THE froth puppy
You’ve never seen a more stoked-out dog than Peach stepping out of the backdoor after some fresh snow. There is always a brief moment of hesitation - she’ll look back at me as if to express gratitude for providing this new wintery playground. Then she bolts off in full zoomie mode. Frolicking, snorkeling and absolutely cake-faced with snow. I sure-as-hell can’t make snow but I can always open the door to it.
The first time I ever took her splitboarding (backcountry snowboarding) was more struggle-fest than smooth sailing. After a relatively snowy week, we ventured into this mellow meadow area and her big ass self was crawling around, sinking in the snow the whole way up. Not utilizing the skin track, mind you (skin track = compressed snow = easier to walk on than powder). On the ride down, I had to stop every 50 yards just to let her catch up. My girl was visibly struggling her way through the snow from start to finish. We got back to the truck and I remember thinking that would likely be one of her last backcountry outings.
Two weeks later, I threw my gear in the truck and there she is, jumping up and down with a big ol’ smile. Being the habitual victim of short-termed memory loss, off we went. This go round, she used the skin track to her advantage on the uphill and while still slow, she was stoked from top to bottom. Ok, that’s a win, maybe she’ll figure this thing out.
Fast forward a few weeks and a few more mellow outings, avalanche danger had subsided and it was time to go for a bigger mission. To bring the dog or not to bring the dog? The funny thing is, Peach usually answers that question more than I do. When your dog is frothing (read: bouncing, licking, making noises) when you’re preparing your gear the night before, it is hard to say no.
8 miles and 3,300 feet of vertical later, Peach is chasing other trailhead dogs around the parking lot while my buddies and I are huffing and puffing with soggy feet and sore legs. I think I might have created a little powder hound.
Disclaimer: I do not take the dog on every adventure. Too cold (10° or less) and it’s a no go. Too steep and it’s a no go. Too long or remote, no go. Dogs need a little help on these adventures too. Extra water + collapsable bowl, first aid kit, musher’s paste for their feet. If you’re taking your dog up to a ridgeline, you need to be very aware of their lack of understanding on how cornices work. Peach is 80 pounds, plenty big enough to drop a cornice in the wrong spot and send the whole slope off.
