Well, it’s been a fast and furious summer around these parts. We started off with a cold and rainy June (we had June in January and January in June this year), and in a blink our leaves are already falling off the trees and you have to wear gloves in the morning when you’re biking to work. We’ve had a great season here at Crested Butte Mountain Guides, expanding and trying to grow the business while dealing with some tough economic times.
It’s been a record year for the Guide’s Ridge! It seems like every week we had a trip up to the top of Mt Crested Butte. From young teens to experienced climbers, this route has become a favorite and a ‘must-do’ in Crested Butte.
Also, we had not one, but two guides get their car windows smashed by bears while parked at trailheads. Johnny came back from a 5 day backpack trip to find his passenger side window in pieces and his head rest a little chewed up, but the beers were safe! Jayson got back from Aspen to find his cab window gone with some muddy pawprints (I guess the bear couldn’t fit through that small window). Our office manager had a bear camped out in a tree across the street from her house for two days! CBMG did some benchtime brainstorming and came up with the possibility of doing ‘Bear Tours’ in the wee hours of the morning in Crested Butte in a open back jeep, Ian (the Aussie) narrating about bear behavior and feeding habits with a bear claw necklace hanging on his chest (ala ‘crocodile dundee’) and maybe a paintball gun . . . but that idea never really got off the ground (or off the bench, I should say. . .)
Peak of the Week did well in it’s inaugural year. Six weeks of peaks in the area including Baldy, Treasury, Augusta, Teocalli, Gothic, and Red Lady; look for this program again next year with more of the local mountains. Philip Pixley from Canada joined us for a peak, as well as a trip up Guide’s Ridge and almost made it a triple header with a mountain bike ride! He was incredibly impressed with Crested Butte’s plethora of trails and is already planning for next summer.
With our summer arriving late this year, lots of clients got some snow mountaineering practice. From the S couliour to the back side of Treasury, guides were exploring snow routes throughout the valley. Harry and Iris Lyall had a full week of climbing and mountaineering with Johnny MacKinnon and left with a new appreciation for the Crested Butte area as well as increasing their own outdoor skills. In fact, we had quite a few clients this year that were looking to expand their own on-snow techniques and we were able to cater directly to the specific needs and skills of those people and help build their experience as well as confidence.
One pleasant summer day, Jayson broke his thumb on an approach to a climb, went and got it set, and then managed to meet back up with Johnny and the clients in the afternoon. Ian has come back strong from hip surgery in the spring venturing often with Tom Scoville, on of our longtime clients. Hard to slow these guides down–they are pretty tough. . .
One of these things is not like the other. . . Actually what I like about this photo is Ian and the dummy having an eerily similar expression. The dummy spent a few months on the Guide Shack bench with some people taking pictures with him, small children wondering if he was real, but most people being generally a little freaked out by him. Our tongue in cheek promotion of sunscreen, he was inherited from CB Search and Rescue team and was found one morning in a compromising position on one of the benches in front of the Guide Shack (the shack is behind a popular CB bar. . .a lonely patron on their way home wanted a little company?). He was hence forth placed in the loft in the office, legs jutting out (still freaking people out).
And we ended our season with the ‘When’s it Going to Snow Promo?’ with the blessed happening on September 20th. Now we are all waiting for it to snow in earnest, but we’ll be perfectly happy with a warm dry fall into November (at least I will be happy). Thanks to everyone who joined us for an adventure this season! We appreciate your continued support of our home grown operation and we look forward to more trips, adventures, excursions. . .whatever you may have in mind, in both Crested Butte and places beyond.
