Shan
02-11-2011, 10:06 AM
Hi all! Just got back from a lovely trip to the backcountry of the Whistler, British Columbia. It was my Christmas present from my boyfriend! We skied the backcountry of the Blackcomb Mountain side. Took a gondola, then a chair lift, then a T-bar up to the top of Blackcomb Glacier (still in bounds) - about 5,280 vertical feet up! Once at the top, we waited for the avy folks to finish bombing the Blackcomb Glacier area as we got some new snow. A large group was starting to form while waiting for the go ahead sign from the ski patrol. Check out the guy who really wanted first dibs on fresh tracks! He literally sprinted once they gave the go ahead.
We had a longer tour in mind, but the snow was pretty wind blown in some areas and we also witnessed an avalanche triggered by a skier before our eyes. We decided to stick to Decker Glacier and just to mellow laps on that where we did find some good snow.
Amazingly on the first backcountry day, we did not see anyone out there (other than the guy who triggered the avy from afar). What a treat to have it all to ourselves! We had some trouble finding our route out and were stuck in some trees but eventually got back in bounds. We had the resort to ourselves too because lifts closed at 3:30pm and we were skiing back to the condo at 4:30pm. What a great day!
The next day was a bluebird day. It was so expansive and grandiose!
We had a longer tour in mind, but the snow was pretty wind blown in some areas and we also witnessed an avalanche triggered by a skier before our eyes. We decided to stick to Decker Glacier and just to mellow laps on that where we did find some good snow.
Amazingly on the first backcountry day, we did not see anyone out there (other than the guy who triggered the avy from afar). What a treat to have it all to ourselves! We had some trouble finding our route out and were stuck in some trees but eventually got back in bounds. We had the resort to ourselves too because lifts closed at 3:30pm and we were skiing back to the condo at 4:30pm. What a great day!
The next day was a bluebird day. It was so expansive and grandiose!