Bonnington Traverse Conditions

La qualité du hors-piste était:

Horrible

Just completed the Bonnington Traverse and thought I’d post a conditions report for anyone venturing that way.

Conditions aren’t great. The snow line is quite high. Bombi Summit to Grassy hut involved over 2km of walking on dirt. And skiing from Lost Lake to Porto Rico road involved another 2km and about 400m vertical loss through steep rocky terrain.

Also Empire ridge boot pack is no longer doable. The crux involves a steep choke with limited snow and exposure on both sides.

Majority of the skiing was bad. The melt-freeze cycle hit really hard. Crust on all aspects. Easterly and southerly’s skied the best in the afternoon.

Avalanches: Numerous size 1-2.5 observed throughout the range, on all aspects. Mostly natural releases with a few ski-cuts. Windy conditions but minimal wind loading observed due to the solid crust. And surprisingly no cornice failures observed.