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All Locations > International > N America > Canada > British Columbia > Columbia Mountains > Purcell Mountains > Bugaboos > Snowpatch Spire > Surfs Up (5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a)
Approaching Surf's Up on the SW shoulder of Snowpatch.
ID 112041580 ·
Pitch 1.
Route Overlay Surf's Up Pitches 1-4.
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Steph Abegg
Aug 1, 2016
“Approaching Surf's Up on the SW shoulder of Snowpatch.”  

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Nearby Photos

Route Overlay Surf's Up.
On Surfs Up ledge
Pitch 5.
Top of Snowpatch spire after climbing Surfs Up!
In this photo I am leading Pitch 2. I am looking for the 5.8 bulge, which was still above me. I figured this out and continued up the slot to my left in the photo, and exited it about 20 feet below a large horn wrapped in slings. The 5.8 move was pretty easy. The routefinding on the lower pitches is a bit tricky. The description makes a note of not being suckered up too high.
The three climbers in the photo are at the rap station at the start of the Krause-McCarthy Rappel Route. The climber on the left is coming up from the Snowpatch Route. All routes that react the South summit desced via the Krause-McCarthy Rappel Route. The guidebook says you need two ropes, but you can also rap it with a single 70m rope (the party after us did). Not sure if a single 60m rope would work. We made four double-rope rappels. We got our rope stuck (twice!) on the third rappel and the party above us freed it (twice!). The rappel route dumps you off ~100m of scrambling from the base of Surf's Up, so we were able to leave our approach shoes and ice axes at the base of the route and not bring them up the climb.
Napping on Surf's Up Ledge. East Face of Pigeon in distance.
Upper part of Surfs Up - beautiful granite and crack climbing.
Looking down from the belay on top of pitch one.
Looking up the Krause-McKarthy Rappel Route line.
Scramble to summit (3rd with a few 5th class steps).
Pitch 7.