Skiing The Butte

Beautiful Snow/Ski Video

It may not be Crested Butte but this promo video by Telluride makes you want to hit the slopes fast, particularly when you're in the grip of a hot, hazy and humid Caribbean summer:

Venture Out [4min cut] from felt soul on Vimeo.

Shot and edited in the winter of 2009 in collaboration with the Telluride Visitors Center, Telluride Mountain Village Owners Association, Telluride Ski Resort and Telluride Mountainfilm in hopes of giving viewers a soulful, non-commercial look at the winter experience in Telluride. Filmed & edited by Ben Knight | Music by Explosions in the Sky

Crested Butte's Adventure Park Going Up Fast

Crested Butte's Adventure Park is going up fast. The concrete for the skating rink has been poured and the roof is going on. Here's a cam shot from this morning:

Click here for more details on the park.

Grand Traverse 2009: Preview trailer

The Elk Mountain's Grand Traverse is an annual backcountry ski race from Crested Butte, CO to Aspen, CO which starts at midnight. This is a trailer for the film documentary of the 2009 race. The film will be released in Fall 2009.

Produced by: Friends of Friends Productions

Posted by: E. Conor Hagen -Director/Editor

Music: "Triumphant" by Royksopp

GRAND TRAVERSE TRAILER from Conor Hagen on Vimeo.

http://www.elkmountaintraverse.org

Seirus Neofleece Combo Scarf

This face mask became a vital piece of kit. In fact, the difference between staying out and going home. This moisture-wicking, fleece-lined neoprene face guard gave great wind and water (read: driving wind and snow) protection.

The neofleece® face mask has vents/holes at nose and mouth which allowed easy breathing; we've tried pulling neck gaiters up over our noses in the past but quickly ran out of air.

The mask and integrated polyester fleece neck gaiter secures at the back with hook-and-loop tabs. Lycra® spandex binding trims the edges.

The mask tucked nicely under googles to give a draught-free fit and is cut so the back of the mask secures easily under the back of your helmet (yes, we all wear one, all the time). This mask/gaiter combo, combined with another neck gaiter and attractive skull cap, made a winning team in keeping the cold out and our heads toasty.

The downside: any inevitable nose seepage tends to accumulate on the inside of the mask, so if you're carrying them for family members, make sure you know which one is yours... On a two-week trip ours hit the washing machine a couple of times.

But at $20 each, money well-spent. As I said, the difference between staying out, or going home.

Crested Butte's New Adventure Park

Rendering of Crested Butte's new Adventure Park

Construction of Crested Butte Mountain Resort's (CBMR) Adventure Park is well underway with a planned opening date of July 4, 2009.

The new Adventure Park is located at the Mt. Crested Butte base area. Adventure Park activities include year-round ice skating, bungee trampoline and a climbing wall. Activities can be purchased à la carte or you take advantage of the Adventure Ticket and enjoy unlimited access to chairlift rides and all Adventure Park activities. Tickets are available at the Adventure Center in Mountaineer Square.

2009/10 Ski Pass Sale For Crested Butte; Big savings in Kids' Passes

Ski passes for Crested Butte are on sale until September 7. Buy early and save up to 30% off most adult passes. The 15-Day Mountain Card (no blackouts) has 32% off at $629 - it will go up to $925 from September 8 onwards.

But the big savings are on the kids' passes - 63% off the platinum passes for kids up to 17 years old. Platinum Passes (for adults and kids) provide unlimited skiing and riding with no blackout dates, and are valid for both the winter season and the summer season. If you purchase a Platinum Pass during the 2009 Spring Sale, you'll get lift access during both the 2009 and 2010 summer seasons.

Adventure Park Under Construction

Adventure Park construction is now underway in Mt. Crested Butte. Future home of skating rink, climbing wall and bungee trampoline. Understand that it should be completed for the Summer...

"Bubba's Shortcut"

Crested Butte is renowned for its extreme skiing but there a little gems of green and blue runs that are just plain nice to do - particularly for the kids. Bubba’s Shortcut - sandwiched between Mineral Point and Poverty Gulch - is one of those. At the beginning it’s narrow, tree-lined and only really wide enough for kids. Halfway down it opens out to some nice gentle undulations and finishes with a tuck-fest to try and get uphill on to Houston without having to pole.

The first section is very narrow and tough for adults to slow down, so I found it hard following the kids in – and had to bail out of the path to stop at one stage – but you can join about half-way down from Poverty Gulch. It’s not always groomed which can add the fun…

The kids only started to ski last year and had black runs in their sights this year (which they did) but they kept heading back to Bubba’s Shortcut every time they could…

Video: Snowcat Skiing In Crested Butte!

Technically, we did go cat-skiing in Crested Butte. We got in a “toast rack” behind a snowcat, were taken up a portion of a mountain and, eventually, skied back down the mountain. Admittedly, we were taken up a green run (Painter Boy) to get to some blue runs - after a nice warm cup of Joe at Camp4Coffee…

The snowcat ride had been kindly laid on by Crested Butte Mountain Resort while they fixed Painter Boy Lift. We were second or third day into our trip and weren’t heading higher in that weather…

2009 Al Johnson Race

This year's Al Johnson Race - the 35th - was held March 22 and the individual winners for this year were Travis Scheefer and Rebecca Dussault. The race started at the bottom of the North Face Lift and ended on the East River Lift’s Black Eagle. So, competitors climbed a grueling 600 feet and then plunged 1,200 down through Crested Butte's famous Extreme Limits.

The race has a great story. In the late 1800's, Al Johnson was a mail carrier who traveled between various mining communities in the Crested Butte area. He was known for his courage on skis and held himself to the principle that "the mail must go through." At roughly 9000 feet, the seventeen miles he traversed from Crystal to Crested Butte are some of the most treacherous winter terrain in the Gunnison Valley. Johnson would strap on mail sacks, which often weighed more than twenty-five pounds, and ski with this burden through snowy, rugged canyons and passes.