Spent Monday out guiding in the Blackcomb backcountry.
Wanted to go up the route "29 forever" on Huesume
buttress, however the two small snowpatches were still
there and letting a fair bit of water seep down the
rest of the route. All other rock routes look to be in
very good (dry) conditions. Because of the technical
nature of the other routes we went up the "high feeder
chute" at the right side of the buttress then
continued straight up mid 5th steps to the top. This
worked out fairly well however there is a bit of loose
rock in places, its best to stay on the ridges and out
of the gullies. From the top we continued along the NW
ridge of Spearhead peak. The Ridge is free of snow. If
you wish to keep on the aesthetic ridge crest and not
drop down on the North ledges a few finger to 1.5
inch pieces are useful. There are no open holes on the
Blackcomb glacier however there are a few holes and
sags on the Spearhead glacier. The Spearhead traverse
still has tones of snow an I'm sure the traverse is
very doable on skis. Travel condition on Monday were
not the best with shin to knee deep penetrating even
at 8:30 am. Take care, Craig McGee, IFMGA
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com
|