Category: Crested Butte Area

Scarp’s To Peeler 3.6.10

Posted by Frank – March 7, 2010

We’ll get back to our TR’s from our big road trip soon, but for today, here’s a TR from yesterday’s long local adventure. Things are really shaping up here, with a fairly deep and stable snowpack starting to allow some bigger descents. We headed up the Red Lady hike but instead of dropping in there, we headed out for a nice ridgewalk towards Irwin:
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Pete had been in the area a few days ago and suggested we ski a face off of Scarp’s Ridge. I knew the face he was talking about from other trips to the area, and it had always looked like a good one so that’s what we were aiming for. It was pretty steep and it rolled over, so it was hard to tell if we were in the right spot or not, but we gave it a go regardless. I dropped in first:
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Sweet Valentine Pow 2.14.10

Posted by Frank – February 17, 2010

After our epic and incredibly deep day the day before, we headed back out to a slightly different zone on Sunday to find some more powder. While the snow had set up considerably overnight, it was still a great day. On the way up, I had a bit of a lead on the others, so I just had to hit this little pillow zone:

It was fun but short, and we went up to the top where things looked very good indeed:

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Palatial Accommodations In The White Room 2.13.10

Posted by Frank – February 16, 2010

Days as deep as this one are hard to come by. They might come once or twice a year in Colorado, and only in a few select spots. Utah might get as many as half a dozen days like this in a good year, and the heavy snows of Tahoe may never get like this, with the high water content and winds that are typical of that area. It takes a rare combination of no wind, light snow, no settling, and especially it takes A LOT of snow. Brittany and I were joined by Chris Webster and Pam Rice from Boulder, usual suspects Tom Runcie, Rob Dickinson, and Sydney Fuller, plus Tom’s friend Jeff, also from Boulder. Thankfully there was plenty to go around…

Photo Webster:
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Another Poverty Gulch Day 2.9.10

Posted by Frank – February 10, 2010

Zach needed to get some epic turns on his birthday, and I needed to keep breaking in my new snowmobile, so off to this year’s standby we went. It was a beautiful day with clouds and some sun, and I think we got a few nice photos. Off to the photos…
Lap One, Zach getting some airtime:

The snow was quality:

Mineral Point was putting on a show:

More Zach airtime:

Zach took my camera and got a couple nice shots of me as well:

Another great day, Happy Birthday Zach!

Irwin Cabin For Rent: $100/night

Posted by Frank – February 9, 2010

My buddy Jeremy asked me if I could spread the word about his cabin for rent. Since it’s such a good deal, in my opinion, I have no problem doing so.

Irwin is located a few miles west of Crested Butte near Kebler Pass. With an annual average snowfall of 500-600″, this is quite possibly the snowiest location in Colorado. There are a number of fine skiing opportunities in the area, such as the Anthracites, and in the springtime there are some great peaks such as Owen and Purple practically out the back door. Search this site for some examples of skiing in the area.

The cabin can sleep as many as 8. It has some great amenities such as the propane refrigerator and stove, electric lights, a huge water cistern, etc. Still, it’s rustic, but what good cabin isn’t? The best part of the deal? The price includes use of Jeremy’s two-seat sled with trailer, so getting up there with plenty of beer and food would be a piece of cake. Here are some photos:

The cabin (No, you don’t get to use my sled)
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Kitchen:
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Living Room:
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One of the bedrooms:
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Short Backyard skiing out the door:
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You can get a hold of me at frank@14erskiers.com and I can then get interested parties in touch with Jeremy…

Poverty Gulch 2.1.10

Posted by Frank – February 1, 2010

If I say today was another great day of skiing, it might seem like a broken record. But at least the record just keeps playing my favorite songs over and over again…

Today, I went out with Zach Berman, Rob Dickinson, and Tom Runcie to ski in the upper Slate River area. With another couple of inches overnight, conditions could best be described as “supportable blower”. On our first lap, we stayed in some thicker trees, making it hard to get many quality photos. Here’s one of Rob, however:

We decided to head to another area for our second lap, and Zach had some trouble with his skins. He made it up with a little help from his friends, though:

The terrain above us looked enticing, but se decided to save it for another snowpack, not the one we have now, that’s for sure.

Zach dropped in first off a small cliffband:

Rob followed:

Tom:

Rob finished things up with his ‘O’ face, perfectly describing the whole day:

Wolverine Basin 1.30.10

Posted by Frank – January 31, 2010

OK, maybe not the greatest movie ever, but for a Colorado kid it’s tough to beat a movie about Colorado kids kickin’ some butt. I just had to mention that, since “Wolverines!” kept going through my head as we headed up Emmons yesterday.

Originally Brittany and I were going to ski Redwell, but after hearing that conditions in Wolverine were good, we opted to check it out instead. Wolverine is Emmon’s steepest bowl, and a line I’ve only skied once or twice in the past. Red Lady was getting its’ usual hammering, surprisingly still powder despite the hot temps of late. At one point, we watched three people skiing the bowl at once, always interesting even if there are a bunch of tracks there already. Meanwhile, not a single track went to the looker’s right side of the bowl, which was also “interesting.”
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Things are looking considerably better than they did a couple of weeks ago when I skied the South face of Schuykill
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We made a couple of turns to check out the top of Wolverine. Brittany:
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The view from the top was far from disappointing…
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And the turns weren’t disappointing either…
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Brittany, looking more and more comfortable on steep, sloughy terrain:
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Our line was just a hair looker’s left of the summit…
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After the steep upper bowl, we still had 2,000′ or so of good meadow skipping below us. The warm days and cold nights have once again created a ton of surface hoar, which made for great skiing on our way out, but will soon be yet another layer in this season’s poor snowpack. Frank:
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A much better shot of Wolverine from a couple of days later..

Brittany’s camera batteries died, so we didn’t get a ton of photos, but there it is, the day of the year (so far).

7 Hours of the Banana

Posted by Frank – January 25, 2010

I thought I should spread the word about this event for anyone who is interested. It is, afterall, a fundraiser.

The banana is the steep chute right under the peak at Crested Butte, as seen here (green line):

Whether as a team or flying solo, the goal is to make as many laps as possible from bell to bell (9 to 4), hence the 7 hours of the banana. I think it’s about 2500′ of vert and it’ll hurt. A lot.

Should be a lot of fun for you enduro types, plus lots of parties and prizes and stuff. The date is Feb 27 and it’s a fundraiser for the adaptive sports center and the Cb ski club.

More info HERE

Weekend Accidents

Posted by Frank – January 18, 2010

There were a couple of tragic freak accidents in the Colorado backcountry this weekend. One was right here in Crested Butte. A local skier was ascending the skintrack to ski “Coney’s” when he apparently collapsed and died of what appears to be a heart attack from what I hear. I’ve been told he was only 35.

Meanwhile, in Telluride, a woman who was snowboarding with Telluride Helitrax accidentally fell into a creek and drowned. What is really strange about this story is that reports have indicated the guide was unable to free her because her helmet was wedged under a rock. This may be the rare circumstance when a helmet may have contributed to a death, rather than preventing one. More information on this accident can be found at the Telluride Daily Planet and the L.A Times Read the comments in the L.A.Times for an outrageous take on what “gender roles” had to do with this accident.

Some of the dangers of the backcountry are a given, such as avalanches. The thought of a backcountry partner having a heart attack in the backcountry is a tough one, knowing there is nothing that could ever be done in a case like that. Likewise, while creek crossings evoke a healthy dose of respect in the backcountry, who would think that a helmet would create a deadly situation like that.

In the end, these accidents are just that- accidents. Bad things happen, sometimes when crossing the street, sometimes when skinning up a hill to do some skiing. It’s sad, but I’m not sure there is necessarily a lesson in it. Condolences to all the friends and family of those involved…

Crested Butte Two For Ones are Back

Posted by Frank – January 16, 2010

One of the best deals in skiing is back. Buy at least an 18pack of Coors in Gunnison, ask for the 2for1 voucher, and get two tickets for the price of one at Crested Butte Mountain Resort. Plus you’ve got a bunch of beer to drink :) The deal has a few weekends, like President’s Day, that are blacked out, so be sure to check things out first. Hopefully some front range skiers will be able to take advantage of this deal next week, when a series of storms are forecast to hit the area. It won’t take a ton of snow to get the steeps open, and the packers have seemingly hit everything on the mountain, so it could get real good, real fast. Fingers are crossed.

Contact a liquor store in Gunnison to make sure the deal is available…
Wet Grocer (970) 641-5054
Gunnison Liquor Store (970) 641-1717
High Mountain Liquor (970) 641-6304