A Tribute to Our Legendary Ski Touring Jack Russell

TOP DOG

Again within the Alps, we’re lacking one cherished companion who has accompanied us on many mountain adventures. RIP, Relaxation In Powder, our stunning little Kiki.

We returned to the mountains, final week, with heavy hearts as our van was lacking considered one of our crew, Kiki, our little Jack Russell, who selected to climb the massive mountain within the sky after 16 years, the day earlier than we left for France.

Yearly Kiki (proper within the picture, above) has come to the Alps with us and, for a superb a lot of them, come up the mountain on many a ski tour. She and her daughter, Beanie (on the left), turned well-known in Serre Chevalier, and on our Ski Blogs, because the Rando Chiens. And on their Instagram #allrightjacks, they had been ‘the one ski touring Jack Russells on the earth’.

I am unsure if that is true, however nobody has contradicted the declare as a result of what number of little Jacks handle 1000m vertical and, typically,15km up and down the mountains ski touring?  What number of have sat on the well-known signal at 2642m on the highest of the Col du Galibier?

The stoic willpower and continuous stamina of Jack Russells is phenominal – additionally, the love of a sausage deal with or two, all the time offered on the transition of our ski excursions.  

Going up was all the time straightforward for Kiki, our climbing tempo on skis not an issue for 4 legs. Spring ski touring days had been a stroll within the park for her on early morning hardpack snow with the joys of a whistling marmot so as to add to her pleasure – and additional kilometres lined giving chase. After all, the marmots all the time ducked into their holes properly earlier than she may come anyplace shut.

However even on recent snow days when she wasn’t sufficiently big to see excessive of our tracks, Kiki would observe our line ploughing by the powder, like a small torpedo, typically taking a brief lower between our turns.

Beanie is now 13 years previous and, although her coronary heart is keen as she all the time will get excited once we placed on ski gear, her Jack Russell everyready batteries are operating low, so solely small spring ski excursions for her.

However how privileged we’re to have had such superior little canine with hearts of lions, accompanying us on our mountain adventures.

Miss you Kiki.