I've been eyeing this Bulger link-up for a while now. Had the last snow-free day of the year before the big dump the next day. Light dusting the whole day and some whiteout conditions in the first peak (Star). Splits are:
Star Peak: 2:27
Courtney Peak: 3:24
Oval Peak: 5:19
Not very eventful until Fish Creek Pass. Saw few groups backpacking climbing the peaks. Winds after Fish Creek Pass were quite bad and cold. I had decided to be ultralight and had only short tights with integrated hip belt + long sleeve cycling jersey, which was just barely enough. Surprisingly good combo, allowing for an extra tailwind flask and few head/neck warmers. The most challenging part was navigating the upper parts near Star peak, with the rocks being quite unstable and the lack of visibility didn't help either. Saw a group of 3 right on Star peak who were also doing the same peaks but in different order and were taking a different way down to the main valley trail. Ran down to Courtney peak and weather was a bit better and wasn't feeling piercing cold anymore. Took the trail to the lake below Oval. Like everyone else had said there are good number of blowdowns, but the trail is generally easy to follow (lost it couple times only). Would get a bit faster if it's cleared. The ridge scramble for Oval is quite pleasant: rocks were mostly large and stable. Down from Oval I took the shortcut through the forest back to the trail. Bushwhack was not really bad, mostly just steep off-trail forest down with just a few actual "whacking" events.