TMG Guides Unite and Shred Pow (Go Skiing)!

Much as I love living and climbing in the Northwest, this winter I thought I'd head to Colorado in search of the one climbing medium we don't really have in Oregon - ice. I decided I'd spent the season in the US's ice climbing Mecca, Ouray Colorado. Well Ouray happens to be pretty close to another of the country's winter hotspots, the backcountry ski paradise of Crested Butte, home most of the year to TMG guide Johnny Mackinnon. Needless to say I had to head up and get in some skiing.


I feel like some places just sort of beckon one to do something - Yosemite makes me want to climb rocks, Big Sur makes me want to go surfing, well Crested Butte is one of those places and it makes you really want to go skiing. The terrain is amazing. The town sits on the southern end of the Elk Range, about forty miles south of Aspen, which guards the northern end of the range. Between them is a plethora of ridges, bowls and glades that look like a dream. Anyway, with John as my guide (meaning I get to make him break trail most of the day!) we got out there and got ourselves into some of the "creamy creamy pow" (read soft powder).
We toured a few thousand feet up a ridge on the backside of Mt. Emmons, between the Wolverine and Redwell basins, and we skied a very right couloir called The Wrong Chute.

We had a great time. We took more photos that are up on my Flickr site. If you like to ski and would like to try the Colorado backcountry, John will be working all winter with Crested Butte Mountain Guides. Fun.