Spires of the Bugaboos (Cont.)

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Outside Magazine August 2001

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Spires of the Bugaboos (Cont.)


	Sunshine seekers: the author and Frost hike to Snowpatch Spire.

The modified A-frame shelter, named after Bugaboos pioneer Conrad Kain, who scaled many of the area's peaks in the early 1900s, sits on an exposed granite slab just above tree line. A handful of people lounged in the yard, an alpine meadow spotted with buttercups and fire-red Indian paintbrush. As we stepped in the door, we were greeted by Joe Boucher, the hut's bearded thirtysomething custodian, who's a dead ringer for Tyrolean mountaineer Reinhold Messner, and a large portrait of Kain in tweed pants and hobnailed boots. Dropping our bags at a sitting area with sturdy pine tables and a magnificent view of the crevasse-riddled Bugaboo Glacier, we followed Joe to some empty floor space in the third-floor loft. It was easy to see why so many climbers travel across the world only to become benchwarmers who'd rather luxuriate amid the electricity, running water, stoves, and sleeping mats than face a falling barometer. "The outhouse," Joe explained, "is about 35 yards back down the trail. You may want to go easy on the hot chocolate before bedding down."

When the new morning sun pulsed in a clear blue sky, the hut's inhabitants quickly scattered among the surrounding peaks. (In order to avoid crowding, we had all discussed our plans the previous night.) Some headed for the McTech area, on the south face of Crescent Spire above Crescent Glacier. Less than an hour's hike from the hut, it offers more than a dozen single- and multipitch crack climbs, from 5.5 to 5.11+. Others chose the West Ridge of Pigeon Spire (5.4), hands down the most popular route in the Bugs, and for good reason: Everyone agrees that crawling along the knife-edge of Pigeon Spire is the quintessential Bugaboos experience. In places, climbers have literally worn a path into the granite. Others decided to work their way up the laser-cut Northeast Ridge of Bugaboo Spire. This rock climb is one of the most sought-after routes in the Bugs because of its sustained but moderate difficulty (ten pitches, 5.7), its commanding views of the surrounding Purcell Mountains, and its inclusion in the seminal guidebook Fifty Classic Climbs of North America.



	On crack: The author jams up the Sunshine route on Snowpatch Spire.

We planned to warm up on a nine-pitch 5.10 called Sunshine, on Snowpatch Spire, also less than an hour from our overnight digs. At its base, I torqued my hands into the cold granite spotted with electric red, orange, and green lichens, and immediately realized that the friends who'd recommended Sunshine had downplayed the difficulty of the first pitch. Rob and I swapped leads up the wall, following one continuous crack up and over small roofs, clean headwalls, and open-book dihedrals. Unlike Yosemite granite, which is largely blank and holdless between the cracks, the coarse stone here was rippled with edges and tiny flakes. We were tempted to push for the summit, but drizzling rain made the rock slick, foreshadowing our epic to come. Nine raps and a 30-minute jog later, we were back at the hut.

The stink of ripe human bodies mingled with the aroma of several different meals in progress. Steam fogged the windows, and drying backpacks, clothing, and equipment hung across the walls. When Joe emerged from his office at 6 p.m. with the latest weather report in hand, we descended upon him like vultures. "High pressure is blowing in from up north," he said, fighting his way to the chalkboard to post the report. "Should be good for the next four days." Everyone cheered.

Rob and I realized without discussion that we should start packing up for our main objective: the Beckey-Chouinard route, a 2,000-foot 5.10 on the west buttress of South Howser Tower, where a granite monolith rises from the glacier and shoots skyward for 1,000 feet before connecting to a shining headwall splintered with cracks. The tiny, ethereal summit sits 1,000 feet above. It's been on my tick list for years.

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