It never fails that this time of year CBMG stays extremely busy, and it is not hard to understand why.  Beautiful weather, green, luscious mountains and wildflowers are too enticing to even think about staying indoors! 

Our guides are busy taking kids’ camps out climbing and mountain biking, hiking infamous local peaks such as Gothic Mountain, and leading wildflower tours for the 24th annual Wildflower Festival! 

The owner, Jayson Simons-Jones, has also been out leading trips in the Crestones and the Black Canyon – nothing is off-limits!

We have also started are weekly Peak of the Week climbs for all of you who would like to join us for a cheap, fun climb to our local peaks. Please visit our website to check out the schedule or to sign up!

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.

It’s the season for pushing your limits in the Black Canyon. It’s a lesser known National Park that offers over 140 challenging climbs on the vertical walls above the Gunnison River. While mid-summer tends to be too hot to climb there, the fall offers a more pleasant climbing atmosphere. You sweat anyway climbing these routes (out of effort and adrenaline); no need to add scorching heat to the mix! Michael Hale joined us for a couple days of climbing, starting with a ‘warm-up’ trip up Guide’s Ridge:

Then after a day of rest (rafting in Western Colorado!), Michael met Jayson again, this time in Crawford for a trip to the Black Canyon. One of the most challenging places on the Western Slope to climb, the Black Canyon can really push your limits as a climber. While not a place to explore on your own without a heavy background in climbing, with a trained guide you can explore this amazing venue from a vantage that not many people have experienced.

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!

Next Monday evening starts our Women’s Climbing Series, which runs for 6 consecutive weeks every Monday evening after work from 4-9ish. This clinic will be taught by CBMG & AMGA Trained and Certified Guide Laura Chase. There are still a few spots available, so contact us for more info.

Also, coming soon…..1-day skill specific Women’s Rock Clinics and a HERA Climb Against Cancer Fundraiser in mid-August…

—CBMG Staff

      I had the wonderful opportunity to take 2 guest up Guides Ridge on MT. CB the other day. We had an excellent climb under near blue bird sky’s and very little wind.

All smiles while climbing high up on MT. CB

Climbing on MT. CB is one of my favorite things we do hear at CBMG (I talk about it all the time)  With amazing views of the town of Crested Butte and the surrounding mountains it’s hard to beat.

Taking a quick break and enjoying the views!

I will be riding the Silverqueen lift tomorrow and taking folks up MT. CB for another unforgettable climb of the classic “Sunset ridge”. So call or come by the guide shack to book a once in a lifetime climb of Mt. Crested Butte a trip you will be talking about for a long time!

Kyle Mattingly-CBMG Mountain Guide

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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Well I don’t think work can get much better….The past 3 days I have had the privilege of taking some guest up some of the finest routes in the valley. On Wednesday morning I met long time CBMG client Karen Fontenot for a day of multipitch rock climbing in Taylor canyon. We had an excellent day climbing classic routes in the sunshine with no one else around only the roar of the nearby Taylor River. On Thursday I met Jeff bright and early at the guide shack for an Intro to trad climbing seminar. Jeff has been climbing for many years inside and has recently moved to Portland, OR and wanted to begin climbing more outside, and work on some good basic and intermediate skills.  We had a stellar day working on gear placements, anchors and of course climbing! We had a stellar day and were able to get in 9 pitches of quality Taylor Canyon Rock climbing in. Friday morning brought Karen back for an ascent of my favorite routes we do here at CBMG, Guides Ridge on Mt. Crested Butte. We made extremely quick time with a total of only 3 hrs lift to lift. We both admired the views and the breathtaking scenery and could not believe how green CB is! (I guess we like the rain after all?) With amazing trips like this who could ask for more? This weekend all CBMG guides will be involved in guide training, and on Monday I leave with CBMG owner and lead guide Jayson Simons-Jones for a guided ascent of Little Bear. Stay tuned for more blogs and adventures from CBMG. Thanks again Karen and Jeff I hope to see you guys again real soon. Summer in definitely in full effect!

See you out there.

Guide – Kyle Mattingly