Last weekend on one of the most beautiful days of the winter, CBMG Guide Mike Bromberg, ran our second Avalanche Refresher Course of the season….again to full enrollment. The Refresher Course is a day of ‘bringing it all together’ in a backcountry day tour with feedback and refinement of students’ terrain selection and overall decision making process. The course  also re-explored the planning and preparation stages of our backcountry outing and at the end of the day all the students were scheming to get more days off of work to get out and ski!

Crested Butte Mountain Guides unique and new Avalanche Refresher Course  is designed for those who have taken a Level I Avalanche Course in the past, and who want to re-explore the course curriculum after gaining some experience in the backcountry on their own. Everyone involved agreed that this was a truly educational and empowering day in the backcountry with a solid knowledgeable group… Thanks for a great day y’all.

—Mike Bromberg (Instructor / Guide)

I met Dean Kurth at the Guide Shack on a classically cold and clear Crested Butte winter morning. It was sunny and calm with the temperature hovering around a balmy -7. I assured Dean it would warm up and it sure did! We shed layers immediately as we began our skin out Washington Gulch towards Coney’s Ridge. 

Dean is both a nordic and an alpine skier. Backcountry skiing was the next logical step for him so he could combine the best of both ski worlds. Backcountry skiing on AT gear allowed us the freedom to explore the mountains outside Crested Butte but also provided us with the security and FUN of ripping down powder-filled backcountry bowls. (That’s kind of hard on the skinny skis!) 

We eventually left the valley bottom and steadily climbed and worked our way up to the top of Coney’s Ridge. 

Our summit greeted us with incredible panorama views of the Elk Mountains. At the top we re-fueled and prepared for our ski descent of Coney’s Bowl.

Colorado powder and Colorado sunshine all lived up to their name today. The light powder snow was the perfect introduction to backcountry skiing.

As we worked our way down the bowl, Dean learned the nuances of powder skiing and began linking beautiful turns. In fact, we both enjoyed it so much, we decided to do another lap and ski the whole bowl again! By the time we returned to the car, the sun had almost disappeared behind the mountains and the temperatures were returning to their early morning lows. Thanks for a great day!

John MacKinnon

CBMG Guide

The first few weeks of 2009 for Crested Butte Mountain Guides have been busy and filled with some great backcountry ski tours. Some folks have come out with us for a  few days to work on ski techniques and sample the variety of terrain the Crested Butte backcountry can offer, while still others have chosen for a single day trip with us.

Over this past week, local Chris Haver, proprietor of the Purple Mountain Bed & Breakfast, joined us for a day with some of his extended family memebrs, Ann & Jane Strader, for a great day of backcountry skiing.

Greg & Katya Kruglak of Virginia decided after a multi-day lead climbing clinic with us this past summer to venture out again for a few days of backcountry skiing, and were rewarded with almost a foot of fresh powder over 2 days. The first day we enjoyed beautiful powder skiing for a long lap out to popular Crested Butte backcountry skiing spot…Coney’s.

Day 2 was spent high above the town of Crested Butte on the flanks and moderate angle glade skiing of Mount Emmons. We were greeted with some consistently falling flakes all day and some very enjoyable, if not a little tricky, slightly wind affected powder skiing for 2,000′.

And Dean Kurth joined us all the way from Cincinnati, OH for a great day of powder filled backcounrty skiing out on Coney’s. Here’s a shot of Dean skiing powder like a pro. Who would have guessed it was his first day skiing in the backcounty?

Not to mention, that although not in our backyard, this past weekend was the Annual Ouray Ice Climbing Festival, so we have also been out a few times this week guiding ice climbing…amongst the crowds in the Ouray Ice Park, and closer to home in the secluded and little known Lake City Ice Park.

While we obviously would recommend any multi-day trip because of the ability to work on a skills progression and for the variety of terrain we can visit, either 1-day or multi-day trips will leave people with a smile on their faces, lots of powder skiing under their feet, and a truly unique backcountry experience for their memories.

Looking forward to an exciting and adventure filled 2009 !

—Jayson Simons-Jones (CBMG Owner / Guide)

Maybe it is all the early season snow, or maybe it is all the reference to avalanches that have been in the news. Either way it seems that avalanche courses are a popular item on folks backcountry agenda this winter, and it has kept our AIARE avalanche couse schedule full and busy here at Crested Butte Mountain Guides this winter.

This past weekend we ran our fourth completely full AIARE Avalanche Level 1 Course here in Crested Butte. IFMGA/UIAGM Guide Jeff Banks, back in CB for a short stint joined CBMG Guides Jayson Simons-Jones & Kyle Mattingly in delivering a stellar weekend course, with a great group of students from the Crested Butte area, and some folks that made the drive from the Denver front range area as well.

Our touring day turned out to be really successful with the help of visiting guide Geoff Unger along, we were able to spend lots of time in snowpits and to have a great tour with lots of complex decision-making to be made and some great turns as well.

At the same time, CBMG Guide Mike Bromberg was out running a private custom course as well for 5 CB locals and ski partners, that also got to take advantage of the fresh 12″ of snow we got during the course.

We still have many more avalanche courses on the schedule, so if you are considering taking a class, this is the year, but courses are filling fast. Call (970.349.5430) or email (info@crestedbutteguides.com) to register today.

—CBMG Staff