April 29, Blackcomb Slackcountry
4/15/11
Canada BC
2652
0
A bit of a late TR. Went out the Blackcomb backcountry with an old friend. Did not know exactly what we were going to hit, but figured it would be great to enjoy the sunshine. At 845 we learned that spring hours on Blackcomb meant that the lifts start turning at 10am. Fortunately, the espresso machine in the village coffee shop was cranking away, so we survived.
The Showcase T-Bar is closed for the season, so a boot pack and shush from the top of 7th was in order. At the gate ran into none other LeeLau, of skiing and trip reporting fame. Awesome to reconnect with a ski partner from years ago. He gave some valuable locals beta on the conditions and suggested we climb up under the biggest cornice we could see and poke it with a ski pole. Did not try that technique but will employ it in the future. Skinned up Decker, sticking to the big rubbled avy path, slide was kicked off by a cornice fall. Then over to Trorey. Thought about Patterson, but based on the late hour, warm weather and new snow thought better of it. No tracks on the Spearhead, even after the party of last weekend.
Had a fun run down the North Face of Trorey, kicked off a couple sluffs, but nothing worrisome. Skinned up. Saw a party of 4 headed out on the Spearhead, a bit of a late start for those kids, but they seemed content. We then poked and prodded around Decker before finding a way into the 9th hole. Had to traverse through the VW sized cornice blocks and avy debris and found some kind N. Facing pow to get us down. Had a nice little run down the bottom of Diseased ridge at the end of the day.
Much snow out there. We stuck to the north faces and stayed fairly close to the debris paths with the thought that the cornices fell and the slides had cleaned the faces off. While it was warm, I was not yet concerned about the PWL that is most likely lingering somewhere under there. A few more really warm days and it could get spooky.
The Showcase T-Bar is closed for the season, so a boot pack and shush from the top of 7th was in order. At the gate ran into none other LeeLau, of skiing and trip reporting fame. Awesome to reconnect with a ski partner from years ago. He gave some valuable locals beta on the conditions and suggested we climb up under the biggest cornice we could see and poke it with a ski pole. Did not try that technique but will employ it in the future. Skinned up Decker, sticking to the big rubbled avy path, slide was kicked off by a cornice fall. Then over to Trorey. Thought about Patterson, but based on the late hour, warm weather and new snow thought better of it. No tracks on the Spearhead, even after the party of last weekend.
Had a fun run down the North Face of Trorey, kicked off a couple sluffs, but nothing worrisome. Skinned up. Saw a party of 4 headed out on the Spearhead, a bit of a late start for those kids, but they seemed content. We then poked and prodded around Decker before finding a way into the 9th hole. Had to traverse through the VW sized cornice blocks and avy debris and found some kind N. Facing pow to get us down. Had a nice little run down the bottom of Diseased ridge at the end of the day.
Much snow out there. We stuck to the north faces and stayed fairly close to the debris paths with the thought that the cornices fell and the slides had cleaned the faces off. While it was warm, I was not yet concerned about the PWL that is most likely lingering somewhere under there. A few more really warm days and it could get spooky.
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