   Seems like I rarely make it out of the house in less than half an hour.

Despite the extra time it takes to get ready I love being able to take the dogs.  But that said, they add some challenges to a ski outing.   Willow begins each ski trip with what I call “breakdancing”.   She wants to chase the ski tips and will spend the start of each ski jumping backwards in front of me trying to catch the skis and barking.  After a few minutes she gives up, although she periodically resumes her ski tip chasing, particularly in situations where the skis are moving but my feet are not, which, unfortunately means when I am going down hills.  Since those are exactly the times you DON’T want a dog jumping in front of you, she can make going downhill a bit of a harrowing experience and she has managed to take both me and her down a time or two, although it happens less often than you might think. 

Fortunately, Rocky shows no interest in the ski chasing game.  What he loves is to run.  Of all his many nick names (Rocky Roo, Rockster, Rocky Raccoon, Worm) the one that best describes his behavior on ski outings is Rocket Man.  He takes off as fast as he can ahead of me, often running out of sight, after which he is just as likely to reappear from behind me, having run a giant loop around me, as to come back the way he went.  Since being on skis makes going after him through the underbrush unfeasible, I have had to learn to keep going and trust that he will come back to me.  He has shown me that he keeps track of where I am, knows how to get back to me and does so regularly even if just checking in for a few seconds on his way past again. Since we are generally well away from roads, I am teaching myself to relax and let him do what he loves.  (This is helped by the fact that he is now wearing a GPS collar with a “live mode” feature that can be activated so I can use my phone to see exactly where he is if he stays away a bit longer than I am comfortable with).  

Although the first ski of 2026 was not ideal, the forecast says it is going to stay below freezing for a few days.  I am hoping for additional snow, so that Willow can breakdance and Rocky can run laps while I ski.