The Winter of 2008/2009 is slowly starting to show it’s end here in Crested Butte, on this first day of spring. However, we know winters here at 9,000′ are long and there is no doubt we will still be backcountry skiing here for at least another month.

Here at CBMG we have just wrapped up our second AIARE Level 2  Avalanche Course and our final course of the season. Spring Break is here at the ski resort, and the warm temps and rapid snowmelt have us beginning to think about upcoming rockclimbing, mountain biking, and mountaineering seasons. Now is the time to start planning a spring trip, as some of our guides have already been enjoying warm days on dry rock in Taylor Canyon, and Hartmans Rocks in Gunnison will no doubt be in prime mountain-biking condition soon.

As owner/operator of Crested Butte Mountain Guides, I will once again be off to Europe on Monday for our annual guided ski tour of the world-famous Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt. Once again this trip will be done in conjunction with Adventures To The Edge, and should prove to be another exceptional European alpine experience…stay tuned for pictures and a future blog post.

In the meantime we are still running backcountry ski & snowboard tours, hut trips, ski mountaineering, and our ‘Ski the 14ers’ camps from now until mid-May and have a full staff of our exceptional and AMGA trained guides around.

And remember spring is a great time to enjoy some warmer and longer days, and ski some corn snow on some bigger and steeper lines. Get out and “ski early and ski often.”

—Jayson Simons-Jones (Owner / Guide)

As temperatures climb here in the Elk Mountains, stability is quite good, even Very Good (to be a dork about it), making it a great time of year to enjoy some of those steeper lines. As Jayson Simons-Jones (owner of CBMG) and I have been finding, it’s also a great time to train for our upcoming AMGA Exams! But, before we both head off to bigger and farther away mountains we are taking advantage of the goods right here in the Crested Butte backcountry.

Crested Butte is blessed with plenty of technical terrain in our backyards, but it isn’t until Spring until we can really begin to get out and take advantage of it.

Right now is a great time to get out and practice ski mountaineering skills or to get ready to participate on our “Ski the 14ers Camps”

 Check out this vid of Jayson belaying us into a seldom skied steep line!

—CBMG guide Mike Bromberg

The month of March kicked off at Crested Butte Mountain Guides with our third sold-out, and final AIARE Avalanche Level 1 Hut Course of the season.

This 3-day backcountry immersion course is small (1:6 max ratio) and allows for maximum time in the winter envrionment with great ski touring and a world-reknown avalanche classroom right outside of the hut doors in the beautiful townsite of Gothic, CO. 

 This course brought particpants from all over the country. With “High Crimes” best-selling author Michael Kodas coming all the way from the high mountain state of Connecticut, to a strong contingent of folks from the Colorado Front Range, Telluride, CO and someone from right here at home in the Gunnison Valley.

The course started off with stormy weather and began at the tail end of our last major natural avalanche cycle, so the environment and conditions were prime for a great introduction into the avalanche education world, and for which students would have a good venue for learning decision-making skills in regards to travelling in avalanche terrain.

Overall, it was an incredibly succesful course, with an enthusiastic and highly motivated group of people.  We were able to get in some good long field days travelling through the mountains and everyone got a strong experiential learning opportunity. There was opportunity for lots of hands-on moments and by the end of the course everyone had gained a solid understanding of tour planning, route selection, snowpack tests, companion rescue, terrain analysis, mountain weather, and of course….we had some great Crested Butte backcountry skiing !

Thanks everyone for a great course…ski hard, stay safe, and have fun

—Jayson Simons-Jones (Instructor / Guide)

This spring join Crested Butte Mountain Guides on one of our ‘Ski the 14ers’ camps. Learn the basic skills of rope work, crampon and ice axe use, alpine climbing techniques, and steep skiing tips and pointers from our AMGA and PSIA trained and certified ski mountaineering guides.

Follow in the legendary footsteps of such ski pioneers as Lou Dawson and Chris Davenport, by being one of the few to expereince the reward of summitting and then skiing one of Colorado’s famous 14,000′ peaks.

Camps will be 3 to 4 days in length and will include overnight camps and/or necessary hotel rentals, as well as long challenging and fun-filled days. Clinic sizes will remain small with a  maximum guide : guest ratio of  1 : 4.

We also offer private and customized ski mountaineering trips to any of the surrounding peaks in the Crested Butte area as well, so join us in our backyard where we will go from coffee shop to local mountain summit and back to the bar/restaurant all within the scope of a day.

April 3-5, 2009 – Mount Shavano – $575 / person

April 10-12, 2009 — Mount Elbert — $575 / person

April 17-19, 2009 — La Plata Peak — $575 / person

April 30 – May 3, 2009 — Mt Harvard & Mt Columbia — $700 / person

May 7-10, 2009 — Mt Missouri & Mt Belford  — $700 / person

*Call our offices to discuss other necessary gear rentals*

—CBMG Staff