Sometimes we can get a little carried away with the BLOG postings for all the technical activities we do…but truth be told, alot of times these are not the norm, they just tend to be the longer trips we do, and thus they produce more photos.

In fact we spend a good majority of our time in the summer months guiding non-technical activities such as: hiking, wildflower tours, backpacking, and even car camping trips…

AS guides, we love to do these trips as well as the challenging technical ones, as it allows us to relax a little bit and spend some time out in our beautifuul backyard chatting it up with folks, instead of being focused on all the ropes, knots, gear, and worrying about the weather.

Even our 4-legged friends have been known to come along and join us…..as ‘tail guides’…..

—CBMG Staff

CBMG Guide Kyle Mattingly took local 11 year old kid, Kai Sherman, up Sunset Ridge on Mt CB this last week for a new perspective on our town’s namesake peak. Although all of the locals look at this peak everyday, bike and hike around the base of it, and ski it’s legendary North Face in the winter, few have had the experienced the two routes that have become a popular CBMG trip this summer; Guide’s Ridge and Sunset Ridge. 

Kai on his way up Sunset Ridge

 

Kai almost at the summit!

 Kyle is always super psyched to go guiding and willing to go out with clients with only a moment’s notice.  Thanks Kai for being game for this climb.  We hope you enjoyed getting a new perspective on Mt. CB!

Kyle and Kai on the Summit!

Summer is in full swing here in Crested Butte, with beautiful sunny days and warm temps…and all the wildflowers are beginning to show all their beauty, just in time for our Annual Crested Butte Wildflower Festival.

All this week we are guiding daily wildflower hikes for the festival, as well as doing our standard repetoire of privately guided hikes, mountain biking, and rockclimbing and mountaineering trips.

Summers here at 9,000′ are short so don’t miss out, and take advantage of our daily trip offerings today.

And this Friday our New ‘Peak of the Week’ series heads to majestic Teocalli Mountain (13,209′) for a combination wildflower tour and peak hike…call our offices to register today.

—CBMG Staff

This past Wednesday marked the start of Fat Tire Bike Week, a Crested Butte tradition, and also saw the arrival of the Bicycle Tour of Colorado as well for 1-day, resulting in a massive start to the summer season here in CB with 2,000+ bikers, bike companies, and festival goers all in tow.

With the summer kick-off we’ve been busy guiding once again, with multiple trips going out daily….guiding rockclimbing, hiking, mountain biking and mountaineering trips this week.

Friday also marked the start of our NEW  ‘Peak Of The Week’ series, in which we offer a weekly guided climb of a  different and local peak every week for 6 weeks at the ridiculously low rate of $45/person.

This week, CBMG Guide Dan Escalante led our inaugural ‘Peak of the Week’ trip by successfully getting Judy & Andrew Holder to the summit of local Mount Baldy (12,610′) under tropical monsoon like rain conditions….way to go Dan.

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For the month of October CBMG team memebers Ian Hatchett and Mary Mahoney took advanatge of the quiet off-season in Crested Butte, to leave and explore the trekking (hiking) possibilities of the Himalaya of Northern India.

Our first trek was in the mountains north of Dharamsala, in the Northwest of India next to Kashmir. Before our trek, Mary had attended a lecture series by the Dalai Lama, and somehow managed to get him to personally bless a set of Red Lady prayer flags destined for the summit of Crested Butte’s local iconic mountain, Mount Emmons.

We set forth through lush temperate forests to high alpine meadows…surrounded by rugged 14,000 – 16,000′ peaks, with lots of good camping to be found along the way.

After this warm up 4-day trek, we set off for the Garwhal Himal to the East, by a series of tough mountain bus rides.

The Garwhal is the section of the Himalayas west of Nepal, betwen India and Tibet, and home to the world’s 20th highest peak, and a popular mountaineering destination, Nanda Devi 25,500′ (7, 820 m).

We trekked several valleys to the East of Nanda Devi, and found beautiful and tranquil mountain trails, and very few people. Mary said, “It’s like trekking in Nepal 30 years ago.”…but she was only 2 then, so who knows?

October was perfect trekking weather, mostly dry and cool (some snow at night). We camped in some spots, and also stayed in simple government rest houses, where we could supplement our food with rice and dahl cooked by the caretaker.

We gathered lots of information, scored some great treks, lived through some epic bus rides, and returned to Crested Butte with future plans…and information and Indian contacts to share with all our CBMG guests.

—Ian Hatchett (CBMG Guide)