Bugaboos

Michael S. Catlett wrote:

I bet you are confused by now with all these opinions. Here is one more.....stay in the hut. One rainy or snowing day will assure you that you made the right decision. That said, you will have one of the best climbing times of your life no matter what you do in the bugs.

Godspeed and safe Climbing.

I really appreciate all the info! There is only so much you can get from a book, and I always enjoy listening to personal experiences. And though I’m psyched on the camping, it’s geting harder and harder to resist the convenience of the hut. Thanks Michael! 

https://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/web/ACCMember/Huts/Conrad_Kain_Hut.aspx

Could anyone explain the bathroom situation at applebee in a bit more detail? Did you guys bring wag bags? Is there a "toilet" in the campground? Did you bring wag downs down with you when you were done?

Daniel Guerrawrote:

Did you guys bring wag bags? Is there a "toilet" in the campground? Did you bring wag downs down with you when you were done?

Just 1 or 2 for on route emergencies, but there are toilets staged around the glaciers near the popular routes. https://www.mountainproject.com/route/113551862/toilet-seat 

Yes 

You pack out your trash, so if you use a wag bag then yes you should pack it out

Matt Carrollwrote:

Just 1 or 2 for on route emergencies, but there are toilets staged around the glaciers near the popular routes. https://www.mountainproject.com/route/113551862/toilet-seat 

Yes 

You pack out your trash, so if you use a wag bag then yes you should pack it out

Matt thank you for your feedback. Final question when you crapped in a toilet did you crap into a wag bag or into a hole of some kind? 

Daniel Guerrawrote:

Matt thank you for your feedback. Final question when you crapped in a toilet did you crap into a wag bag or into a hole of some kind? 

I may be wrong about this, but I am reasonably certain that all the waste from the barrel toilets is helicoptered out by the park service.

https://bcparks.ca/bugaboo-park/

There is a pit toilet in the parking lot at the Bugaboo Park trailhead. 

The toilet facilities provided in alpine areas are all barrel system toilets. A urine-only toilet is located at the Conrad Kain Hut. Two barrel toilets are near the Conrad Kain Hut, one is at the Boulder Campground, and two are at the Applebee Dome Campground. Barrel toilets are also provided for mountaineers at the Snowpatch col, the base of Pigeon Spires west ridge, and the East Creek camp. 

Terry Ewrote:

I may be wrong about this, but I am reasonably certain that all the waste from the barrel toilets is helicoptered out by the park service.

https://bcparks.ca/bugaboo-park/

There is a pit toilet in the parking lot at the Bugaboo Park trailhead. 

The toilet facilities provided in alpine areas are all barrel system toilets. A urine-only toilet is located at the Conrad Kain Hut. Two barrel toilets are near the Conrad Kain Hut, one is at the Boulder Campground, and two are at the Applebee Dome Campground. Barrel toilets are also provided for mountaineers at the Snowpatch col, the base of Pigeon Spires west ridge, and the East Creek camp. 

This helps a ton Terry. thank you!

They are 55 gallon drums that everyone poops into and then get helicoptered off. So no wag bag when you are dumping at those bathrooms. You probably want TP though.

There is a scene in “boys in the bugs” (I think?) where they are shuttling blue drums for cash or goodwill.  

Terry Ewrote:

I may be wrong about this, but I am reasonably certain that all the waste from the barrel toilets is helicoptered out by the park service.

You are not wrong. 

Does anyone have or know the best place to get a conditions report of B-S col and surrounding areas? I am making my first trip the last week of July and trying to get a sense for what gear to bring for the approaches (it sounds like there are a lot of options all condition dependent)!  Its been great reading all the beta here. Thank you in advance!

Jordan Simonwrote:

Does anyone have or know the best place to get a conditions report of B-S col and surrounding areas? I am making my first trip the last week of July and trying to get a sense for what gear to bring for the approaches (it sounds like there are a lot of options all condition dependent)!  Its been great reading all the beta here. Thank you in advance!

Sign up for MCR here:

https://mountainconditions.ca/

Or just search the site reports regularly. There is no guarantee that a guide will post the beta you want, but it’s such a popular area that it’s likely reports on col conditions will show up.

Thank you!!

I've hiked into the Bugs without a tent, sleeping bad or climbing gear and still spend 2 decent nights and got Sunshine Cracks done. A fair amount of people opt for 2 pairs of cheap trail runner type shoes- rotate them as one pair will usually be wet. You may not need any snow gear this year, which is actually bad news. 

Where's Waldenwrote:

I've hiked into the Bugs without a tent, sleeping bad or climbing gear and still spend 2 decent nights and got Sunshine Cracks done. A fair amount of people opt for 2 pairs of cheap trail runner type shoes- rotate them as one pair will usually be wet. You may not need any snow gear this year, which is actually bad news. 

Do you think hiking boots would be overkill given the present conditions? I plan on going July 20-26? 

Daniel Guerrawrote:

Do you think hiking boots would be overkill given the present conditions? I plan on going July 20-26? 

Whatever you do will work out fine. If you have boots it's a pain in the ass to bring them up a climb if you aren't rapping back to the base. It'll be fine tho. 

Jordan Simonwrote:

Does anyone have or know the best place to get a conditions report of B-S col and surrounding areas? …

Report and a few photos of the B-S col here:

https://mountainconditions.ca/reports/bugaboo-provincial-park

from https://mountainconditions.ca/reports/dry-conditions-bugaboos
“The Bugaboo-Snowpatch col is in very rough shape, equivalent or worse than at the end of last August….”

I just read the above report, thank you! How likely would you say it is to try and climb in the area two to three weeks from now if it is already in the shape it is in? The goal was to try and climb on South Howser but I know that is further away from camp as well.

Jordan Simonwrote:

I just read the above report, thank you! How likely would you say it is to try and climb in the area two to three weeks from now if it is already in the shape it is in? The goal was to try and climb on South Howser but I know that is further away from camp as well.

There is much info out there about late season access to the Bugaboos. Maybe do some more searching the forums, or consult the guidebook.

Where's Waldenwrote:

There is much info out there about late season access to the Bugaboos. Maybe do some more searching the forums, or consult the guidebook.

I don’t believe this is a very helpful or constructive addition to this forum and you might want to reconsider why you are apart of it.