Going to try this as a cut and paste. If the formatting turns out poorly (as I expect) then email me lau (at) shawcable.com and i'll send you the formatted text.
Bonnington Range Traverse by Sandra McGuinness .
Ranges: Columbia Mountains / Selkirk Mountains / Bonnington Range
Regions: US Rockies / Northern US Rockies / Cabinet-Salish / Siwash
February 22, 2005 (4 days) Calculated Length: 31 km Elevation Gain: 2800m
Participants: Doug Brown, Sandra McGuinness, Kumo the dog
Difficulty: 3: Snow slopes to 40 degrees, some tightly treed, some avalanche terrain to negotiate, narrow ridge walk between Colony and Empire Peaks. ATES rating = challenging
Equipment: Ski touring and avalanche equipment, overnight camping equipment
Abstract: The classic Bonnington Range ski traverse from Bombi Summit at highway 3 in the south to Barrett Creek on highway 6 south of Nelson.
Access Level: 1 = Any Car Most parties start the tour from Bombi Summit off highway 3 between Castlegar and Salmo and end the tour at Porto Rico Road, 15 km south of Nelson on highway 6. Final Access Road: Hwy 3 - Grand Forks to Creston
Trip Report: From Bombi Summit follow the powerline road/right of way for about 6.4 km. Then locate a spur road that climbs to the pass to the south of Grassy Mt. Descend 80 to 100 metres to Grassy Hut.
From Grassy Hut ski back up to the pass and continue skiing north to the top of the west ridge of Grassy Mt. Ski east along this ridge until you can descend down the north ridge of Grassy Mt to a broad pass at GR643625. Continue skiing north over to the top of two minor unnamed peaks (known locally as Twin Peaks).
From the most northerly of the Twin Peaks, either (a) stay on the ridge and ski down to the pass at the height of land between Glade and Granite Creek; or (b) follow the north ridge of North Twin Peak down until it is possible to drop off to the east and ski down to a logging road that leads into the height of land between Glade and Granite Creeks.
From the height of land between Glade and Granite Creeks, ski up to the pass on the south ridge of Siwash Mountain at GR673658. Drop down 80 to 100 metres to the Steed Hut.
From the Steed Hut, descend about 80 metres and cross over the small ridge north of Marble Lake. Drop down into the headwaters of Rush Creek and contour north around Siwash Mountain and ski up to a small pass at GR684676. From this pass, many parties contour around the headwaters of Erie Creek through a broad pass south of Mount Connor and then climb about 400 metres up to the Copper Hut. This is a very unpleasant route, through forest, cutblocks and a wasteland of sled and snowcat tracks. The better route is to turn east from the pass at GR684676 and follow this prominent ridge as it first travels east and then north. You can follow the ridge right down to Erie Creek. Cross Erie Creek and ski about 400 metres up to the Copper Hut.
From the Copper Cabin ski up to the pass south of Copper Mountain at GR726703. Follow this ridge in a generally southerly direction to the top of Territory Peak (the final 40 metres is steep but possible on skis). Continue on the ridge top from Territory to Colony Peaks (the ridge here is broader). From Colony Peak descend the narrow ridge and continue south to Empire Peak. The most difficult part of the route is between Colony and Empire Peaks and generally requires a short stretch of boot packing (about 60 metres).
Descend south facing slopes from Empire Peak to Barrett Lake and ski out the Barrett Creek FSR to the Porto Rico Road - this section is inevitably snowmobile tracked and can be very fast. To avoid a short uphill section from Barrett Lake descend slightly east as you come down from Empire Peak.
The huts on this route are small and can be difficult to locate in winter. Allow time to find them.
The crux of the Bonnington Traverse, the ridge walk between Colony and Empire Peaks.
Waypoints Source: DigitalMap
Download Waypoint file: RXF CSV GPX Download Explanation
Labelled Waypoints Format Choices: Combo DD-WGS84 DM-WGS84 DMS-WGS84 UTM-WGS84 UTM-NAD27c
Datum: WGS84.
11U 462030 5454638=Bombi Summit
11U 462909 5459078=Leave powerline
11U 463399 5459816=Pass to the south of Grassy Mt
11U 464609 5459438=Grassy Hut
11U 463177 5462783=Pass to north of Grassy Mt
11U 463428 5464078=Unnamed summit to north of Grassy Mt
11U 467677 5465904=Steed Hut
11U 467317 5466462=Siwash Mt
11U 472059 5470512=Copper Mt Hut
11U 473618 5467725=Territory Peak
11U 474098 5466982=Colony Peak
11U 474217 5466425=Empire Peak
11U 476999 5465857=Barrett Lake
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