Well folks…Summer 2010 seems to be officially over at Crested Butte Mountain Guides, as we have made the full transition to the Fall season here in the high country. The aspen trees are all awash in hues of yellow, orange, and gold, the nights are dipping below freezing now and it feels like Winter is right around the corner.

We would like to share with you all some of the best images and stories from this past Summer, as CBMG had a great season of exciting and varied guiding activities and got to meet and spend time with some friends of old and make some new connections and friends as well, as we got to share the beauty of our backyard in the Elk Mountains & Gunnison Valley with all of you.

Summer 2010 kicked-off in Crested Butte with the Annual Fat Tire Bike Week Festival in June…an awesome opening season event well documneted in the October 2010 issue of Mountain Bike Action Magazine, as CBMG guides got to take participants and various industry pros out for local rides on our favorite trails, and CBMG Owner/Guide, Jayson Simons-Jones, even got a  few pics in print!

Frequent CBMG Guest, David Maniatis, also joined us for the beautiful first days of Summer, hiking lotsof local miles of trails, local peaks climbs Gothic Mountain & Teocalli Mountain and discovered the joy of single-track mountain biking….

July, of course, brought Crested Butte’s biggest party of the year….4th Of July!!!….following which CBMG’s Summer Season really got rolling with all 9 guides working full-time every week, taking return guests and new folks out for a wide variety of activities covering the full gamut of all that we offer at CBMG…

Kicking off with the Annual Crested Butte Wildflower Festival, we stayed busy guiding daily hikes for the festival on what may go down as one of the best wildflower years in a long time.

Besides the daily Top-Rope Rockclimbing trips, and hiking trips, CBMG Guides Kyle Mattingly & Laura Chase also stayed busy with numerous technical but easy ‘Guide’s Ridge’ climbs on iconic Mt Crested Butte…

Senior Guide, Johnny MacKinnon returned from his Spring guiding season on Mt. Hood to share more local climbing adventures with longtime British guests Harry & Iris Lyall..climbing in local Taylor Canyon, Spring Creek Canyon, Hartman Rocks, and even a summer foray into the depths of The Black Canyon.

Senior Guides Laura Chase & Amy Stevens enjoyed multi-day backpack trips in the beautiful surrounding Elk Mountains while also spending a bit of time on their bikes guiding local kids groups and private groups on local Crested Butte singletrack mountain bike rides.

CBMG’s newest guides, longtime local Ross Matlock, and newcomers Matias Gutknecht & Scott Krankkala stayed busy guiding daily rockclimbing trips in Taylor Canyon & Cement Creek, leading daily Peak Hikes to various local mountains, as well as our popular Peak Of The Week Series, and daily mountain biking as well.

Longtime Senior Guide, Ian Hatchett, stayed busier then ever with lots of hiking and peak climbing trips with his big repetoire of return friends and guests from over the years…linking together some incredible mountain days to some of the Gunnison Valley’s more obscure and remote and wild places…

In addition to a handful of successful mountaineering trips on some of Colorado’s famed 14er’s….CBMG Owner/Guide, Jayson Simons-Jones, also pioneered the first CBMG guided trip to Mount Rainier at the end of July for a climb of the beautiful Emmons Glacier Route.

Look for Guided Mount Rainier Climbs to become an annual offering through Crested Butte Mountain Guides, taking place again next summer, as it is an exciting and challenging mountaineering objective.

August, brought continued adventures, with more guided ascents of Mt. Crested Butte via the local favorite ‘Guides Ridge’ climb, more Colorado mountaineering trips, daily rockclimbing trips, hiking, backpacking and wildflower hikes, mountain biking, and a few brave Black Canyon trips despite the summer heat in the canyon,a s well as another successful 3-Day WMI of NOLS Wilderness First Responder Recertification Course.

September has brought a downturn in the busyness, and a mellower pace and feel to town, as the Fall season is in full swing.

Kim Kidd, our wonderful office manager that did a phenomenal job in managing a complex staff of guides, trip logostics, and interested guests is finally getting to take  a deep breath and prepare for her next adventure this Fall…marriage and motherhood…so we wish her all the best on her next adventure, and thank her for all her hard work here at the control panel and as the face and voice of CBMG this past summer.

CBMG Guide, Ross Matlock, just wrapped up our 2nd Annual Technical Mountain Biking Clinic amidst the Fall aspen colors and the Annual Vinotok Fall Festival in Crested Butte, and JSJ continues to guide daily rockclimbing trips to  local Taylor Canyon and the Black Canyon, while, Ian Hatchett, continues his season on the local high peaks and trails of the Gunnison Valley exploring the Fall colors…

Now is the perfect time to get in the last of your mountain activities before the high country is blanketed by winter’s snows, which could happen any day now…or not til November…which means it is also time for CBMG’s 2nd Annual ‘ When’s It Going To Snow Contest? ‘….

Although slowing down with the cooler temps and shorter days of Fall….now is also the perfect time for guided Rockclimbing to The Black Canyon Of the Gunnison National Park, climbing the iconic Desert Towers and sandstone cracks of the Castle Valley and Moab Area in Utah with CBMG, or taking a hike, climbing a 12-14,000′ Colorado mountain or enjoying a world-class mountain bike ride locally amidst the Fall Foliage.     

      Thanks everyone for a great summer of fun adventures and memories, and see you all out on the trails and on the cliffs until the snow flies….                     

  —CBMG Staff