A week in the Bugaboos

The Bugaboos have always been a place that I have heard reference to, as THE mountain group for alpine rock climbing in Canada.  A year ago, my good friend Leif spent a week in the range, and his report, along with others, brought me to consider traveling to the range more seriously.  After a phone call from Leif this spring as he exited the Grand Canyon, I bought my plane ticket and the trip was on.

I flew into Cranbrook on a humid, mildly hot afternoon with dark clouds spinning as if on a rotisserie.  This certainly did not bode excellently for the beginnings of our trip, but meeting Leif and getting some great eats for the trip kept the psych high as we cruised Leif’s civic to the trailhead.  After a little over two hours of hiking and conversation, we made it to Applebee dome and set up our basecamp.

With the weather forecast murky for the second day, Leif and I headed for Pigeon Spire’s west ridge, a classic scramble of the range.

Leif on the approach to Pigeon, under the ultra epic Snowpatch east face.

Leif in the cloud and fresh snow at the base of Pigeon.  A cold place for rock shoes!

Enjoyable scrambling on Pigeon Spire.

The scrambling on Pigeon was solid and exposed.  We roped up at the base of the summit pyramid due to verglas and water ice in the gullies.

Atop Pigeon Spire, as it snowed.  This would become a theme on summits for the trip.

The Howser towers emerging from the storm while descending Pigeon.  This was the least cloudy the Howsers got for the duration of the trip.

After descending Pigeon, we returned to camp to grab more gear and sunglasses and climbed Between the Ears to the eastern summit.  An enjoyable route, close to camp.

Leif excited to be back in the Bugs and atop a new spire, with Bug Spire in the background.

Walking back to camp and strategizing dinner.

And executing the strategy.

The next morning, we decided to head up Snowpatch Spire via the Snowpatch route.  Although there looked to be perhaps more snow than in the route description, Leif had not yet climbed the route, and I was psyched to get on Snowpatch.  We descended around Son of Snowpatch, and began simul climbing on the ridge.  With 19 pitches of climbing, and an uncertain forecast, we tried our best to make good time, despite dropping Leif’s axe!!

Leif leading some simul climbing low on the Snowpatch route.

Leif coming up to a belay near pitch 13 or so, as it started to snow.

Looking down pitch 16 after the snow quit.

Looking up the crux pitch, a wonderful corner.

Leif climbing to the ridge of Snowpatch.

On the summit of Snowpatch Spire! Super psyched, cold, and getting ready for some snowy, long rappels!

We returned from Snowpatch tired and happy, and spent the next morning reading and stretching before cragging closer to camp the next afternoon.  With a forecast of moderate rain and snow the next day, we packed for the Northeast ridge of Bugaboo Spire, perhaps the most classic climb in the Bugs.

We left around 8am from camp, and scrambled to the base of the route mostly in silence, having gotten into a rhythm of climbing and resting the past couple of days.

Leif climbing pitch two, which was a mostly solid line of flakes.  

At the top of pitch five, we reached a large, comfortable ledge.  Just as we reached the ledge, snow began to fall, and fall hard.  Soon we were inside a snow globe, and Leif began leading the 5.8 variation, perfect splitter hands right on the ridgeline.  At the top of this pitch, under heavy snow, we started simulclimbing, and continued simuling through a chimney for maybe 500 feet.  Leif used every piece of gear he had, with the last piece being a small nut directly clipped to the rope on his belay locker.  Once atop the ridge, we knew we had a difficult couple of hours ahead.  The snow had made the ridge quite slippery, and there was little room for error on this complicated ridge.

Leif scrambling along the exposed ridge towards the south summit of Bug Spire.  The east face, the left side of the ridge, falls steeply back to camp, while the west face combines small ledges and slab.

Leif rappels on the Kain route, during a prolonged spell of bantering in Chilean slang.  The gendarme of the Kain route and Snowpatch Spire can be seen in the background.

Up at the south summit of Bugaboo Spire, feeling a bit less than halfway through.

We carefully made our way down the ridge, and it gradually let up until we were down at the col, boot skiing towards camp.  Although we had planned to spend two more days in camp, Monday’s weather was looking properly bad and we exited the range the next morning.

It was wonderful to be able to spend a week in the Bugaboos with Leif.  The climbing was certainly challenging, and the weather provided some more anticipation to the routes, but despite these challenges, climbing these spires was a great way to spend a summer week! Thanks to Leif for showing me the area, and for being great company all week.

Snow fall above the gendarme while descending Bugaboo Spire.  The ridge in the foreground is the descent route.

I am now back in Squamish, and am focusing the remaining summer months on trail running and paragliding.  Excited to spend time learning these new sports and building new experiences in these coastal mountains.