Saturday, February 26, 2011

The Bonnington Sessions

I had the chance to join some great friends over the last week on a tour through the backcountry of the Bonnington Range near Nelson, BC. Connecting 4 huts all within tree line, this tour has the makings for a classic. From each hut there is amazing tree skiing that you can hit from the front door and be back in time for an argument on who was in which movie or maybe a discussion on: "is it coffee or tea this afternoon?" Highlights included but were not limited to; powder skiing, great hut conversations, hundreds of "thats what she said's", getting to break our own trail for half of the time, amazing dinners courtesy of G (more on that another time), great coffee, views and especially the company of close friends for which I am always grateful.

Jono on dish duty, Copper Mtn Hut.
Bootpact to Empire Peak, It was all down hill from here. Through haunted ridges to a simply stellar run around old growth timber to a lake.
The adventure is there.
The start of the trip is the crux, a few hours on a logging road with humming high voltage cables over your head. Start dirty deeds done dirt cheap on your walkman for full effect:"HIGH VOLTAGE!"



Typical terrain on the B.
When I was a kid I had crazy dreams about flying, swimming underwater for days in the ocean and going to space. Now they are a bit more subdued but I remember a lot of them with revelry. These trees brought back some memories of those dreams. Twisted and laboured under the hard packed snow these things become almost human in form as they greet you anywhere above 1900 m on this tour.
The Grassy Hut, day 2.

I remember thinking more than once how lucky we are to be able to do these kind of trips. Thanks G, Jon and Zach for a memorable week.



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