Crested Butte Mountain Guides has a few spaces left on our Colorado Spring Ski Mountaineering Camp being held in Crested Butte on April 8-11, 2010. As the resorts close, it’s time to go bigger and badder, so learn the technical skills of ski mountaineering from AMGA Ski Mountaineering Certified Guides in this 4-day camp. $525 / person. Call us 970….349.5430 or visit our website for more info: www.crestedbutteguides.com
With temperatures in the high 40’s in Crested Butte, it’s hard not to think of crocuses and daffodils. Although, personally I am still hoping for at least 8 more powder days, some people are starting to make the mental transition to the verdant season of spring. March in Crested Butte really highlights ‘classic’ Crested Butte–namely free-heel skiing and dressing up. It’s our festival season with races of all kinds; endurance, goofy, hucking your meat and the like. . .and a lot of them are focused on free-heel equipment. On March 13th we have the Big Air on Elk Comp. Snow is trucked onto Elk Avenue and skiers are pulled by a snowmobile to launch off a jump and pulling tricks that will leave you awestruck. In years past, it has been open to the public, but in an effort to cut down on the inadvertent crashing into bystanders, the event organizers are requiring a certain amount of experience. Shutting down the main street really changes the feel of town with pedestrians (as well as snowmobiles and skiers) replacing cars. The same night will host a Big Hair on Elk party at the Brick Oven deck. If you can’t do Big Air, do Big Hair. Prizes will be given to biggest hair in both women’s and men’s divisions. This is a fundraiser for the CBAC. The next week, we have the Telemark Extremes starting on the 18th and running through Saturday. Hopefully we’ll get a little more snow to pad up the extreme terrain that these skiers will be launching off of. Always fun to spectate some great skiers from around the country who are taking Telemark skiing to a whole new level. 
That Sunday (the 21st), is the Al Johnson Telemark Uphill/Downhill race. Another fun event that involves months of costume planning for some. The AJ is one of Crested Butte’s quintessential events combining this town’s love for skiing, dressing up, and celebrating (ie drinking). The next weekend hosts the Grand Traverse, one of the most challenging ski races in the country. The course of this race spans from Crested Butte to Aspen over Star Pass and Taylor Pass for over 40’s miles requiring an enormous amount of skier fortitude. And after that, it’s closing day for CBMR on April 4th. Lift service skiing ends for the 09/10 winter, but that doesn’t mean people stop skiing. Corn season around these parts have people skiing lines and shots that they’ve only looked at from afar throughout the winter. With a percolated consolidated snow pack eliminating variable conditions, you can ski new terrain with confidence.
Enjoy the slow coming warmth of spring and come visit Crested Butte for one of our festive weekends or to ski some lines around Crested Butte that are on your ‘checklist’.
Starting last Friday, the Crested Butte Backcountry has been getting pounded with intermittent storms, leaving almost 2 feet of fresh powder in some places ! To start off President’s Weekend, CBMG Owner/Guide, Jayson Simons-Jones arrived fresh off a trip to the winter wonderland of the East Coast to find himself in waist deep champagne powder in the Kebler Pass Area outside Crested Butte. Here are some pics from the week….
Then the beginning of this week brought classic Colorado sunny blue skies and beautiful backcountry powder skiing. With CBMG having a few different trips taking guests out into the Crested Butte backcountry to enjoy all the fresh turns to be had.
John Dugenske, a CB second home-owner, and fresh off the plane with his family from Chicago, joined CBMG Guide JSJ for 3 laps out at Coney’s, and got “some of the best powder skiing of my life” in.
The Page’s, from the Colorado Front Range joined CBMG Guide, Steve Banks, for an overnight backcountry hut tour to the posh and relaxing Maroon Cabin in Gothic, CO, for 2 days of powder skiing, getting away from the bustle of the ski slopes and everyday worries of the ‘plugged-in’ life.
Tuesday, Shane Murphy, joined us from Boulder, CO, for another beautiful bluebird powder day out at Coney’s again, with CBMG Guides JSJ & Chris Benson, for 2,000+’ of classic Colorado backcountry skiing !
The end of this week and again this weekend, Crested Butte is poised to get pounded by another significant looking winter storm, which will hit the ‘reset button’ on the backcountry and we will be getting out there to do it all over again. Now is the time to join us for a great Colorado backcountry ski tour, and with the US Freeskiing Championships taking place on Crested Butte Mountain Resort with a large contingent of local athletes competing and spectating, the Crested Butte backcountry will be in prime condition with no crowds! Call to book your trip today….
—-CBMG Staff
We tend to forget when we are snuggled into our little ski town with a 9 month winter that there are people out there who don’t ski. Heck, we had a woman from Georgia join us for two days of snowshoeing and nordic skiing last week who had never set foot on snow before. Most of the locals here have diversified their winter recreation so much that they have a garage full of winter gear (see Employee Gear Closet Vol 1, Vol 2, and Vol 3), but there are many who come to visit us who aren’t quite clear as to what the difference is between all those skis. Let’s concentrate on what exactly backcountry skiing is in the first place. A lot of people have a misconception that telemarking is the only way to ski in the backcountry. While this may have been true in the early days with bandana donning skiers in jeans and 3 pin bindings, at this point there are many ways to travel in the backcountry including telemarking, alpine touring, and snowboarding. And again, let’s ‘narrow our search results’ to alpine touring. Alpine touring (AT) is the closest you’ll get to downhill skiing (as in skiing the groomers at Vail). Let’s take a moment and see what makes an AT boot different from an alpine boot:
So a couple things here. First off, ‘walk-mode’ or ‘tour mode’. This is what is going to keep the skin of your feet attached to your feet. Anyone who has toured in their alpine boots without a walk mode can attest to shedding some epidermal layers in the process. Feet/boot problems can be a brutal penance suffered every step–comfortable boots really are the key to backcountry touring happiness. So essentially the walk mode allows the boot to pivot with your leg when you are skinning. Another difference in AT boots is the sole. Typically AT boots have a rubber sole that allow for more graceful walking in rocky terrain, better grip when boot packing, and even on the steps coming out of the bar for that matter. You shouldn’t use your AT boots in a Alpine binding as the release capabilities are different. Next difference is the Dynafit tech inserts. These are the little holes that the pegs from Dynafit (or the new G3 Onyx) clamp into. Not all AT boots have these–It’s probably 50/50 Dynafit bindings/Fritschi bindings in the backcountry ski world. If you have a Fritschi touring binding (or a Marker Duke), no real need to have the inserts, but you’ll still have the other inherent AT boot qualities (walk-mode/rubber sole). Some BD Boots have interchangeable toe pieces to make your boots both Dynafit compatible as well as Alpine ISO DIN compatible, but that’s another blog. . . .
Next difference in the Alpine Touring world is bindings–these are Dynafit bindings and they are a far cry from a step in alpine binding. AT bindings allow the skier’s boot to release from the ski when skinning with the pivot point at the toe of the boot, and then locks the heel down when you are ready to make downhill turns. Like I said in the previous paragraph, there are two obvious choices in backcountry bindings–Dynafit or Fritschi. Dynafit bindings are significantly lighter, but are also significantly lighter–something that a lot of aggressive skiers don’t necessarily want. A Fritschi step-in binding (or the also prevalent Marker Duke) is heavier to tour with, but skis more like a traditional alpine binding. It’s a little easier to get into a step-in binding, but ultimately it’s up to the skier to decide if they would rather have an incredibly light, efficient set up, or if they want something that’s heavier to tour with, but will be more powerful for the downhill turns. Personally, I love the lightness of a Dynafit bindings, and they give me plenty of return on the downhill for my type of skiing.
Next integral piece of equipment you’ll need when venturing into the backcountry is skins. These are what you put on the bottom of your skis to give you traction on the skin track. They are either made of nylon or of mohair, and adhere to the base of your ski with a layer of sticky glue as well as tension. You won’t have residual glue on the base of your ski after you rip your skins off (at least, you shouldn’t!), and it’s best to keep that side of your skin free of debris or dog hair or anything else that will keep it from sticking properly to your ski. Wall to wall coverage is another important factor–if you don’t have wall to wall coverage on the base of your ski, your day just got a whole lot harder–depending on how nice the person is that set the skin track, sections of steep climbs or kick-turns can be brutal with skins that don’t cover the full base of your ski. Get a skin with a width 10cm under the tip width of your ski–this gives you the best coverage without trimming an excessive amount of skin.
Lastly is the backcountry pack that should have 3 items at all times–Beacon, shovel, probe. These are REQUIRED tools for backcountry travel and they should be required for your ski partner as well. If your ski partner forgot their shovel, let them borrow yours! Seriously, every member of your backcountry party should have these items and more importantly-know how to use them. It’s also incredibly useful to take a Level 1 Avalanche Course to clue you in to basic backcountry travel as well as teaching you the basics of using your beacon, shovel and probe.
Mike leading in the Lake City Ice Park
–Kyle Mattingly (CBMG Guide)
