This past Spring season, exciting things have been happening at Crested Butte Mountain Guides. CBMG Guides have travelled far and wide in search of powder, singletrack, and warm rock, some for play and rest after a long and busy winter of guiding, others keeping the work season going through the Spring off-season lull.

A first stop on many lists was Moab, UT…only 4 hours away, but a great respite from a long and cold Crested Butte winter, with great warm sunshine, invting sandstone Desert Rockclimbing and dozens of desert towers to get back out on the rock, miles of some of the world’s best singletrack to begin the Mountain-Biking season with, and of course great camping.

CBMG Guide Steve Banks headed off to Europe to guide the Classic Haute Route Ski Tour between Chamonix and Zermatt once again. Steve has just returned to Crested Butte and word is, the trip had great conditions and was once again smooth and successful. Join us next year on this ‘must-do’ ski mountaineering tour. Look for Steve’s write-up on this BLOG coming soon. 

 Closer to home, the wet and stormy weather in the Colorado high country kept the Ski Mountaineering season going through late May. CBMG Guides Johnny MacKinnon, and Mike Soucy have been busy guiding these ski descents both locally on the Mt. CB ‘Guides Ridge’ and farther abroad on some of Colorado’s 14ers. Either a great capstone experience to the ski season, an intro into bigger more technical skiing, or as a training regimen for bigger and more complicated mountains, make sure to join us on a Ski Mountaineering trip in 2011.

This off-season the CBMG World Headquarters also got a face lift, as we disposed of the old dingy carpet and replaced it with some brand-new oak hardowwd floors, installed by CBMG’s own JSJ. We think they do alot to brighten and open up our cozy little miner’s cabin, so make sure and come check out the new(er) digs, just make sure to wipe your feet at the “Guide Shack” door.

Lastly, warmer days are here, and dry rock abounds from the Utah Desert, to the local Taylor Canyon and The Black Canyon. This summer, as well as having our standard Rockclimbing Programs and guided opportunities, we are once again having our successful Women’s Climbing Series, a 3-day High Angle Rock Rescue Course, and a few Yoga /Climbing Retreats. Visit www.crestedbutteguides.com or call us for more details.

Don’t delay. Get out and enjoy summer in the Colorado high country and in the Crested Butte backcountry. Book your guided summer adventure today with Crested Butte Mountain Guides. Currently offering guided trips daily in: Rockclimbing, Mountaineering, Mountain Biking, Hiking, Backpacking, Skills Instruction/Training or simply a fully supported car camping trip around a campfire under the Colorado stars…

 —CBMG Staff

We just wrapped up our 5-day Alpine Climbing Skills Clinic with Dean Kurth & Patrick Torosian, with two spectacular, big mountain days. Wednesday we tackled some technical snow climbs on Ruby Mountain (12,644′) & Mt. Owen (13,058′) and then yesterday had a capstone experience on the super aesthetic and technical “S Couloir” on Purple Peak (12,810′), to send them on their way feeling strong and more confident in their skills set and ability to tackle some more challenging and technical terrain on their own.

Wednesday, Dean & Patrick got their first taste of being ‘on their own’ by taking turns leading a steep snow climb up the South Face of Ruby Mountain. Here they put their new skills to use for the first time by taking turns on the sharp-end of the rope, placing snow protection, building snow anchors, and linking together multiple pitches of snow climbing. Then it was up the fairly mellow mixed rock and snow ridge to the 12,644′ summit of Ruby Mtn.

From there we descended of the North side and on up the slightly more challenging mixed snow and rock ridge to 13,058′ Mount Owen. An easier climb then the mornings’ route up Ruby, Patrick led us most of the way up the ridge route, across the steep and exposed snow fields at the false summit, and on the summit of a 13er ! On the way down in  the heat of the afternoon  sun we enjoyed some nice long (but wet) glissades down the bowl between the 2 peaks and the a short walk back to the car.

After a intense pace of 4-days of alpine climbing we decided to call a rest day before embarking on Purple Peak (12,810′) and a climb of it’s hidden and technical “S” Couloir Route as a capstone experience for these guys.

So….Friday morning we met at 6am and left early again for the fairly quick and direct walk on the morning’s frozen snow above treeline to the Scarp’s Ridge saddle over 12,000′ where we then descended down and around the North Face of Purple Peak to the bottom of the “S”. This route is one of the best snow climbs and steep spring ski descents in the entire Elk Mountain Range outside of Crested Butte, and us guides jump at the chance to get on it with anyone looking for a great mountaineering experience. This trip, however, was extra special, as Dean & Patrick were their primarily to put their skills together and do it mostly on their own, with me ‘ghost guiding’ just to prevent any catastrophic mistakes.

With that being said, they showed great progress in their skills from the previous climbs on Ruby & Owen, and swapped leads of steep snow climbing up the ever steepening and twisting route of the “S” Couloir. After 3 long pitches in which they demonstrated running belays, simul-climbing tactics, and belaying off snow anchors we reached the ridge fairly quickly just a  few hundred feet shy of the summit, where I took over the lead on the trickier and incredibly exposed mixed, snow, ice and rock ridge that leads to the summit.

The summit of Purple Peak (12,810′) our 5th of the trip, was no doubt the most rewarding of the week, as not only was it the hardest technically to climb, but it involved all 3 of us working together as a team more then just a standard guided ascent and thus it felt more rewarding for all of us….I know it certainly did for me watching these guys put to use all I they had learned over the course of the week.

Overall, it was a great week of alpine climbing skills, and Dean & Patrick walked away with a great improvement and development on their skill set, and are ready to tackle more challenging terrain on their own……keep practicing those knots boys…..

Thanks for a great week and looking forward to more climbing with you both in the future…

Your Guide — Jayson Simons-Jones

Today just wrapped up Day 3 of a 5-day intensive alpine mountaineering skills clinic w/ Dean Kurth & Patrick Torosian from Cincinnati, OH.

These  2 motivated gentleman have enlisted the expertise and instruction of Crested Butte Mountain Guides in our incredible backyard of the Elk Mountains, for a 5-day clinic and skills progression covering many of the basic alpine climbing and mountaineering skills of which to have a solid foundation to build from while tackling some of the world’s great mountains.

Dean comes to this clinic with years of lead rock-climbing experience on the infamously scary sandstone towers of the Garden of the Gods, but is fairly new to the world of alpine climbing and it’s associated snow, ice, and mixed rock and snow terrain.

Patrick has a background of successful summits of many big South American volcanoes, including Cotopaxi (19,347′) in Ecuador, yet is new to the world of rock climbing and placing traditional gear, building anchors, and the like.

So…..Crested Butte, what a perfect place for these two friends to get together and build upon what they each know, while also gaining some new skills, so as to forge a climbing partnership in the future.

Day 1: Taylor Canyon rock-climbing day. A great first day focusing on a basic introduction to placing rock protection, building rock anchors, different belay configurations, rappelling tactics and improving and practicing climbing skills.

Day 2: Mt. Crested Butte’s Guide’s Ridge. A super fun day in an incredible alpine setting getting to put together the basic rock climbing skills form Day 1 on an incredibly beautiful and exposed climb in the alpine realm, complete with a June mini-snow and hail storm for added dramatic effect.

Day 3: Mount Baldy’s Emerald Lake Couloir….an aesthetic, long (~2,000′), steep and challenging snow climb right from beautiful Emerald Lake at Schofield Pass to the summit of Mount Baldy in the heart of the Paradise Divide region of the Elk Mountains. A great venue w/ practically zero approach, of which to practice and implement crampon and ice axe use, rope work on steep  alpine snow climbs, snow anchors and running belays, and self-arrest skills.

So far we have had 3 long but fun and engaging days of alpine climbing skills, with great weather, incredible mountain environments and thoughtful and critical discussions and practices on the various skills workshops we have been covering.

Looking forward to bringing it all together over the next 2 days…..

-Your Guide…..

Jayson Simons-Jones