Kaya the Ski Dog

-By Lindsey Clark

There are certain qualities I look for in a ski buddy: stoke, availability, and pockets full of awesome snacks. Kaya delivers on all three, and more!

Kaya’s ample fluff was our first indication that she would make a great ski dog. We’ve had lots of speculation about her heritage — Chow/Samoyed/Golden? Miniature Great Pyrenees? Giant Pomeranian? — but whatever is in there, her love of burly winter weather obviously runs deep.

Kaya is pretty short, and as a result we have to be thoughtful about when and where she skis. She loves the deep stuff, but has a hard time keeping up unless the slope angle tops 45 degrees (she’s skied over 50… and loved it!). Otherwise, she wallows in our tracks, and we have to wait for her at the bottom.

The best snow surface for her is nice, creamy, sun-softened corn snow. The good news for all of us is that there is tons of it, all summer long, in our central Oregon Cascades.

Her stoke is always high, both on the up and the down.

She has also been known to warm us up after skiing in tents and camper vans, and who wouldn’t love that?

And about those pockets full of snacks: there’s usually something tasty and easy to grab in her dog pack!

So Kaya, thanks for being an awesome ski buddy, and cheers to many more years of shredding together!

Read more about Kaya and Lindsey’s awesome adventures shredding in the backcountry here.