Skiing w Franzi & Jack

Franzi with Raven and Papas.

Approaching the "big rock."

looking across the valley. alaska range hiding from view.

Papas, Lisbet, Pelle, and Victor

Robber, Major & Jack

snowshoe mt. ski tour

Last Saturday I headed up into the Talkeetna Mountains with four dogs & my friend Mike. It was a grey day with low cloud cover. The plan was to skijor with two dogs as far into the mountains as time & weather allowed. The temps were mild, around freezing, and fresh snow had fallen a few days prior, making for a nice trail. The trail starts at the end of Yoder Road in Talkeetna and gradually climbs through forest and alpine meadows until it tops out above treeline at "the rock," 7 miles from the trailhead. From there, we climbed the ridgeline up onto what we think was Snowshoe Mountain. I'm guessing we went 3-5 miles past the rock before we decided big ridge #2 would be our "summit." Then we turned around & headed back down the mountain towards a big rock I had scouted as a potential lunch stop on the way up. We cruised down the mountainside, floating on fresh powder while the dogs loped alongside in packed snowmachine tracks. A brisk breeze kicked up & although we were partially sheltered by the big rock, we (humans) grew a bit chilled. We refueled on coffee, chocolate & avocado sandwiches, and then, dreaming of warm socks and hot tea, headed back down the mountainside.  As soon as we dropped below treeline, the temperature spiked and we skied comfortably back to the cars.  Comfortably, temperature-wise anyway. I did a pretty big faceplant coming down a moguly hill that wasn't so comfortable, but besides that, had a fantastic day!

Fezzik, Robber, Lisbet, Papas & Victor at "the rock," 7 miles up trail.

Talkeetna mts.

Mike with Papas & Fezzik

Up into the grey. 

Victor

Robber supervises as Mike mcgyvers my broken ski binding.

Lunch rock.

Fezzik & Papas resting in the heather. 

Robber is a mama's boy....

Cruising back down the mountain.

Heading back down the ridge.

beautiful country.

a lovely grey day. 

The dogs and I have spent the last two weeks recovering from the big race…. My frostbit nose & cheeks are ruddy, but back to regular size. The Iditarod dogs are frisky and powerful, hardened as only 900+ trail miles can do. They have been going out on small skijor trips with me as often as time & weather allows. We have been experiencing fantastic spring weather…The sun shining bright, throwing sparkles on the snow….bluebird skis and narrow trails beckoning, the dogs howling to run & my skis calling my name. It has felt absolutely criminal to be inside on the computer…… As a result, I have been absent from the Internet basically since the beginning of March (!). I apologize for my slow responses & to those who have been waiting to hear about my Iditarod experience. I’ve used this time out with my dogs to reflect on my race and focus on the future. With lots of cloudy weather in the forecast, I expect I will begin work on my account of the 2014 Iditarod this week. In the meantime, please enjoy this interview with Greg Sellentin of Mushing Magazine. In between work & ski tours with the Iditarod dogs, I found time (after sundown of course) to meet with Greg & record a podcast in which I recount some of my trail experiences. Snippets of our interview will also appear in the next issue of Mushing Magazine. Hope you get at least some amusement from it!

xo Lisbet & Team 

PODCAST LINK:     http://podcast.mushing.com/Mushing_Magazine_Podcast/Mushing_Magazine_Podcast/Entries/2014/4/5_LIsbet_Norris.html