Bugaboo Spire

Routes

• Northeast Ridge
• Kain Route This route tackles the left-hand skyline in the east face photo as is commonly used as the descent route for all routes on the spire. After gaining the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col, 3rd class scrambling starts up the ridge following trails and cairns. As height is gained, the route sticks close to the ridge-crest but is always on the Kain Hut basin side of the peak. After a while, some low-5th-class chimneys are reached with a wide, flat ledge at the base. These are scaled in one long pitch or two shorter ones; a rappel station exists halfway up. At the top, a section of 4th class ridge is traversed for about 150m to the base of the gendarme-pitches. There is a bolted station at a notch just after the 4th-class terrain. Two pitches from here start up the ridge crest, follow horizontal cracks on the right side past a few old pitons and cross over the ridge to the west side near the top on a lower-angled slab. Cross the slab and gain a corner, which leads to the left side of the gendarme. From here, follow a ledge/gully system up left and then back right to the south summit. The descent is somewhat different: rappel from the south summit, then from the gendarme on the EAST side about 25m to a ledge. Scramble up to a notch between a flake and rappel about 20m diagonally to another station and another, similar rappel from which a few metres of scrambling gains the ridge at the beginning of the 4th class section. Traverse this to the one 60m or two 30m rappels down the chimneys. Retrace the ascent route from here, being careful to stay far enough skier's-right.

  Nearby

• Conrad Kain hut
• Snowpatch Spire
• Pigeon Spire
• Crescent Spire