Well, it’s here ! Crested Butte is getting pounded by our first big winter storm of the season, with 24″+ in the last 24 hours, with more in the high alpine, and more on the way!

Itching to get some backcountry powder turns in, a few of us guides decided to brave the winter burliness this morning and try and get some turns in, as well as get a handle on what is happening with avalanche conditions during our first natural avalanche cycle of the season.

What we found was a lot of new snow, with cold temps and gusty winds near treeline, creating very poor visibility and an incredibly touchy snowpack, as anything over 25 degrees seemed to be cracking and collapsing.

The sheer amount of the new snow, coupled with our previous thin and weak snowcover, meant ski penetration was full depth, resulting in lots of leap frogging a downtrack between us, the occasional load of powder being too much for forward momentum, and a few great face shot worthy backcountry ski turns on the steeper slopes.

Looking forward to letting the snowpack settle out a bit over the next few days, and then really being able to get after it.

—Jayson Simons-Jones (CBMG Owner / Guide)

Yeah….Crested Butte’s promising weather forecast for this week ! Book your backcountry ski, snowboard, or hut trip tour now…

–CBMG Staff

We held Winter Guide Training this week and due to limited snow we had a last minute change of plans.  Instead of backcountry skiing on Monarch Pass and risking early season injury due to barely covered obstacles (i.e. rocks, tree branches, not-quite-hibernated bears), we opted for a local tour up Splains Gulch to practice rescue sled assembly and usage and then up to the Kebler ‘Y’ for some beacon practice.  Jayson started us off with a ‘welcome to winter’ talk with the buttresses of the Butte looming in the background.

The team  assembled in Crested Butte once again as many of us took off-season forays to such places as Australia, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Costa Rica.  Some of us returned with tans that will never be seen expecting to come home to a winter wonderland.  Well, not so much as our year of funky weather has continued;  we had two months of Juneuary this year (June in January and January in June) and now we had August in November (Augvember? Nougust?).  But with most of us now more than ready to get the skis out, we dusted off the skins and toured up Splain’s Gulch to the closest accessible snow and did some rescue training with sleds and some discussion on safety protocol.

We then traveled up the the Kebler ‘Y’, looking for some deeper snow to do some beacon work.  Most of the CBMG staff uses the Mammut Pulse for its advanced features and it’s accuracy with multiple burials.  It was discussed that’s there is no substitution for practice in using your beacon for avalanche recovery.  CBMG may be holding ‘Beacon Clinics’ later on in the winter so those of you who haven’t taken an Avy Course in a while can brush up on beacon use and the latest recovery techniques. 

Who loves red jackets?  We Do!  We are all looking forward to a safe and exciting winter this year full of backcountry tours and new alpine experiences.  We’re slated for a good storm cycle this week, so keep your eyes on our Current Conditions page to get the latest in snow accumulations in the Crested Butte Valley. Also, we’ve just added Snow Study Tools to our website. Whether stocking up your own pack, planning on taking an Avalanche Course, or shopping for a loved one who loves to ski in the backcountry, we have a selection of tools for the backcountry skier and rider. People enrolled in a avalanche course with us receive a 10% discount on these items. Avalanche Courses are filling up fast, so call us today to reserve a spot.
-Karina Steele
Office Manager CBMG

The long stretch of clear and unseasonably dry weather has left the Crested Butte backcountry with some abysmal ski conditions but some great ice climbing conditions. The Crested Butte backcountry is not known for it’s wide selection of ice climbs but the local and hidden 2 pitch WI3 climb outside the townsite of Gothic is in great shape with fatter then normal ice as CBMG guides Ian Hatchett & Jayson Simons-Jones found out a few days ago.

This may all come to an end quickly, however, as a large track of wet pacific storms is on track to hammer the Crested Butte area through next week…stay tuned.

-CBMG Staff