| The Bugaboos |
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First good glimpse of the Bugaboo's on the drive i...
Description The Bugaboo Provincial Park is one of the greatest alpine playgrounds in North America, and the world for that matter. Imagine large granite spires of all shapes and sizes surrounded by beautiful glaciers and mountains as far as the eye can see in all directions and that's the Bugaboos. All the rock is alpine granite and the quality on most routes is superb, even those which are not considered classics. Routes range from a few hundred feet tall to a few thousand and offer anything from ridge scrambles and moderate free climbs to hard test pieces and multi-day big walls.
The climbing season is generally June to September with July and August having the best chance of good weather. But be prepared for any kind of weather, it can storm at anytime and it snows every month of the year. Temperatures can vary greatly depending on what side of a spire you're climbing on (North, South, East, West), if the sun's out or not, or if it's windy so plan accordingly. An ice axe and crampons are mandatory to be safe especially later in the season when the glaciers can become a little more troublesome to negotiate due to melting. Glacier travel skills are recommended for getting to and from most climbs unless you're staying near the campground.
There are several options for staying in the park when your visiting. The most comfortable but also the most expensive is the Conrad Kain Hut which is managed by the Alpine Club of Canada and will cost you $22 a night (Canadian) per person as of 2006. But provides you with a warm dry place to hang out in foul weather, a kitchen with running water and lights for late night reading. Other more cost effective options are the campgrounds, with the Applebee campground being the most popular by far. It will cost you $5 (Canadian) a night per person (pay at the Kain hut) and is basically a large area of somewhat flat rocks to place your tent on. It does offer you a toilet, racks for hanging gear and food and great views which make the price seem more reasonable.
Getting There The Bugaboo Provincial Park is located in the Purcell range of British Columbia, off of Highway 95. 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. Head west on a dirt road that has a sign for the park and goes past a lumber mill. Follow the dirt road over the Columbia River and up into the mountains for 28.5 miles. There are several turn offs along the road but there are signs at most of them for the Bugaboos otherwise just stay on the main road.
Once at the parking area there should be enough chicken wire, wood posts and rocks to protect your vehicle from rubber eating porcupines. You'll see what I mean when you get there, don't take a chance. The trailhead is at the west end of the parking lot and the next 3 miles to the Conrad Kain Hut are steep so pace yourself. It's about .5 miles from the hut to the Applebee campground up more steep trail. The new guide book "The Bugaboos" written by Chris Atkinson and Marc Piche has all the info you need for a great trip.
The ClassicsMountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for The Bugaboos:
Featured Route For The Bugaboos
North East Ridge 5.7 International : Canada : ... : Bugaboo Spire
A classic moderate alpine rock route of the highest caliber. Excellent rock on one of North America's great peaks.The route begins at the Crescent/Bugaboo Col, to reach this cross the Crescent Glacier, then climb Class 4 rock (pretty scary in the dark) to the Col. Make an alpine start.The route starts on the left of a small pinnacle, and for the first three pitches keeps left of the crest of the ridge proper (5.7 maximum). The rest of the route follows the crest, up fun cracks, and then chimneys... [more] Browse More Classics in International
Porcupine barriers!
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BETA PHOTO: Applebee Campground.
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Todd Gordon waits out a storm.
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Pigeon (L) and Snowpatch (R) Spires (showing names...
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The classic view from Bugaboo Lodge. Houndstooth ...
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BETA PHOTO: The Bugaboo (R) - Snowpatch (L) col - gateway to a...
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Pigeon Spire and the Howser Towers as seen from th...
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Bugaboo Spire as seen from the summit of Snowpatch...
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Rock fall from the Bugaboo/Snowpatch col
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Snowpatch, Crescent, Pigeon, and Bugaboo spires, a...
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Pigeon Spire and the Howsers as seen from near the...
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Looking out at the glacier from near the base of t...
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Kurt Johnson looking toward the Howser Towers from...
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Looking east from the summit of Bugaboo Spire.
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Kurt Johnson heading back down from the summit of ...
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View from camp.
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Looking east from near the summit of Bugaboo Spire...
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Camped below the hut, Chad Benett sorts gear for t...
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Suzie (my Isuzu) finds a friend in the Bugaboo par...
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My first view of the Bugs at long last.
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Shot of Snowpatch Spire from the beginning of a ro...
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Looking south from Applebee Campground during a br...
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Heading towards the Crescent Spire with the Snowpa...
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Great view of the valley heading into the park
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Ready to go for 12 days in the Bugs!! Yeehaw! Som...
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September in the Bugaboos.
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BETA PHOTO: Applebee Dome campsite under the East face of Snow...
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BETA PHOTO: The Conrad Kain Hut
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BETA PHOTO: Relaxing in the Kain Hut on a forced rest day.
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In the Bugaboos, approach to route called "The Ear...
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BETA PHOTO: Bugaboo and Vowell Groups
contour interval: 100 fe...
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Crescent Spire from the hike into the park.
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Houndstooth Spire.
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Avalanche coming off the Snowpatch. That thing is ...
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Avalanche off 5 acre snowpatch.
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Snowpatch, Pigeon, 1/4 of Bugaboo
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The bugs
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Parking, Bugsboos Trail Head,
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Bugs from, Bugaboo Lodge,
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Sleeping loft accomodations at the Kain Hut
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By kyber
From: Portland
Jun 9, 2008
| sport climber here, who will be climbing in skaha for a couple weeks (july 16th- aug 1st) and was thinking about making a bug trip. the info page says i'll need things like crampons and an ice pick. is this true for july? also, can i get by on a small rack? set of nuts, hexes and a handful of cams from .5 - 2? i'm really looking to take it easy and gain some alpine/ multipitch trad experiance on things like kain route, north east ridge, mctech arete and the west ridge route. any information/ suggestions would be greatly apprieciated. |
By Steven Lucarelli
From: Moab, UT
Jun 17, 2008
| Kyber,
You could probably get by without crampons and an ice axe but I would not recommend it. Especially if your not very experienced in alpine environments. You don't need crampons for McTech but you'll want them to go up and down the Snowpatch-Bugaboo Col. A small rack should be fine for the easier routes. I would just start on some shorter routes and see how it goes before jumping on anything big. And be prepared for anything, it could be nice and sunny or it could rain and snow, the weather changes fast in the Bugs. |
By kyber
From: Portland
Jul 7, 2008
| thanks guys, i think im gonna go to squamish instead, gonna try again early next summer. thanks for the advice. |
By Anthony Milano
Oct 18, 2009
| On our roadtrip through Canada we came here mid-June Last summer and there was too much (rotten) snow to do anything. Just on the trail we would fall up to our waists everytime we took a step or two. Definately would wait until at least July.Crazy area though. Worth checking out.
Also the stories about the critters are true to-Watched one crawl up into the engine compartment of a Suburu and had a hell of a time getting it out. Seems they have learned to go around the chicken-wire. |
By builttospill
Mar 2, 2010
| Ken,
In answer to your question regarding how to approach the Kain route when the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col is out of condition, there are two options:
1. Climb the regular route to the col anyway. Several people did it last summer after the rockfall, though I was not one of them.
2. Go down and around snowpatch Spire and then up to the col between Pigeon and Howser Towers (where the W Ridge of Pigeon starts). Descend from there across the glacier to the Bugaboo-Snowpatch Col and start the Kain Route. It's a long walk, but it's really not unreasonable. This is how we approached the West Ridge of Pigeon, rather than using the B-S Col approach.
The Snowpatch rappels could potentially be reversed, but I don't think it would be worth the effort when you can just walk around Pigeon's West Ridge. |
By hanshan
From: Canada Mofuga
Jun 23, 2010
| The rappels down Snowpatch from the Pigeon-Snowpatch Col are a great option to avoid descending the Bugaboo-Snowpatch Col and its a lot faster than walking around Pigeon. The raps are clean, with little risk of rockfall and its a short downhill hike back to the Kain hut or Boulder campground. |
By harihari
From: VANCOUVER
Jul 30, 2010
| BETTER 2WD APPROACH for people who don't have 4wd SUV monster trucks.
At 4.9 km/3 miles, the Atkinson/Piche guide suggests turning off Brisco Rd and left onto Mine Hills Rd. This, while direct, is a very poor road and and shitty if you have 2wd. A slightly longer but much better way is to do the following:
-- At 4.9 km/3 miles (right after the bridge), hang a right, stayiing on Brisco Rd.
-- Drive for 3.5 km until you get to a 3-way intersection
-- turn left onto Westside Rd.
-- Go 2.5 km
-- at the 4-way intersection, hang a hard right and you are back on the main road into the Bugs. |
By johnthethird
Jan 19, 2013
| Is the most current guide the green mountaineers guide by Randall Green and Joe Bensen? |
By builttospill
Mar 10, 2013
| FYI, the green book Bugaboo Rock is apparently not very good. We had it on our trip and never really used it, and based on reviews I'm glad we didn't. The Atkinson and Piche guide is very, very good. |
By Tim Sussmann
Apr 3, 2013
| Considering a climb up archduke trio, are there any routes up the face of one of the peaks? Does anyone have pictures or info on the quality of this rock? Any info would be appreciated! |
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