Bugaboos advice

Hi all,

My dad and I are planning to head into the Bugaboos this summer, with the aim of ticking off a few of the classics. We'll have a week- 28th July to 5th August. We're struggling to find concrete advice on a few questions we have, so I thought I'd put up a few on here.

Climate: What are the temps like at this time of year? Specifically at Applebee camp at night, though day time temperatures would be good to know, too.

Insects: I've seen a few contradictory comments on this- is it normal to be midged up here at this time of year?

Gear: We've got a double rack of cams up to BD size 4 and plenty of stoppers, most I've seen suggests this is sufficient- our main goal is to do the Beckey Chouinard Route- is there anything specific you'd advise for this? I've not seen anything suggesting offset cams are essential or anything like that.

Any other advice is of course welcome!

Thanks in advance!

L

Laurie, you'll have a blast! It's a very beautiful place. I have one piece of advice; stay in the hut - that's why it's there! Plus if you're coming from GB you won't have to tote the camping gear, buy gas in town before heading out etc.

Like most alpine ranges the weather can be bad in summer, so let's hope that week is a good one. But of course, you can check closer to the time and change plans accordingly. 

I was there the first week of August last year. Temps were mild, even at night. I brought a 35 degree bag and was comfortable. Had no problem with bugs, but bringing spray is always a good idea. And yes, a standard rack works for BC, though we may have brought triples in a few sizes, I can't recall. One note on the BC: it's fucking LONG. It somehow took us 23 hours camp to camp, and we sent every pitch. Probably need to cut back on the snack breaks I guess.

Have fun, the BC is legit the best rock route I've ever done!

This small range deals with its own weather patterns and can easily keep you off of a route like BC for a whole week with little to any warning, snow and/or rain. Best advice I give folks is to have a back up plan back into the Canadian Rockies if you are dealing with a fixed airline ticket/window, tons of good climbs and the weather can be completely clear whilst the Bugs are hemmed in.  Hard to predict though, almost always worth going for it regardless, doing easier objectives until bad weather lifts and/or leave early if you have to.

I have been going to the Bugs off and on for 20 years.  The Hut is too busy, crowded and noisy for me.  But I am a light sleeper and don't like being jammed in with others regardless of the benefits.  I prefer Applebee although it is busy as well.  You can camp legally at the base of BC and that gives you some solitude (although they can land a heli there) but limits your access to many of the other routes.  It is usually just used as a bivy for BC, but I have accessed other routes from there.

Mosquitoes start abating in August and are completely clear by September.  I would expect plenty of mosquitoes in July this year.  Not as bad as non glaciated terrain, i.e the Winds. Depends what you are use to.

Double rack is more than enough for BC.  Pretty straight forward and fast moving for the true alpinist. The 70m single rope rap descent was by far the biggest improvement on this route from the by gone era.

Good luck with your trip.

Dow has good points...

I don’t like the hut because you are basically a 1000ft lower and will have that added to your approach / descent. 

When we did BC (on the 50th anniversary.) we left camp 9am, took our time approaching.  Started route in afternoon.  Stopped to eat dinner and drink when we could find snow/ice on route or in chimneys.  We had a jetboil.  (We never ran out of water or felt dehydrated.  Don’t know what this years things are like...).  Slept on giant ledge where 1st ascent team did.  (There may be two of these big ledges a few pitches apart.  Both good.)
Wake up and finish route in daylight.  Rap in daylight.  Weather has to be good of course.
Morning was shady and cold on that side, but fine.  We didn’t start climbing on day 2 until 10am.  Mmm, hot coffee and toasted bagels!  
Oh yeah, it also stays light until at least 10pm!  

Photo copy the rap route.  Should be a picture on the board at camp.

Depending on the year, and snow conditions on the glaciers.  You may want steel or aluminum when it comes to crampons and a axe.
Hope that helps.  Have a great adventure!

Haven't been to the Bugs in a quite a few years, but here's my 2-"pence":
We'll assume you have your glacier-crossing act together; you'll need it to get to the BC.
Hut is HUGE, 50+ people can sleep on 2nd floor. Act accordingly. [Also...don't try to fly with a liquid-gas stove, regardless of how clean you make the fuel container. At best they'll confiscate it, even out of checked baggage, at worse...... ]
"Bugs" (mostly mosquitoes) can be BAD in the Bugs. Bring DEET.
If you get there by car....the porcupines eating the brake hoses is NOT a myth....bring chicken wire.
British Columbia....I've had 13 1/2 days of clear weather, and I've had 12 out of 14 days when it rained. Most trips are about 50-50, but if you go for 2 weeks, instead of 1, I think your chances of not being totally rained out are better.
East Ridge of Bugaboo is a classic, as is the std on Pigeon. The next range north is the Vowells, and the Archduke Trio is quite the climb!  Probably would want to go over and bivi near the base, then a day for the climb and back to Boulder Camp. [the climb is far from the Vowell's igloo "huts".]
Rescue insurance???  

It's a fabulous place, ENJOY !
 

I agree with Dow RE: the Hut. Its very noisy, and when I stayed there I got zero sleep. The extra 1000' of elevation gain on the appraoch in the morning was also a a bit of a drag (except for the Snowpatch route, which is closer to the hut).
I was there in late July early Aug and had no issue with mosquitoes.
Also, the place has become increasingly popular in recent years, expect BIG crowds.

I did not have off-set cams when I did the BC, but the off-set nuts were *great*.  If I went back to do it again, I'd bring off-set cams because I have a set now, but I would not sweat it.

Dow is spot on.  I'll add that I was warm enough in a ~30 degree sleeping bag in July.  I'd also recommend bringing a proper tent that can handle high winds because all the summer backpacking tents at Applebee got worked one night at Applebee while I was there.  My tent stayed standing(barely) but almost every pole section is bent!

We camped at the base of BC the night before and night after, it is a cool isolated place to camp. Only bummer is have to descend and ascend the BC col additional times. Route goes fast especially if you are a fan of simul-climbing. We rapped the route with 2x60's (climbing with halves or doubles I forgot) and got a super stuck rope with a few raps to go. Had to cut rope and leave some gear. Raps were easy to find if you read up on it and are careful (and have daylight). Good luck and have run. Route is great. We were lucky enough to get a free Kokanee from Stanhope and Houlding after our ascent as they were camped out at the base of south houser. we didn't have anything special like offsets. just a slimmed down double rack I believe.

Dow Williams wrote:Pretty straight forward and fast moving for the true alpinist.

Dow's the only "true alpinist" in this thread, so if I were you, I'd plan on a helluva big day.

And don't stay at the hut the night before, you'll add 2-5 hours to your day.

Can you get away with the aluminum crampon/ approach shoe setup for getting to the base of the BC in earlier July? (asking for a friend...) 

Benjamin Pontecorvo wrote: Can you get away with the aluminum crampon/ approach shoe setup for getting to the base of the BC in earlier July? (asking for a friend...) 

Shit yeah. We did it with trail runners and microspikes in August (only slightly sketch part was the BB/SP col), so trail crampons would be killer. 

Maybe bring gaitors, though, could still be postholing in early July.

Ben Gleason wrote:

Shit yeah. We did it with trail runners and microspikes in August (only slightly sketch part was the BB/SP col), so trail crampons would be killer. 

Maybe bring gaitors, though, could still be postholing in early July.

Recommend checking conditions first - my experience differed! Rock hard ice.

Chris Owen wrote:

Recommend checking conditions first - my experience differed! Rock hard ice.

Exactly.

Every year is different.  Kind of like: We skied it last year with no avalanches so it’s safe this year.

Hi everyone- thanks for all the great advice!
L

Good advice so far. One thing I would add is that if you're going to stay for more than 3-4 days (and you should) than consider only bringing food for a couple days on the first hike in. Go back to resupply after your first one or two routes, your skin will likely need the rest day anyway. Granite up there is very coarse and humidity is really low, so I would bring whatever hand care stuff you like (j tree, climb on, etc..).

• If you haven't already booked space in the hut then you can ignore the discussion about the pros and cons of staying there vs camping at Applebee. You need to book the hut a couple of months in advance for the summer climbing season.
• Aug 3-5 is a long weekend in that part of the world, so expect it to be busy. But "busy" in Western Canada may not be bad compared to Chamonix, say.
• If you arrive at the end of a weekend you'll have a decent chance of finding parking close to the trailhead and re-using someone else's discarded chicken wire.
• Snowfall was below average this past winter. Be prepared for the possibility that the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col melts out early. If that happens the Bugaboo glacier is a good alternative approach to the Pigeon-Howser col.
• Maybe my memories have become rose-colored over time, but in four decades of climbing the Beckey-Chouinard is the best route I've ever done. Good luck!

Laurie Lair wrote: 
Climate: What are the temps like at this time of year? Specifically at Applebee camp at night, though day time temperatures would be good to know, too.

Insects: I've seen a few contradictory comments on this- is it normal to be midged up here at this time of year?

Gear: We've got a double rack of cams up to BD size 4 and plenty of stoppers, most I've seen suggests this is sufficient- our main goal is to do the Beckey Chouinard Route- is there anything specific you'd advise for this? I've not seen anything suggesting offset cams are essential or anything like that.

Climate: generally comparable to what you would encounter in Chamonix. 

Insects: Mosquitos can be bad around the hut and in the nearby woods (where this is camping), higher up should not be much of an issue.

Gear: To each his own but I'm sure we didn't have anything bigger than a #3 and only one of those.  Plenty of small gear options.  Double up on hand size for the long dihedral.

Take the chicken wire seriously when you park your car.  There is a big bin there with plenty of wire.  Secure it well to the ground so you don't return with a punctured hose from critters.

If you camp at Appleby realize that they don't allow placing tents on soil (no stakes), so choose one that is as free-standing as possible.

Some people bivy at the col between Pigeon and the Howsers.  There is also a bivy site just past the base of the route under the middle howser that is protected by a large boulder, but you won't easily return there to retrieve gear.  

I'd love to hear if anyone has any good footwear strategies for this time of year, especially for routes like BC that require a bit of an approach on snow but wanting to avoid lugging boots all the way up the route. 

I wore approach shoes and used BD contact strap crampons. I also threw an extra pair or two of socks in my pack.  This worked fine for everything we did, including the approach to BC from applebee, back in aug of 2017.