Continued cold and clear yesterday with very light winds made for a good day in the hills.
We travelled from the Blackcomb-Spearhead Col to the north-northwest side of Mount Pattison via the climber's left flank of Decker Glacier and the head of Trorey Gl.
We skied out via the Mt. Trorey/Decker Mountain col, staying above 7000' and contoured out to 7th Heaven via the traditional exit west of Decker Mountain.
Skiing was best (wind-pressed, less breakable, grippy) on south-facing terrain in the alpine but most other surfaces/aspects were very wind-affected from last week's outflow winds - either scoured on top or plenty of wave-like 'sastrugi' (the snow-equivalent of a concrete street curb). In places, it was easy to break through the scoured surfaces to the softer, faceted snow underneath.
The crevasses that were beginning to fill in so well earlier have begun to sag this week as the cold temperatures allow bridges to erode some. The lack of new snow has made them more identifiable, too. The crevasse hazards, on this route, currently lurk on convex or bulging features and near the heads and sides of glaciers where the main body of the glacier is pulling itself away from adjacent rock faces or permanent snow (headwalls). Having glacier-travel gear along with you is not a bad idea right now, especially should you find yourself up there in flat-light or a whiteout.
It was very quiet in the Spearhead Range yesterday.
Beyond the fuss of finding good skiing, it is just a brilliant time to be up in the high places right now......
Wishing Everyone safe travels,
Dale Marcoux
Asst. Ski Guide
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