Crested Butte Enduro: 16k Feet of Rippin’ Downhill
Over Labor Day weekend, we partnered with good friend BKXC to run a 4-day trip based in Crested Butte; if you’ve watched any of his videos in the last few years, you know Brian is all about the rowdy downhills these days. Because of that, we worked with him to specially craft an itinerary that focused on the downs, and minimized the climbs. A dream trip for everyone, right?!?!
Utilizing our shuttle resources and putting together quite a bit of complex “shuttle math”, we made sure this itinerary was different from our standard trip for the sold-out crew that attended. Check out the images below for a rundown of the rides- unfortunately we only have three days of pictures. On the last day, weather decided to make a record-breaking appearance and the Crested Butte area was covered in TEN INCHES OF SNOW. Because of that, we headed south to hit Hartman Rocks for a quick 10+ mile ride before everyone left town and returned home!
Day 1: Trails 403 and 401
Ride Stats: 12 miles w/ 4,000 feet of descending (1,300 feet of climbing)
Day 2: Monarch Crest w/ Agate Creek
Ride Stats: 18.5 miles with 4,300 feet descending (1,600 feet climbing)
Day 3: Flag – Bear – Deadman’s – Doctor Park
Ride Stats: 25.1 miles w/ 6,000 feet of descending (2,500 feet climbing)
Day 4: Hartman Rocks w/ Rocky Ridge, Rattlesnake, Beck’s and Collarbone Alley
With the snow moving in on the last day, we had to call an audible from our original plan of The Dyke and Cliff Creek (another shuttled 4k vert day). Unfortunately we didn’t get many pictures on Tuesday at Hartman Rocks… mostly because we were dealing with a 40mph wind with gusts that felt to be 70+! The storm was definitely moving in on us, as it dumped several inches in Gunnison and Crested Butte almost immediately after we left. But it was a ride experience for the ages!
All told, we knocked out about 16,000 feet of descending over the course of the 4-day trip, even with a “Plan B” on the last day. Stay tuned for all the amazing BKXC videos from this trip, as we’ll see four of them released later this fall!
