crested butte question

[druchti]

Hey guys ..I'm planning on coming to Colorado for xgames and will be staying in Carbondale .. after x games I want to ride crested butte for a few days I see that hwy 12 is closed in the winter ..my question is can I park a truck trailer on 12 somewhere and ride sled to crested butte or somewhere else along the way to save time or am I stuck with pulling a trailer all the way around south and up into crested butte in the winter months
Thanks

 

[capulin overdrive]

Not 100%, but think you can.


CB trailmap shows a trailhead 3 miles off hwy 133 on the 12 turn off.




I've been back there from the CB side, but never went that far.

 

[druchti]

Sweet! ...Is there a online map I could look at ...and how far of a ride do you think it would be by sled from where I could park ...thanks!

 

[capulin overdrive]

Find the Colorado Snowmobile Association website, click on Gunnison, and the Lost Lakes trail.




County rd 12 is 29.9 miles from 133 to Crested Butte.




If the trailhead off 133 is 3 miles like they say. I'd guess it's around 15 miles to what's called the Y west of CB where you either keep going on Kebler or go to Irwin.




To get to good snow from 133, not sure? But knows there's good snow over that doesn't get as much traffic as closer to CB.




Don't know of any other online maps. Seems like Google maps should at least tell you something.

 

[Qreiff]

From Carbondale you'll want to take Hwy 133 over McClure Pass toward Paonia. You then will take a left off 133 onto the Kebler Pass road. It's closed in the winter a few miles up and that is where you will park.

From there you can access Irwin, Robinson (many other places) or on down toward Crested Butte.

Awesome country but, can be dangerous with Avy's. Be prepared. Dont travel alone. GPS will be your friend. And try not to get lost as your Hilton points will do you no good.

 

[BOHICA]

The parking lot on the west side of Kebler is called Erikson Springs. It was redone a couple of years ago and is at the end of the road so you cant miss it. There is some great riding around Lost Lake as mentioned above along with all of the big country above Irwin. I would think about driving around if your going to ride for a few days. You'll have more fun staying in CB as opposed to Paonia. How many people in your group? As Q said, be prepared for anything it can be very unforgiving!

 

[black swan]

more

Great info above! And note the drivetime from Paonia to the parking lot can be 40 minutes if the road is icy. And then there's the 10+ miles of trail up to the Y-intersection.

The good thing about the West side is the snow levels should be much deeper this year already.

 

[MtnDoo]

You'll need to hitch a ride into town on the CB side. 3mi. not a problem at all, pretty common. Sleds park @ trailhead overnight. We may need to shuttle some gas up to the trailhead for you for the return trip. Couple of hotels and B&B's in town, and larger hotels are accessible up at the ski area via the free bus system. Call skicb.com for room deals. Tons of great food here and a few bars. Errickson to CB/Kebler trailhead is about 20mi. and SnoTrackers grooms it (weekly reports on FB) Best to get a map, and travel with a friend and be equipped. Check the CB Avalanche Center reports too. Bluebird skies & cold lately w/ decent snow. Snow up high and in trees is pretty good - Beckwith, Ruby, Scarp, Axtel, etc..

PM me, glad to help. Good luck!

 

[bay]

We rode from cb side to Paonia trailhead last Tuesday 12-29 and back. It's an easy ride but not much traffic between lost lake and Paonia side (it was single track without any grooming since x-mas storm cycle from lost lake to Paonia side).

Encountered an abondoned sled just west of Lost Lake which was a good reminder to my wife and I the importance of not riding alone ( luckily there weren't any footprints leading from sled so felt confident rider was able to get a ride out to get parts or whatever was necessary to get sled running).

As someone else mentioned even on cb side you can't get into town via sled as you have to park at the lot 3 mi west of town. So plan ahead for fuel, food, water etc. If you do decide to stay in town the old town inn has reasonable rates with areas to park a trailer on west side of building.

Conditions have greatly improved since x-mas storm cycle and do pay attention to Avvy conditions as there a few slide paths that do cross the road.