Early Morning Belay

Crested Butte Mountain Guide Johnny MacKinnon spent May and June guiding on Mt. Hood in Oregon. Hood, at 11,239 ft., is Oregon’s tallest mountain and with a variety of ever-changing weather and route conditions ensures that each day on the mountain is different, challenging and exciting. All in all, Johnny logged 17 summits and 2 ski descents down the 45 degree Old Chute. He’s excited to be back in Crested Butte and looks forward to spending his summer climbing in Colorado’s mountains. Here are some photos from his adventures on Mt. Hood:

Roping up at the Hogsback at 10,500. The Old Chute is the visible wide chute with several climbers on it. The upper slopes of Mt. Hood offer endless variations via numerous snow and ice gulleys through the rimed towers

Cruising Mt. Hood’s Summit Ridge at 11,200 ft. The summit ridge narrows down to a knife-edge (two foot) ridge with a 3,000 ft. drop down to the Elliot and Coe Glaciers. This is an amazing place to watch the sunrise.

Summer has come to Crested Butte! More visitors are visiting, snow patches are turning into mud, mud puddles are drying out, and wildflowers have started blooming all over the place. To prepare for the summer season, most of the guides went out for staff training this past weekend. We climbed to the peak of Mount Crested Butte via the Guide Ridge and Sunset Ridge to refresh our memories of what the mountain looks like without snow, then rappelled down.  The guide ridge is a great alternative route to the peak and alpine experience right out our backdoor.

-Kirsten Fraser