Skiing in July?? Yeah we can do that!!! When long-time CBMG client Jason Leonard called the office asking for an adventure, I jumped at the chance to take a great client on an exciting action-packed day. We met at the office at 7 am and headed up Kebler Pass through Irwin and parked the rig at 11,400 in the heart of the Ruby Mountains. 

We loaded up skis and boots and made the hike up and over Robinson Basin. Before we knew it, we were at the top of Scarp’s Ridge and needed to descend to the North Side of Purple Peak. So we swapped our sneakers for ski boots and got our first set of turns for the day.

This descent strategically placed us at the bottom of Purple Peak’s S-Couloir. The mountaineering section of our day began as we short-roped and pitched out this ultra-classic snow couloir.

Seven full pitches and about 1000 vertical feet brought us to the Notch at the top of the couloir at 12,400 ft. From there we dropped packs and scrambled up to the summit of Purple Peak.

We then downclimbed back to the Notch and began our ski descent down the Sister Couloir. The descent involved one belayed downclimb and one belayed ski.

Two  rope lengths down, we unroped and skied the apron of the Sister Couloir and entered Owen Bowl for some surprisingly good skiing.

We were able to ski down Owen Bowl back to within a 10 minute hike to the car. All in all, it was a great day adventuring in the mountains and a great introduction to ski mountaineering. Maybe now I’ll put the storage wax on my skis for the summer!!

Your Guide  John MacKinnon  

With the weather so stable and the rock so good, I thought it was time to guide the stunning “Hall of Fame” on Mount Crested Butte. Scotty Smith and I climbed the center line straight up to the summit. The climbing is not rated harder then the ridge routes but it is much more sustained. Beside a lot of really loose rock the climbing is great. A minimum of 2 full rope pitches up a beautiful crack system leads you to the summit. I personally have never guided the route but have climbed it a few times. I look forward to getting up there again.

Alan Bernholtz

Summer is here in Crested Butte, rung in with the 4th of July. We at CBMG have been busy with all types of different adventures, and have been enjoying seeing new and old faces alike, and sharing our love for the outdoors and our backyard with everyone. Trips have been going out daily to the Mt. CB Guides’ Ridge, rockclimbing in Taylor Canyon, wildflower hikes and mountain biking all around CB. The snow is melting, and the trails are drying out…the CB to Aspen hike seems just a few short weeks away from being open, as well as the famous 401 Trail for Mountain Biking. Below are some pics of early July Guides’ Ridge trips…. a phenomenal alpine rock climb of easy technical difficulty (5.4) and incredible views, all  a very European style short walk from the chairlift.

Independence Day in Crested Butte, CO is probably the biggest party of the year, as almost 10,000 people descend on our tiny town of 2,000 for the parade, festivities and of course fireworks. In the continuation of a yearly tradition started long ago by Crested Butte Mountain Guides founder and current CB mayor, Alan Bernholtz, CBMG entered a dangerous, exciting, and fun float into the parade. This year’s theme turned into “Puff the Sketchy Dragon” and was a giant dragon slip-n-slide that shot out people through a fire breathing mounth into a pool of water (and gasoline). Known locally as the infamous ‘Bizarro World’ float, we proudly took second place in the parade this year, before being dismantled by the CB Fire Department’s fire hoses at the parade’s terminus water fight. Once again, miraculously no one was hurt, burned, or even had a bad time….Happy Independence Day !!!