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Tuesday, February 13, 2007

[MCR] Blackcomb backcountry

Out for a tour today in the Blackcomb backcountry.
About 20-30 cm's of very light new snow on top of a
variety of surfaces. (mostly crust)
Excellent ski conditions on all aspects down to about
6500ft were you start to feel the buried crust.
Surprisingly no new avalanches were observed on any
aspects, even with heavy skier traffic from local
Helli skiers and aggressive skiing on our part. The
new snow does however sluff fast and far in the steeps
and could catch you off guard in the wrong place. As
we skied out the winds were picking up from the SW, so
conditions could change.

Also of note was the total disrespect for ski tours
from Whistler Heli. During the day they manage not
only to ski up all the easily toured runs in the
nearcountry (same as usual). They also manage to fly
less than 200m directly over us several times. Then
two groups skied right over us (one group 100m away).
And finally land within 200m of us and hit us with
rotor wash and snow as we skinned up a ridge.
This has happened in the past, however it seems to be
happening with more frequency. I talked to two people
tonight that had the same thing happen previously this
year. If you have had this happen recently please
contact me. Many Thanks. Craig McGee

Craig McGee, ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide
102-4369 Main St. Suite #337
Whistler BC
Canada
V0N 1B4
cell 604 902 0296
Home 604 892 2259



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These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. The ACMG and its members take no responsibility for errors, omissions, or lapses in continuity. Conditions differ greatly over time and space due to the variable nature of mountain weather and terrain. Application of this information provides no guarantee of increased safety. Do not use the Mountain Conditions Report as the sole factor in planning trips or making decisions in the field.
Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.