Snowpatch spire bugaboos bc

The bugaboos are a british columbia provincial park in canadas purcell mountains. An advanced mountaineering and rock climbing challenge. Rock climbing in the bugaboos sylvan rocks climbing school. Sep 15, 20 snowpatch spire beyond disappears into the clouds. 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. Climb bugaboo spire, ne ridge, bugaboo spire trailhead. Fritz wiessner, 1938, made the best attempt before bedayn and arnolds success. Canadian rockies alpine guides the bugaboos, world famous. Eastpost spire is the most popular scramble objective and offers a good. Jul 09, 2011 snowpatch spire, bugaboo mountains, british columbia high in the canadian rockies in the bugaboo range are some of the most famous rock spires in the world. It is located southwest of the conrad kain hut, across the crescent glacier. Climbing in british columbia american alpine institute. Sunshine is on the north face, which can be approached by following the trail from the hut about a quarter way up toward the snowpatchbugaboo col to a large, loose ledge. What a wonderful week of guiding with perfect weather.

When the gigantic sharks teeth are bathed in a bloodred light as darkness closes in, it is easy to find them intimidating. A helihiking adventure in british columbias bugaboos. It features a peak in the bugaboos mountain range of british columbia. After snowpatch spire was ticked, only one major peak remained unclimbed, south howser tower. Snowpatch spire giclee print bugaboos, british columbia.

Bugaboos climbing trips with revelstoke mountain guides. Snowpatch spire, bugaboo glacier and the hounds tooth in bc. David pickford photo will stanhope is an professional climber and acmg rock guide based out of squamish bc, canada. This base camp for climbers operates to reduce visitor impacts on the fragile timberline area below snowpatch spire. Originally called nunataks, and later changed to bugaboo during the mining era of the late 1800s, the term used by prospectors for a deadend. We decided to camp at east creek so that we could check out the approachdescent the day before and potentially get a jump on the multitudes and there were a lot of folks. Known by many as simply the bugs, the bugaboos in the purcell mountains of bc are one of the provinces great natural wonders. The famous bugaboos is one of the mustvisit places in north america. Divine intervention, snowpatch spire we did the first 5 pitches of divine intervention, which was excellent.

Snowpatch spire, surfs up eric and lucies bus trip. It stands just to the west of applebee campground and is host to over 50 routes from 5. Oct 24, 2016 on the east face of snowpatch spire, stanhope noticed a 300foot crack bisecting the gray granite rock face. The bugaboos are, for many, the holy grail of alpine rock climbing in north america. Getting to the route requires mountaineering skills, and frequent storms and exposure add risks and challenges that arent well represented in the. Eric starting pitch 1, which follows indistinct corners and flakes on mossy rock. Despite the fact its easy, this is a true classic with high quality scrambling and incredible. Bugaboos 2016 beckeychouinard, ne ridge bugaboo spire. Dave returned with great tales of gleaming granite spires, rising gloriously out of glaciers. Turn west off the highway and follow the signs to the parking lots.

The bugaboo lodge, constructed in 1967, is near the eastern boundary of the park. Bugaboo provincial park rock climbing area, british columbia. Its the rapel route at the end of the day for many climbs and also the entrance to the vowel glacier, pigeon spire and howser towers. First climbed in 1916 by conrad kain, it has been a treasured objective ever since. Heliskiing and helihiking are conducted from the lodge into the park. Aug 01, 2001 spires of the bugaboos forget the yosemite circus.

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. 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. The crack was striking, if incipient, and not even wide enough to accept a full fingertip. Views of and from the mountain in any direction are gutwrenchingly beautiful. Bugaboos 2007 beckeychouinard, nw ridge hounds tooth. The bugaboos provincial park is located is eastern british columbia near golden. Nov 01, 2010 east face, snowpatch spire, west face snowpatch spire, with the vowell glacier.

July 28, 20 2728m bugaboo provincial park, bc the famous bugaboos is one of the mustvisit places in north america. Bugaboo glacier provincial park encompasses scores of beautiful spires, all providing classic alpine routes on sweeping faces and elegantly defined ridges of high quality granite. This trad climb has 6 sends and was recently flashed by ian reston. Brewster academy outdoor skills up high on bugaboo spire northeast ridge, 5. I wont share a ton of beta, since it is all over out there. It is great climbing but it does have more of a cragging feel then the main spires in the bugaboos. Jan 14, 2019 applebee camp is located in an amazing picturesque alpine setting with bugaboo spire and snowpatch spire towering above. Embedded in rugged glaciers, precipitous needles of rock, scored with complex systems of cracks, soar 1,000 meters into the sky. Welcome to bugaboo rock guides, an alpine rock climbing and mountaineering guiding service specializing in bugaboo adventures. Canadian rockies alpine guides the bugaboos, world.

Passing the schrund is dicey in late summer a climber was swept into it and killed in aug. Rock climbing information for british columbia, canada. Ridge, kains 1st ascent route still has a sting in its tail. After a couple misstarts, we did some lostonsnowpatch route, to the left of north tower direct and right of flamingo fling.

Conrad kain once described this spire as being unclimbable. Sep 23, 2019 with many peaks over 3,000 metres in elevation, the bugaboos offer awe inspiring mountain and glacier terrain. Bugaboo spire climbing guide british columbia climbing. Bugaboo, snowpatch and pigeon spires alit in alpenglow, bugaboo alpine provincial park, british columbia. North america, canada, british columbia, bugaboos, snowpatch.

We descended down the krausmccarthy rappel route on the west face of snowpatch spire. Our quick overnight in banff meant an early wakeup to hop on the bus that would shuttle us across the provincial border and into kootenay national park, the gateway to our final destination. The entire location is nothing short of stunning and most visitors to the area will have seen nothing like it before in their lives. Erin smart laying out gear to dry out after the storm in the bugaboos. Lightning struck the top of the spire when they were about four rope lengths down the route.

After the lightning passed we retrieved our metal climbing gear from under a blanket of hale at the base of the route and retreated down the ridge. British columbia climbing mountaineering and rock climbing. Snowpatch spire is the centerpiece of the bugaboo group. 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. Climb the highest granite spires in the legendary bugaboos of eastern british columbia, canada. Im breaking it up into a few reports for the individual climbs. Introduction in the late 1930s, snowpatch spire was talked of as the continents number one climbing problem. British columbia, bugaboo glacier provincial park, snowpatch spire. The four main spires are bugaboo, snowpatch, pigeon and howser, conveniently they all have routes that have a rating of below 5. Snowpatch sunrise bugaboo provincial park, british columbia, canada.

Spires of sheer rock soar skyward out of oceans of broken snow and ice. Snowpatch spire, bugaboos, canada amazing places on earth. Howser spire 3412m north tower south howser tower 3,364m bugaboo spire 3204 m pigeon spire 3156 m snowpatch spire 3084 m. There are two classic british columbia climbing routes. Description the impressive snowpatch spire is the most obvious spire when entering the bugaboos. Aac publications lightning, british columbia, bugaboo. This print is a reproduction of my original painting, which was created in 2015 using watercolor, acrylic ink, pen, and gel pen on paper. Paddle flake was an awesome short climb near just to the left mctech.

Resources for sport climbing, trad climbing, bouldering and mountaineering. The bugaboos offer a challenge for climbers of all ability on sound granite. The previous summer dave had disappeared from the gunks to purportedly visit a fabled range of real mountains that the vulgarians had never heard of. Nov 01, 2012 from the summit of snowpatch spire, the bugaboos, british columbia, canada. Surfs up follows a line of corners and crack systems on the west face right of snowpatch spire. Either of the two will be a major undertaking and standing on top of bugaboo spire should be every climber. My time in the bugs was running slim when my friend crosby johnston showed up, training for an acmg exam. In the bugaboos during the last week of july, craig luebben, will hair, brad jackson and kennan harvey teamed up to establish sweet sylvia v 5. Ski touring is also popular in the group during the winter.

Hikers and climbers in bugaboo provincial park can make base camp at the conrad kain hut during the season and are urged to do so in order to reduce visitor impact to the fragile timberline area below snowpatch spire. Eastpost spire is the most popular scramble objective and offers a good introduction. However, this is a serious alpine climb, and further research of the current guidebook, and other resources is recommended. Snowpatch, and pigeon in the background, crescent glacier in the foreground. What more could one ask for in a week of mountaineering. We have, with one exception, named our dogs after places in the canadian rockies. Abbot pass and bugaboos trip altus mountain guides. With many peaks over 3,000 metres in elevation, the bugaboos offer awe inspiring mountain and glacier terrain. 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. Snowpatch spire, bugaboos, british columbia, canada windows. The conrad kain hut is maintained by bc parks and the alpine club of canada.

All locations international n america canada british columbia columbia mountains purcell mountains bugaboos snowpatch spire sunshine crack 5. You will eventually reach conrad kain hut and along the way have amazing scenery and views of glaciers. Bugaboo spire is one of canadas great peaks and our certified bugaboos rock climbing guide staff this area very well. Bugaboo alpine rock mountaineering alpine rock in nelson. With the porters taking our stuff to the hut and having all the food made. Tents are perched on about three tiers of rock ledges below crescent glacier. July 27, 2014 3156m bugaboo provincial park, bc among the granite spires in the bugaboos, pigeon spire offers a relatively straightforward route up.

A pair of rock climbers ascend surfs up, a route on snowpatch spire. Id been to the nearby rockypoint ridge and got a headon panorama view of these spires, but never been to the core area. Rock climbing routes in snowpatch spire, the bugaboos. Snowpatch spire, bugaboo mountains, british columbia. Crosby is a totally undercover brother and a glissading champion.

Thirtythree year old conrad kain was at the peak of his climbing career as he set out on a summerlong climbing spree. Tom egan wall, snowpatch spire, bugaboos supertopo rock. East face, snowpatch spire, west face snowpatch spire, with the vowell glacier. Man at scenic campsite, bugaboos provincial park, british columbia, canada. Tom egan wall, snowpatch spire, bugaboos supertopos climbing discussion forum is the worlds most popular community discussion forum for people who actively climb outdoors. The impressive snowpatch spire is the most obvious spire when entering the bugaboos. Tim kemple image, of the blood on the crack pitch, tom egan memorial route, snowpatch spire, bugaboos bc the opal, squamish bc, with tim emmett. Snowpatch spire and eastpost rest day snowpatch route 5. Bugaboo spire is one of the most phenomenal features in the climbing world. Snowpatch spire 10,050 feet this dominant buttress holds over 50 routes from 5. Exploring the bugaboos in bcs purcell mountains explore bc. 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. Snowpatch sunrise bugaboo provincial park, british columbia. Head north to bugaboo provincial park, a fortress of worldclass granite in a quiet corner of british columbia.

With its first ascent in 1940, snowpatch spire mountain peak was the last of the bugaboo spires to be climbed. Aug 14, 2018 the bugaboo snowpatch col was melting fast, and may already be a bit sketchy from a rock fall perspective. Starting off at the abbot hut with a summit of mount victoria and finishing in the bugaboos. All have standard routes up, many of them scramblealpine routes and the rest classic alpine lines. Snowpatch spire, bugaboos, british columbia, canada. The bugaboosnowpatch col, a major avenue of approach or descent for many climbs is guarded by a bergschrund on the east crescent glacier side. See more ideas about bugaboo, canadian rockies and travel. Bugaboos guided alpine rock climbing in the bugaboos. 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, and the rest of the bugaboo group, are legendary for steep, clean, solid granite, high above easy glacier approaches. Bugaboo spire is surrounded by other spectacular spires, vertiginous snowpatch spire is a little lower but has fantastic technical routes for rock climbers. First trip and some beta to the bugaboos chasing mastery. Brandon prince descends a route called surfs up rated 5.

Its right in front of you when you reach the hut, the distinctive snowfield that gives the mountain its name front and center. Bugaboo spire is one of the tallest peaks in this area and offers two classic routes the ne ridge iv, 5. 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 every level. Morning sun on snowpatch spire and the bugaboo snowpatch col. I was psyched to rope up with him for one last mission. Tucked among the numerous ranges of the columbia mountains in southeast bc, lie a collection of unique granite spires called the bugaboos. North america, canada, bugaboos, snowpatch spire, johnston.

They were my original motivation for going to the bugaboos. The bugaboos are north americas answer to the french alps, offering the same high quality granite above beautiful glaciers like those found in chamonix, but with one big difference there are no telepheriques or huge crowds here, only the isolation and grandeur characteristic of the mountains of canada. Classics such as west ridge of pigeon spire, the northeast ridge of bugaboo spire, the snowpatch route on snowpatch spire, or the near 800m 5. Snowpatch spire, bugaboos, canada largest countries countries of the world beauty around the world around the worlds beautiful sites beautiful places bugaboo amazing places on earth british columbia more information. In the past ive enjoyed spectacular camping at bugaboosnowpatch col, but check with the acc or bc provincial parks. Jimmy starting the first pitch of the ne ridge of bugaboos spire with a little alpine glow in the morning. One of north americas 50 classic climbs, this is one of the most popular routes in the bugs, and with good reason. We climbed the sunshine route on snowpatch spire which had lots of fun meatandpotatoes crack climbing. Jimmy heading towards the south summit of bugaboos spire, after we climbed the ne ridge. Climb in one of the worlds great alpine rock climbing areas. Now, it is a popular moderate route to the top of this amazing peak.

From the summit of snowpatch spire, the bugaboos, british columbia, canada. Centennial of 15 first ascents by conrad kain columbia. Two climbers approaching a climb with snowpatch spire in the background in british columbias bugaboo provincial park. The spires rise from the midst of large glaciers, and all approaches and descents involve a combination of rock, snow, and ice, as well as crevasse field travel. For a a real day, do the whole route after it meets up with the ne ridge of bugaboo spire, and then carry over and come down the kain route. When you round the final corner on the long and winding logging road and see the full glory of the towering, dark granite spires rising directly out of tumbling glaciers, you will be in awe. Some considerations when contemplating a climb in the bugaboos.