Butler Gulch TR
Butler Gulch 1/20/08
Clear Creek County, CO, USA
This past weekend brought me out of the Elk Range and back into the Front Range (aka land of the long flat approaches). My new BC partner, V, has finally built up enough experience for a summit push above tree line. I haven’t climbed a wind-scoured ridge since last spring, so I chose Butler Gulch as the most obvious and accessible area. 
A topo of the area–ascent in red, descent in green
“But Gulch” is a well-known playground just off of US-40 on the way up towards Berthoud Pass. We planned to get there in mid-morning, but V’s Subie suffered a flat tire and we were stuck wandering around Cherry Creek in our snowboard clothing for a few hours while we waited to get a new one. No worries, we still made it to the trailhead by 2:00, and I have done the climb once previously in the evening. I remembered how beautiful the sunset was from the ridge, so I encouraged her to go for it even though it was late. 
Geared up and ready to go
In the parking lot, we encountered many skiers, snowshoers, and snowmobilers wrapping things up for the day. There was a suspicious cloud presence over the northern sky, but it looked like it might miss our southeastern route. As we took off from the trailhead, we ran into a few more skiers and snowshoers, but no snowboarders. For obvious reasons I knew, the first two miles of the approach are not friendly to a snowboarder on the descent. There are many ups and downs required to make it out. 
V snowshoeing her way up the trail
As we cruised up the trail, I enjoyed the clear night and scenery. We stopped running into people after the first mile, and by 3:00 I knew that we had the entire basin to ourselves. I felt like I was in great shape, as we hit the switchbacks and I powered my splitboard up the mountain. Although I could see the sun begin its descent down towards the unnamed summit (Pt 12774′), I knew we could make it. The mountain looked very windblown (like most front range summits), and the snow above treeline was very hard packed. I did not dig a pit, but probed the snowpack in multiple locations, and it appeared stable. I made the decision then that I was going to attempt a big mountain line. 
Beautiful terrain from Jones Pass to Berthoud Pass 
Summit in sight
V and I reached the saddle and ridge at around 4:00. We took shelter behind some shrubs and looked out on the western horizon. V opted out of the summit push, so I made sure she hiked down a bit to a safe zone below the ridge. Once I was sure she was safe, I donned my alpine Loki jacket and worked my way up the ridge toward the peak. The wind was howling and trying to push me over the edge, but my mountaineering attitude took over as I laid seige. To me, this is what snowboard-mountaineering is all about. 
View from the top
I took a few pics from the summit and quickly switched out my splitboard. From the top, there was no direct line on the face. A little bit discouraged, I made my way back down the ridge until I found a line of snow that went. It was steep, and very crusty, so I made sure to carry a pole in case things got too hairy. The snow was variable, just as expected, but I made it to a safe zone and waited for my partner to make her way down. 
The author, sending it 
There was some pow beneath the crust 
V dropping in… 
…and wiping out (she’s gonna kill me for posting that)
At treeline, we encountered some more reliable powder. We took turns taking fresh lines all the way down, and then made our way out of the drainage and back to the car before sunset. 
I scoped this line on the way up 
We passed at least 6 skiers coming down while we were skinning up. Yet this entire roller was left wide open for this lucky splitboarder! 
Classic front range tree stashes 