I’ve been extra busy with work and fun lately, but last month I was super lucky to spend a week in the Bugaboos with Eric, Sean, and Becca. The Bugs are a region of the Purcell Mountains in the interior of British Columbia, and one of North America’s most classic destinations for alpine rock climbing - stunning granite spires with beautiful cracks, huge glaciers, and relatively easy access. It was the first time climbing in the Bugs for all of us except Eric, and I’m sure we’ll all be back!
As always, enjoy the photos and let me know what you think!
Friday & Saturday: We left Seattle Friday afternoon, drove most of the way to Spokane, and camped before driving the rest of the way to Radium Hot Springs, where we grabbed some last groceries, and loaded our packs up with all our gear and four days worth of food. We then drove the rest of the way to the trailhead and schlepped our heavy packs up the ~1,000 meters to Applebee Camp, where we’d basecamp for the next week.
Eric and Becca with heavy packs on the way in to the Bugs.
Sunday: our first climbing day. We decided to start with a moderate route, Surf’s Up (7 pitches up to 5.9), to get our legs under us and get the lay of the land. Being on the opposite side of Snowpatch Spire from camp, climbing Surf’s Up required us to cross the Bugaboo-Snowpatch Col and travel a short distance along the Vowell Glacier.
Sean heading out onto the Vowell Glacier enroute to Surf’s Up, with Bugaboo Spire in the background.
The climbing itself was lovely, with stunning views from the Surf’s Up ledge, and some fun scrambling at the top to reach the summit and the rappel route. We weren’t terribly fast, and ended up waiting for a little bit to pass another party.
Becca rappelling off Snowpatch Spire, with stunning views of Pigeon Spire, the Vowell Glacier, and the Howser Towers in the upper right.
By time we got back to the base of the route, it was a little bit later than expected, and we still had to descend the steep snow below the Bugaboo-Snowpatch Col to get back to camp. Steep snow isn’t Becca’s favorite, so all around it was a more full day than we initially imagined - still a great way to start our trip!
Marmolata, Pigeon Spire, the Vowell Glacier, and the Howsers on the way back to camp after climbing Surf’s Up.
Monday: we decided to keep things a bit closer to camp, and after a relaxed start, we headed out to check out some of the accessible classics on Crescent Spire. Sean and I teamed up to climb McTech Arete (5.10-, 6 pitches), while the strong Becca-Eric team dispatched the 11c climbing on Energy Crisis, which joined up with our route at P3.
Becca and Eric traversing around a snowbound alpine lake on the way to Crescent Spire, with the looming East Face of Snowpatch in the background.
Everyone had a great time climbing, and we hung out for a bit on the summit, enjoying our first views to the north towards the more remote summits around Snafflehound Spire, across the toe of the Vowell Glacier.
Becca leading the beautiful corner on P4 McTech Arete, after climbing Energy Crisis.
Once again, though, we got back to camp on the later side.
Tuesday: We decided to truly take it easy, in order to be well rested for a bigger day Wednesday. I got up early to take some photos at sunrise, and then we hiked down to the car to grab some more food and climbing gear and stretch our legs - and to fortify our vehicle’s defenses from the porcupines, which (according to legend) will eat your brake lines!
Snowpatch Spire’s impressive East Face reflected in a small puddle of snowmelt. Eric and Becca would go on to climb much of this face later in the trip.
Crescent Creek and Snowpatch Spire from the trail back down to the car.
Anniversary Peak, the Bugaboo Glacier, and the Hounds Tooth from the lateral moraine. A hundred years ago, when Conrad Kain made his first ascents of the Howsers and Bugaboo Spire, the Bugaboo Glacier extended more than 4km further down the valley than it does today.
Wednesday: We got a properly early start for one of our longer days of the trip, the super-classic Northeast Ridge of Bugaboo Spire (~10 pitches, with a variation up to 5.9). We left camp by headlamp and passed one party at the start of the class 4 scrambling that takes you to the saddle between Bugaboo and Crescent Spires, below the start of the climb proper. By the time the sun came up, we were almost at the start of the route, and we had incredible views of the spiky profile of Snowpatch Spire and the Vowell Glacier to the north.
Becca, Sean, and Eric approaching Bugaboo Spire by headlamp, with Eastpost Spire below the stars behind them.
Becca climbing some steep snow to access the class 4 rock on the approach to the NE Ridge. Alpenglow on Snowpatch Spire behind.
Morning light on Mount Conrad, Vowell Peak, Snafflehound Spire, and surrounds across the toe of the Vowell Glacier.
Becca below the base of the NE Ridge, with Snowpatch Spire looking striking behind her.
When we reached the base of the climb proper, we were thrilled to see that we were the first party on the route that day. We climbed efficiently as two teams of two, with some really stellar climbing down low and on the 5.9 handcrack variation. Up higher, we unroped just below the North Summit and enjoyed the views.
Eric leading P1 of the NE Ridge.
Becca high on the NE Ridge, with Brenta Spire shaded to the left.
We had topped out the route just before noon, and so, with great weather, had plenty of time to enjoy soloing the traverse to the South Summit, where the descent proper starts. The traverse was breathtakingly exposed, with massive drops on both sides to the Crescent and Vowell glaciers, and amazing views of the Howesers and Snowpatch Spire. In retrospect, the traverse was maybe as much as the climb itself.
Eric, Becca, and Sean soloing the incredibly exposed ridge between the two summits of Bugaboo Spire, with the Howser Towers in the distance.
A group photo on the South (true) Summit of Bugaboo Spire, with the Howsers in the background.
Thursday: with Sean feeling bushed from the NE Ridge, Eric, Becca, and I set out to climb Paddle Flake (5 pitches up to 5.10b) as a party of three. Another classic on Crescent Spire closer to camp, we had a grand time on stellar rock, and returned to camp early enough to relax.
Friday: our last day of climbing! We all got up early, but for different reasons. Eric and Becca set out to put in a very impressive effort on Minotaur Direct, a striking and sustained 16 pitch line up the stunning East Face of Snowpatch Spire, with climbing up to 5.11+. Meanwhile, Sean and I headed up the Bugaboo-Snowpatch Col to catch sunrise from the top, then we headed over to climb the easy but classic West Ridge of Pigeon Spire.
Sean climbing the last bit of snow to the Bugaboo Snowpatch Col.
Sunrise arrived quite a bit smokier than anticipated, but we enjoyed the view out onto the Vowell nonetheless. The West Ridge of Pigeon was a delightful romp, and we passed a few parties as we made good time soloing the whole route. We basked on the summit for a while before descending the route. Back at our boots, we decided to descend the Bugaboo Glacier to the Kain Hut and then hike back up to Applebee Camp, to make a loop.
Sean on slabby terrain on the West Ridge of Pigeon Spire, a delightful romp.
Sean descending the Bugaboo Glacier, with a cool view of the icefall between Pigeon and Snowpatch Spires.
With plenty of time after an early return to camp, I made Sean belay me on the single-pitch Applebee Crack between sessions of watching Becca and Eric’s progress through my telephoto camera lens, and it was convenient being able to check in with them via walkie talkie. They made very impressive progress, climbing 12 of the 16 pitches, before opting to rappel back to the glacier before it was totally dark. It was on their last rappel, the last rap of the entire trip, where we had our only mishap - a stuck rope which was then accidentally chopped by a knocked rock. If any time is a good time to accidentally cut your rope while rappelling, the last rap of the whole trip is the place to do it!
Eric, Galen, Becca, and Sean at camp before our hike out. Hounds Tooth and Marmolata in the background.
Saturday: we packed up and hiked out to the car, then drove into Radium (with intact brake lines!) for food and a pleasant soak in the eponymous Hot Springs before driving all the way back to Seattle.