From there we climbed over bugaboo snowpatch col to set up our bivy by pigeon spire to position us for climbing the beckeychouinard route on south howser tower the. If, like most people, you enter the bugs via the trail to conrad kain hut, you wont have to ask anyone for directions to snowpatch. Bugaboo spire climbing guide british columbia climbing. By this point in the trip, we all felt confident and we scrambled along together unroped, enjoying the movement and the vistas and the company. In 1959, he made the first ascent of a steep route on the east face of snowpatch spire in the bugaboos with fred beckey, brian greenwood and elfrida pigou. In all, the bugaboos linkup totaled approximately 50 pitches. Mather, from munich, would become a leading force in canadian climbing. There are many classic climbs up the spire, including sunshine crack 5.
Range borders shown on map are an approximation and are not authoritative. With many peaks over 3,000 metres in elevation, the bugaboos offer awe inspiring mountain and glacier terrain. Key col page detailed prominence information clean prominence. Snowpatch spire was first climbed in 1940 by j arnold and r. Aug 01, 2001 spires of the bugaboos forget the yosemite circus. Pigeon spire, south howser tower, bugaboo spire, and snowpatch spire all conjure up some of the great moments in the history of north american alpine climbing. They deserve a place high on the priority list of anyone with an attraction to wilderness setting and a love of the classic alpine environment. It is great climbing but it does have more of a cragging feel then the main spires in the bugaboos. The bugaboo group is a subrange of the purcells in eastern british columbia. South howser tower beckeychouinard, snowpatch spire snowpatch. Snowpatch spire sits in the middle of the bugaboo group, so has a great view of the bugaboo glacier peaks, pigeon spire, the howser towers, bugaboo spire, crescent spires, and applebee dome camp. There are both bolted and free routes throughout the group.
Jon walsh on the second pitch of the beckeymather route on the east face of snowpatch spire in the bugaboos, right off the belay. The route takes a circuitous path to the base of the snowpatch, then up easy ground left of the snow, and then 34 hard pitches all with some 5. During my many trips across the bugaboosnowpatch col to climb the classic towerspigeon spires west ridge, bugaboo spires kain route i always looked at the black north face of snowpatch spire, and the striking crack that it held. Bugaboos guided alpine rock climbing in the bugaboos.
The snowpatch route on spowpatch spire in the bugaboos is a classic if for no other reason in that it is one of the most prominent and visible routes from the kain hut. Morning sun on snowpatch spire and the bugaboo snowpatch col. The largest wall on snowpatch is the east face with routes ranging from 12 to 15. Aac publications snowpatch spire, east face, new routes. A spectacular brown granite tower surrounded by three glaciers, the bugaboo glacier to the south, the vowell glacier to the west, and the crescent glacier to the north. Ridge of pigeon spire is one of the most enjoyable technical british columbia climbing scrambles to be found anywhere and the smaller crescent spires offer enjoyable climbing at. Bugaboos in a day winter aerial adventure steph abegg. This base camp for climbers operates to reduce visitor impacts on the fragile timberline area below snowpatch spire. Sunshine crack is located on the north west side of snowpatch spire. Head north to bugaboo provincial park, a fortress of worldclass granite in a quiet corner of british columbia. Lisa at the burgschrund near the top of the bugaboo snowpatch col.
The standard approach is via bugaboo snowpatch col. One of the first technical routes on the chief from the was the south gully in 1957 by hank mather and jim archer. A week in the bugaboos august 2026, 2016 varsity outdoor club. Bugaboo spire is surrounded by other spectacular spires, vertiginous snowpatch spire is a little lower but has fantastic technical routes for rock climbers. Snowpatch spire, beckeymather route, first free ascent. Welcome to bugaboo rock guides, an alpine rock climbing and mountaineering guiding service specializing in bugaboo adventures.
Brice pollock 10 things i wont bring next time to the bugaboos. Divine intervention, snowpatch spire we did the first 5 pitches of divine intervention, which was excellent. There are both bolted and free routes throughout the. Rock climbing routes in snowpatch spire, the bugaboos. With its first ascent in 1940, snowpatch spire mountain peak was the last of the bugaboo spires to be climbed. Jun 08, 2016 we climbed the bugaboo spire, pigeon spire, snowpatch spire, eastpost spire, and crescent spire in bugaboo provincial park. Consider things such as access and accommodation at the base of bugaboo spire, as well as the logistics of climbing to the summit. The bugaboos have several internationally known rock climbing routes.
A familiar trip up the bugaboo snowpatch col and a casual stroll across the upper vowell glacier took us to the base of the west ridge. Conrad kain once described this spire as being unclimbable. It stands just to the west of applebee campground and is host to over 50 routes from 5. Your guides coach you up the steep snow slopes, moving quickly through the col. It is located southwest of the conrad kain hut, across the crescent glacier. Snowpatch spire other peaks click here for a full screen map. Pigeon spire as seen through the snowpatch bugaboo col. Snowpatch spire has worldclass hard alpine free routes. Nov 25, 2016 a week in the bugaboos august 2026, 2016 posted on november 25, 2016 by cora skaien bugaboo provincial park is located in the purcell mountains of southwestern british columbia, and contains many granite peaks over 3000 meters and granite spires that entice climbers from around the world. Free climbers may challenge with the east face of snowpatch spire or howser massif. Rapping off the tower at dusk, he was back at the campground by 8 p. To get to the bugaboos travel 17 miles north of radium hotsprings or 48 miles south of golden on highway 95 depending on where your coming from to the really small town of brisco.
Snowpatch spire 10,050 feet this dominant buttress holds over 50 routes from 5. With its first ascent in 1940, snowpatch spire mountain peak was the last of the bugaboo. Howser towers, pigeon spire, snowpatch spire, bugaboo spire. From 1972 until 2000 the hut was maintained by bc parks as a base for climbers and to reduce visitor impact on the fragile timberline area below snowpatch spire. The bugaboos are a british columbia provincial park in canadas purcell mountains. This article about a location in the interior of british columbia, canada is a stub. Map 8 6 1 4 5 3 9 10 17 15 1 bugaboo spire 3 south howser tower 4 snowpatch spire 5 pidgeon spire 6 crescent spire 8 northpost spire 9 hounds tooth 10 marmolata flat top 15 howser peak 17 anniversary peak. Snowpatch spire stands at 3,063 metres at the centre of the granite bugaboo towers. Youll first set your eyes on this spire from the parking lot and will identify it by its huge patch of snow found half way up the side of the east face. On my first trip to the bugaboos, i was 21 and working as a guide. Kraus and mccarthy were the best climbers from the gunks when they did the west face of snowpatch spire. Crescent spire 2843m bugaboo spire 3176m snowpatch spire 3063m pigeon spire 3124m hounds tooth 2819m marmolata 3032m flattop peak 3063m thimble peak 2999m howser peak 3094m howser spire 3398m frenchman mtn 2453 cobalt lake spire 2667m 1 0 1 2 scale in kilometers b u g a b o o c re e k e a s t c r e e k m a l l o y c r e e k v o w e l l c r e e.
Cathy and i got to be on the lead rope with jim on this day, another great day in terms of weather, climbing challenges, and stupendous views of the bugaboos beyond our route up to the top of bugaboo spire. The bugaboos or the bugs bugaboo provincial park is regarded as. Its right in front of you when you reach the hut, the distinctive snowfield that gives the mountain its name front and center. A group of six heading to the west ridge of pigeon spire. If you want to maximize the time spend on rock relative to your approach time, there are much better places for alpine climbing in western canada than the bugaboos. All routes on the west face are approached via the bugaboosnowpatch col located on the north end of snowpatch spire. Rock climbing in snowpatch spire, the bugaboos mountain project. Bugaboo spire pigeon spire snowpatch spire eastpost.
Snowpatch spire as seen from the applebee dome campground. Climb in one of the worlds great alpine rock climbing areas. The impressive snowpatch spire is the most obvious spire when entering the bugaboo s. The kain hut has the excellent collection of route information and maps. It is a great option for experienced granite climbers who prefer to climb 5. Yamnuskas bugaboos climbing guides have extensive knowledge of this area and its climbing routes. Paul heading to the snowpatch bugaboo col in the background. A dusting of new snowtemperatures will be below freezing max 3c on sun night, min 5c on sun morningwinds increasing calm on sun morning, strong winds from the wsw by tue night. In 1972, the alpine club of canada erected the conrad kain hut named after the renowned guide who first visited the area in 1910. Look on the map for bc highway 95 running along the upper columbia valley. The bugaboos is a peak in british columbia and has an elevation of 1843 meters. It runs up the left side of the eastern face of snowpatch spire and descends the western face.
The largest wall on snowpatch is the east face with routes ranging from 12 to 15 pitches and almost all of them being big wall in nature. Snowpatch was the last of the bugaboo spires to be climbed. Alpine rock acmg certified mountain guide in canada and. Bugaboo spire kain route, bugaboo spire ne ridge, pigeon spire w ridge bugaboos 2007. We downclimbed scree ramps and some 34th class terrain down towards the nw gully. Northpost spire 2910m cobalt l bugaboo falls juniper l brenta spire 2942m eastpost spire 2697m crescent spire 2843m bugaboo spire 3176m snowpatch spire 3063m pigeon spire 3124m hounds tooth 2819m marmolata 3032m flattop peak 3063m thimble peak 2999m howser peak 3094m howser spire 3398m frenchman mtn 2453 cobalt lake spire 2667m 1 0 1 2 scale. Snowpatch route is one of the more historical routes in bugaboo glacier. Bugaboo spire, snowpatch spire, pigeon spire, howser towers. Route on the east face of snowpatch spire, bugaboos, british columbia. First ascent, august 1940 by raffi bedayan and jack arnold. Looking into the bugaboos from the n over the shoulder of vowell bugaboos from the n. Please submit any useful information about climbing bugaboo spire that may be useful to other climbers.
Below us the wall quickly steepened, and we spotted a well setup rap station. Id been to the nearby rockypoint ridge and got a headon panorama view of these spires, but never been to the core area. Use this relief map to navigate to mountain peaks in the area of snowpatch spire. Approach routes there is a map in the photo gallery for krausmccarthy approach beta.
Snowpatch spire is the centerpiece of the bugaboo group. We descended down the krausmccarthy rappel route on the west face of snowpatch spire. The beckeychouinard south howser spire, west ridge pigeon spire, northeast ridge bugaboo spire, snowpatch and surfs up snowpatch spire attract worldclass climbers. Bugaboos 2016 beckeychouinard, ne ridge bugaboo spire. The impressive snowpatch spire is the most obvious spire when entering the bugaboos. Arca swiss f line field 4x5, schneider super symmar xl 80mm, tiffen y9 filter, fujifilm neopan acros 100 4x5 rated at 100. The kain route on bugaboo spire has 5 good pitches of climbing, the rest is scrambling and boot kicking in 40 degree snow and ice on the way to bugaboo snowpatch col. Bugaboo spire and its very snowy ne ridge righthand skyline. The conrad kain hut is maintained by bc parks and the alpine club of canada. The snowpatch route on spowpatch spire in the bugaboos is a classic if for no. Snowpatch spire, bugaboos, august 1997 the classic view of the east face of snowpatch spire. Of the pitches, 12 are new and one is shared with the route deus ex machina, an a3 pitch that walsh and berg free climbed at 5. This is also a great area for a backpacking trip if you looking for a challenging trip with spectacular alpine scenery. The east face of snowpatch spire showing the route welcome to the machine pitches, 5.
The famous bugaboos is one of the mustvisit places in north america. In addition to bugaboo spire, pigeon spire and snowpatch spire, there are many enjoyable adventure mountain climbing routes on other nearby granite spires. Sunshine is on the north face, which can be approached by following the trail from the hut about a quarter way up toward the snowpatch bugaboo col to a large, loose ledge. Most of snowpatch s viable free routes are on its western face. Snowpatch spire is also the most difficult spire to climb with no routes to the top.
From there we climbed over bugaboo snowpatch col to set up our bivy by pigeon spire to position us for climbing the. Eastpost spire is the most popular scramble objective and offers a good introduction. Snowpatch spire from the valley below conrad kaine hut, bugaboos, purcell mountains, columbia mountains, british columbia, canada. The west ridge of pigeon spire is one of the classics of the bugaboos.
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