[MCR] South Coast - Blackcomb Backcountry, Dec 24 2012

December 24: Guiding in the backcountry off Blackcomb Mountain; Conditions -- surprisingly very good! Despite the strong winds reported yesterday, there was little wind effect observed on most aspects - except high ridge top and exposed southerly slopes. About 30cm of low density snow made the skiing terrific. It was one fine way to spend Christmas Eve day! We skied: Spearhead glacier: Very minor wind effect. Not quite enough to effect the skiing but slightly upside-down. Still lots of open crevasse and sags in this area. Definitely required a good look and some attention when skiing down. Vista Bowl: Conditions were pretty much perfect. Completely unaffected by the wind. A little thin in places which would make it tough to fit too many tracks -- but it is great skiing right now. Lower NE shoulder of Decker: Skied a line just left of the Chisel couloir. Good consistent snowpack in this area. Seems this area sees very little wind effect. Decker - 9th Hole: Again, great snow conditions with hardly any wind effect. There had been a previous natural avalanche on a steep roll half-way down. Was quite wide but very little debris most likley > 48 hour ago.  Also a recent small cornice failure, just out of reach of the normal ski line. This run is abnormally smooth the whole way down, as there is hardly any cornice debris in the ski run.  Weather: Mainly sunny in the morning with light southeast winds. In the valley bottom below Decker there was moderate down-flowing winds. This wind was starting to create a thin wind-skin that was affecting ski quality. Clouds rolled in around 12 with a slight increase in wind speed. Have a great Christmas and New Year!!!!! Ross Berg IFMGA / ACMG Mountain Guide E: berg.ross@yahoo.com www.altusmountainguides.com