Scramble up ridge to bottom of climb: 1hr (asc. 195m)
Climb: 11hrs25min (asc 560m)
Rappels: 2hrs30min
From bottom of rappels to camp: 1h45min
Total trip: 19hrs15min
We started our long day towards the East Creek basin at 0300h. There was only a marginal freeze overnight but the glacier travel was quite simple. At the Pigeon/Howser col we were able to follow faint footsteps in the snow from a previous climber. This made for easier route finding while it was still dark. The snow had melted lower down in the basin and we started crossing boulder fields and talus. From here we lost all sign of any tracks other than a random cairn (a small pile of rocks) here and there which helped marked the way. We were pretty lucky to find the right scree gully to get onto the ridge of the climb while it was still dark. It wasn’t easy to distinguish. As the first light across the horizon started to show the contours of the ridge above I began to feel excited about this bugaboo classic and according to the guidebook “One of the most esteemed alpine routes in North America”. On our way into the Bugaboos I didn’t even consider climbing this route because I thought it was too long and the grade too consistently demanding for us. After getting to test out other routes during the past few days the confidence grew. It would have been hard to pass it up with the perfect weather we’ve had and which was still in the forecast. The climb did not disappoint. The best pitches were found near the top. All 15 of them were great but pitches 10-14 were amazing and offered interesting and sustained crack climbing. The pitch that stood out for me was the 12th. There were two different lines that could be climbed. Either an off-width chimney or a system of cracks on the face could be taken. I opted to climb the system of cracks on the face which lasted a sustained 60m. This pitch took a toll on me. I was completely exhausted afterwards. The added weight from carrying the boots on our packs definitely didn’t help. If I was to do it again I would have approached with lightweight shoes and strap-on crampons. The quality of the climb was worth the effort. We climbed quite well which allowed us to get off of the climb just as the sun set. The only minor things that happened were going off route on the first pitch and losing some time searching for the third rappel station on our way down. One hard to find rappel anchor wasn’t too bad since there were twelve single rope rappels in total. To top it all off we had a beautiful sunset as we walked back to camp along the Vowell glacier. Quite tired but satisfied of our day.
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| Pat standing on a ledge mid-way up the climb. |
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| The cracks above the bivy ledge. |
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| On top... figuring out the descent. |
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| Sun setting with Bugaboo and Snowpatch Spire still in the sun. |
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| Pat doing the last rappel past the bergshrund. |
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