Home > Trip Reports > 1-9-16, Mt Emmons, Crested Butte, CO

1-9-16, Mt Emmons, Crested Butte, CO

1/9/16
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Posted by TonyM on 1/9/16 8:37am
Stare at this peak everyday out of the kitchen window.  Long story, had not had a chance to ski Mt Emmons, or even climb/hike it since moving here 4 years ago.  That's finally changed and today, we added another pair of tracks down the main bowl.

Mt Emmons (12,392), or the Red Lady as it's nicknamed, sits just above Crested Butte to the NW.  The winter trailhead up Kebler Pass is about 2 miles from town, and the skin/climb starts at appx. 9300 feet.  Only 3K of skinning, but starting at 9K+ feet has an impact.

The snow was just unbelievable...  about a foot of new on top over a soft base. It gets a lot of attention to say the least!
sorry, I never figured out how to post more than 3 pics...

from the view on top, Mt Crested Butte (the ski resort) is off to the left (east).  Whetstone is off to the right/south.  Whetstone is a beautiful and complex mountain with bowls and steep faces on most aspects.  All are laccoliths formed about 30M years ago.

Crested Butte is visible in the center.  Population is about 2K in the upper valley, and our nearest 'large' town is Gunnison, pop 6K.  Lots of BC to ski in the area.

Great view from your kitchen. Plus someone else put in the trail and tested the safe lines.  ;)

Thanks for the post . I was lucky enough to ski  it with D. Sheefer from Gunnison in April of 92. There was a summit party of about 50 locals celebrating the stability , sun and snow quality. Coming from the Methow ,  I could hardly breath at that elevation . Great people and memories .

Hi Zap-  this is the local equivalent of Camp Muir ;) It gets skied a ton.  And yes, let the young put in the track, and test the slope!  Good news is, this is a sliver of the available terrain and like most areas, once you get away from near town, there are no tracks, people, etc.  That's next.

Skier-X-  i'll ask around...  good chance someone knows him if he's still in the area. 

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2016-01-09 16:37:46