Bonningtons Traverse

Climbing onto the ridge on the final day of the Bonningtons traverse.

With wonderful, quaint huts and no overly complex terrain, the Bonningtons Traverse is about as civilised as Canadian ski traverses get! The route presents some technical challenges, particularly on the last day, but for competent and experienced day tourers, it is a logical first step into the wonderful world of multi-day ski touring. The lack of glaciers and the availability of escape routes only add to the appeal. 

The huts on the trip all have log burners (complete with well-stocked log stores), outhouse toilets and in-situ stoves which require 1lb propane bottles that you'll need to bring yourself. Be a good hut user and chop more wood than you use, and leave the huts neat. The huts are booked through the Kootenay Mountaineering Club, and reserving them is essential. One thing to note is that they officially sleep 6 people, but you'd need to be exceptionally close friends if you went as a group of 6! 4 is a more comfortable and realistic maximum. 

The route described here is the classic route, but a new hut has been added at Lost Lake (east of Commonwealth Peak), and allows for an alternative finish to the route from Copper Hut. Over time, this may become more popular than the original finish, but - for now - this is the Bonningtons Traverse in all its glory.

The first issue to address is the logistics associated with a linear route. The trip begins at Bombi Summit and ends in Porto Rico, but regular car break-ins mean that leaving a car at Bombi Summit cannot be recommended. Organising a drop-off at the start and a pick-up at the end of the trip is optimal, but leaving a car at the Logden Lodge in Porto Rico (just call them to organise it) and getting dropped off at Bombi Summit also works.

From Bombi Summit, the first day of the trip is little more than a positioning day, but it does at least end at a fabulous hut. Start the day by following the huge road/sled track that winds north, vaguely following a powerline. After 6 somewhat tedious but efficient kilometres, branch off right onto a smaller sled track and begin climbing into the forest. If you miss the track, then there's no need to backtrack - you can cut up to it easily enough from further on. 

Follow the small track until it begins to peter out, and continue climbing - now cutting your own track - to a vague col. Rip skins and descend in a west-northwest direction to the charming and recently renovated Grassy Hut. The hut is modern, comfortable and a testament to the efforts of Kootenay Mountaineering Club.

The next morning, the trip proper begins, with an excellent and not overly challenging day to reach the Steed Hut. This hut is notoriously hard to find, so leaving yourself time to locate it in daylight is highly recommended!

Begin by climbing back up to the col you crossed to reach Grassy Hut, and then follow the wide ridge which heads towards Grassy Mountain. The ridge begins to bend eastwards and you need to get off it - the best way of doing this is to head directly north down another wide ridge from a sub-summit immediately west of Grassy Mountain. Descend the ridge and then make a short ascent over a small hump to reach a snowmobile road. If the weather doesn't look promising for the next few days, then this is one of the easiest spots from which to bail on the trip - just turn left on the snowmobile track and head back to Bombi Summit.

Assuming you're continuing, proceed north over a couple of minor summits, which offer fabulous views and provide some excellent tree skiing. There are plenty of options for seeking out steeper ski lines, but our line shows the mellowest option in case you have concerns about conditions or time. All of the various options lead out onto a snow-covered road. Follow this to a col overlooking Glade Creek and then turn off rightwards and make the tricky climb up to a small col just to the south of Siwash Mountain.

The climb isn't too physically tough but the trees are quite dense on the lower section so micro-navigation becomes critical to find an efficient route. The upper section of the climb is much more open, and avalanche hazard needs to be considered. All in all, it's a toughie at the end of the day, but the view from the col is fantastic, and a steep and exciting descent is all that separates you from the Steed Hut.

Some highly competent parties have failed to find the hut, and you'll understand why when you finally locate it amongst dense trees around 100 metres north-northeast of a small lake. Looking for it in the dark is not recommended, so factor in half an hour of emergency time when planning this day! 

Once inside, the hut is cosy and gets you in position for the wonderful journey to the Copper Hut - the most quaint and characterful hut on the traverse of the Bonningtons.

Start out from the Steed Hut and make a descending traverse into the Rush Creek bowl. There's some great skiing to be had if you drop right into the bowl, but holding onto your height and saving yourself some ascent is the more efficient option. Once in Rush Creek bowl, climb a wide gully which in turn leads to a col with a spectacular view to the north. Snowwater Heliski operation flies in this area, and you might get buzzed by a helicopter while in the neighbourhood.

Follow the spectacular ridge on its crest as it undulates and heads east. Just before the ridge turns north and begins to descend, drop off leftwards and enjoy some great, mellow tree skiing. Much as the skiing is fun, it's important not to drop too low, so always drift right when in doubt, and aim for Erie Creek. Getting over the creek can be tricky but you need to do it before putting skins back on because there's a steep gorge not far up, and that will shut you down if you get up to it. 

Once over the creek, by hook or by crook, skin up a long and enjoyable mellow slope to reach the Copper Hut. The hut is full of character and a charming spot at which to spend the last night of this amazing traverse - the only issue is that it's likely to be a shorter night than you'd like because you'll need an early start and plenty of time in hand to tackle the final - and toughest - day of the trip.

There can't be many treeline ski tours that can rival the finale of the Bonningtons traverse - it's a spectacular journey along a ridgeline with epic views and plenty of excitement. The ridge has cornices for much of its length, and escape from some sections of it would be extremely problematic, so only attempt the day in reasonable conditions - navigating the ridge safely in a whiteout would be challenging to say the least. (If you wake up to poor weather, it's possible to bail by skiing down the slope via which you reached the Copper Hut, and then crossing Erie Creek as high up as possible and then going to Saddle Cabin Recreation Site, from where a long but safe track leads down Snowwater Creek valley to the power station at South Slocan).

Assuming you're keen to tackle the ridge, head straight up from the Copper Hut to reach the ridge descending from Copper Mountain and then turn south and follow the ridge easily enough to the foot of Territory Peak's summit dome. The final ascent to the summit might (depending on conditions) require bootpacking. Ski/skin from Territory over to Colony Peak on a narrow-ish ridge, which then gets considerably narrower and exposed as the ridge takes you from Colony to Empire Peak. Parts of the ridge will require you to bootpack, and careful micro-routefinding is crucial to avoid the cornices which line the route. Doing this section in a whiteout is a serious undertaking and can't be recommended - if the weather is poor, then this is not the place to be!

Shortly before you reach Empire Peak, the ridge flattens out, so you can spend the last few minutes savouring your trip. From the top of Empire you'll have a magnificent view of the terrain you've spent 4 days covering, so soak it all in and then ski down towards Barrett Lake, picking the most fun line that conditions allow, and aiming to hit the valley floor a few hundred metres north-east of the lake.

Once on the valley floor, make the long descent down a snowmobile track (about as fun as it sounds! But at least it's quick) to reach the Huckleberry Hut parking lot.