Kebler Pass is easily my favorite place to enjoy the aspens in Colorado, with the largest continuous mature aspen fields in the state and perhaps the world. This October was one of the stranger autumns transitions I’ve seen in Colorado; the aspens up on Kebler went from mostly green to peak gold in just a couple days, and a few days after that the color faded away. Myself and some photographer friends who were visiting Crested Butte were lucky to do a sunset hike up near Kebler Pass on the perfect day of peak color.
Tag: Crested Butte
Skiing Mount Emmons
Ghost Town Powderfest
It’s off season in Crested Butte; the ski lifts are closed and the town is quiet. So when a spring storm dropped over a foot of fresh powder last week, we had the ski area pretty much all to ourselves! We spent the last four days hiking and skiing/snowboarding all the best lines on the Butte, except now there was no tracks, no moguls, no people, and no hurry – just perfect untouched pool-table-smooth powder. Here’s a few snapshots from our fun.
Back on Track
So stoked to finally get out on the splitboard again after being sidelined all winter with a sprained wrist!
Smothered in Crested Butte
47″ in Crested Butte
Last week’s snow storms dropped almost four feet of powder on Crested Butte! The official tally at the ski area for the week was 47″, making the Butte the big winner for snowfall amongst all Colorado ski hills for the week. CB oftentimes gets less snow than other areas due to a “donut” effect where the surrounding ranges block some of the storms. But when the storms come in at the perfect west/southwest angle the snow can funnel right into the valley and dump here! Fortunately for us, this happened during the first big storm a few weeks ago, during this last storm, and it looks like it might happen again with another big storm headed this way in a few days. This winter got off to a slow start but has been piling on in December and January!
Suffice it to say, I’ve been out there shredding up as much of this pow as I can, with some great mornings at the Butte and an epic day at Monarch Pass. It would be fine with me if it keeps snowing until June!
UPDATE 1/15: The snow total for CB in the first two weeks of January has grown to 9 FEET! This is a January to remember!
Back in Colorful Colorado
We are finally back home in Crested Butte, Colorado after our big 3.5-month road trip! On our first day back here yesterday I celebrated our return with a hike through the aspens up near Kebler Pass. I’ve been looking forward to this moment for several weeks now and it was nothing short of awesome, with the aspens at peak goldenness.
The vast fields of aspens up near Kebler are like the redwoods of aspens forests — I know of no other place with such an abundance of pure, large, white aspen boles.
Walking amongst the golden aspens, I’m filled with an almost tangible feeling of the glory of our Earth, like walking through a cathedral of light. Honestly, I think this is the most beautiful thing to be experienced in nature — more beautiful than wildflowers, than waterfalls, than auroras even.
I’m so happy to be home, so stoked on Colorado!
Kebler Pass Sunset
Green Scene
Spring Snow in the Ruby Range
The ski area of Crested Butte oftentimes suffers from lower-than-expected snowfall amounts, but just 9 miles to the west/northwest the Ruby Range gets hammered with some of the highest snowfall totals in Colorado. All winter long I’ve gazed wistfully at the snow-smothered Ruby Range peaks, tantalizingly out of reach for those of us without snowmobiles. In late May now that much of the lower access roads have melted out, yesterday I finally had the chance to get out for a spring descent up in these mountains. Daniel and I hiked up and skied/rode down Mineral Point, the prominent pyramid-shaped peak visible up valley as you drive into the town of Crested Butte.
Later in the afternoon back in town sipping beer in the sun, I gazed up the valley at the peak we just descended, pleased to finally be thinking “I just rode that!” instead of “I wish I could ride that!”