Forum Index > Trip Reports > Husume, Phalanx Mtn (Blackcomb Sidecountry) 2011-04-17-8
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twodogdad
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twodogdad
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PostTue Apr 19, 2011 1:29 am 
Conditions at Whistler don’t get any better in April (thanks, La Nina). Last weekend I enjoyed fabulous powder and had to go back to capture something that had eluded me: Husume Couloir (named after the first letters of the first people who skied it). It’s the most prominent couloir on the right-hand side of Blackcomb Glacier, right after the Spearhead.
01TheTargetHusumeCouloirFrom RubySpearheadRightCoronaBowlLeft
01TheTargetHusumeCouloirFrom RubySpearheadRightCoronaBowlLeft
Getting there involves a pleasant hike: from the top of the Showcase Tbar make a high traverse of the Blackcomb Glacier aiming for the Eastern Gate; from the gate skin S then E to the East shoulder of the Sperhead; from there drop toward the Spearhead Glacier but half-way to the glacier start traversing left to a couple of prominent notches: the first is Husume; the second the entry to Corona Bowl; getting to Husume involves climbing a 100+ snow ladder. It’s a leisurely one hour from E gate (too many photo temptations) with a gain of 800+ feet. The couloir is steep and long: it’s famous because it’s a bit out of the beaten track but not quite as steep or narrow as some of the inbounds double blacks (Pakalolo or the bowls off Spanky). I skied it twice--perfect powder, almost untracked—and considered a third run but the weather deteriorated so I stayed inbounds the rest of the day.
03DeckerRightTroreyLeftFromSpearheadShoulder
03DeckerRightTroreyLeftFromSpearheadShoulder
04BeyondTrorey
04BeyondTrorey
06EntriesToHusumeCoronaBowlAndPhalanxMtn
06EntriesToHusumeCoronaBowlAndPhalanxMtn
07TraverseUnderSpearhead
07TraverseUnderSpearhead
08ChuteToEntryOfHusume
08ChuteToEntryOfHusume
11TopOfHusume
11TopOfHusume
12HusumeAndToeOfBlackcombGlacierBelow
12HusumeAndToeOfBlackcombGlacierBelow
On Monday I wanted to ski it one more time, then ski the Corona but en route to the Spearhead I hooked up with a young Canadian solo rider who proposed skiing Phalanx Mountain and being solo myself I jumped at the offer. The route is the same up to Spearhead shoulder but then you drop to the Spearhead glacier and make a long high traverse along the N side, contouring Phalanx Mountain up to an unmistakable chute of some 300+ feet leading up to a notch just NE from Phalanx Summit. Climbing the chute is something of a challenge even though we found a pretty good snow ladder. As we were taking a breather at the top I spotted two other skiers coming up and decided to wait for them. When the joined us and one of them spoke with an accent that sounded to me Polish (there are a lot of Poles at Whistler) I sang to him the first line of Poland’s national anthem (it’s an especially uplifting line if you’ve just finished climbing a 40-45-degree chute), to which the man protested—to my dismay and delight—that they were Bulgarians (from Vancouver). Fancy this: three Bulgars meeting on top of nowhere with nary a soul around for miles except for my New Brunswick friend Phil. Phil then led us on a tour down the Phalanx glacier and eventually back to the so-called Poop Chutes and the toe of the Blackcomb glacier. From East Gate to the top of Phalanx (8440) is about 2000 vertical feet; the vertical drop is about 3000 ft.
13BlackcombBackcountry1
13BlackcombBackcountry1
14BlacombBackcountry2
14BlacombBackcountry2
15BlackcombBackcountry3
15BlackcombBackcountry3
16BlackcombBackcountry4
16BlackcombBackcountry4
17WedgeMtn
17WedgeMtn
18PhilAboutToDropToSpearheadGlacier
18PhilAboutToDropToSpearheadGlacier
19StairmasterChuteLeadingToPhalanxSummitAndPoopChutes
19StairmasterChuteLeadingToPhalanxSummitAndPoopChutes
20StairmasterPhilNearingTop
20StairmasterPhilNearingTop
21PhilOnTopOfStairmaster
21PhilOnTopOfStairmaster
22MyselfOnTopOfStairmaster
22MyselfOnTopOfStairmaster
23StairmasterSpearheadGlacierBelowMtnXXBehind
23StairmasterSpearheadGlacierBelowMtnXXBehind
24StairmasterSpearheadGlacierBelow
24StairmasterSpearheadGlacierBelow
26ThreeBulgarsOnTopOfNowhere
26ThreeBulgarsOnTopOfNowhere
25WedgeMtnFromStairmaster
25WedgeMtnFromStairmaster
27SkiMeFranklin
27SkiMeFranklin
28Marcus
28Marcus
29Andrei
29Andrei
30Andrei
30Andrei
31RubyDiamondBowlsFromPoopChutes
31RubyDiamondBowlsFromPoopChutes
32PhalanxMtnCenter
32PhalanxMtnCenter
33BlackcombGlacierSpearheadSuhumePhalanxLeftGarnettBowlRight
33BlackcombGlacierSpearheadSuhumePhalanxLeftGarnettBowlRight
Fantastic terrain, pristine powder, unexpected good company: ski touring doesn’t get any better. Thanks, Phil; merci, sunarodnitsi Marcus and Andrei. I’ll be back—before the end of this season.

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TrailPair
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PostTue Apr 19, 2011 6:19 pm 
My, it sure likes like Winter there! Beautiful scenery!

This thing called work is interfering with my play
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puzzlr
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puzzlr
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PostTue Apr 19, 2011 9:02 pm 
Way to get to where it's working for you! If the "Bulgar Connection" became a movie, who would you like to play your part?

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twodogdad
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PostTue Apr 19, 2011 11:13 pm 
It's a puzzle: I need another dog, to teach him Bulgarian (Boon & Docs are getting too old to learn a new language). N

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Tangeman
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PostWed Apr 20, 2011 5:29 pm 
Beautiful! We have a big photo my mom took from Seventh Heaven in our house. The skiing there looks great! In the meantime, I'll enjoy the quality crap thats still lingering here!

"Civilization is a nice place to visit, although I wouldn't want to live there." My photos
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twodogdad
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PostWed Apr 20, 2011 6:59 pm 
Yes, they got only the benefits of La Nina this time--but things are getting very pricey there, what with the US dollar in the crapper and gas at $4... tdd

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joker
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PostWed Apr 20, 2011 9:49 pm 
Nice. And party time in the village to boot. We looked up at Husume last weekend as we skied fresh powder on the blackcomb glacier - looked like a nice line. We went over to Decker Saturday, nearly getting to the summit and needing to navigate by braille to return as the cloud deck really closed in, wind picked up, and graupel started falling hard, and ski tracks were filling in quickly.

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Stefan-K
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PostSun Apr 24, 2011 8:59 am 
I_CanTotallyVisualizeYouLaunchingIntoThePolishNationalAnthem! looks like some fun lines!

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