[MCR] Bonnington Traverse, Selkirks, March 30 - April 3, 2009

Just back from a really fun week of skiing along the Bonnington Traverse.  Knee deep powder, great trees, cool temps and comfy huts!

 

We got about 50cm of new snow with light winds over the past five days.  Temperatures remained below freezing (-1 to -8'C) for elevations above 1500m.  HS was around 250cm at treeline where we probed.

 

We saw little in terms of avalanche activity other than sluffing in steep terrain and some solar triggered thin slabs when the sun came out mid trip.  We did have a few large settlements on S aspects, and were also concerned about the bond between this weeks new snow and the temperature crust from late March down 30-50cm at treeline.  We had moderate test results and some cracking on this layer, but limited slab development in the areas we skied.  I was a bit surprised by the lack of snow in a few spots with almost half the snowpack being from March storms.  As a result of this we kept our ski program to well supported terrain in thicker snowpack areas and tree runs, avoiding wind loaded areas and thinner rocky areas.  Our hazard rating this morning was Considerable in the alpine and treeline, and Moderate below treeline.

 

Felt more like February than April but it sure was fun!

 

Cheers, Conrad Janzen
IFMGA Mountain Guide
www.conradjanzenguiding.com

 

(P.S. Many thanks to the KMC members for all their hard work)

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