The Bugaboos | |
---|---|
Highest point | |
Peak | Howser Spire |
Elevation | 3,412 m (11,194 ft) |
Coordinates | 50°44′45″N116°47′21″W / 50.74583°N 116.78917°W |
Geography | |
Country | Canada |
Province | British Columbia |
Parent range | Purcell Mountains |
Geology | |
Rock type | Granite batholith |
The Bugaboos are a mountain range in the Purcell Mountains of eastern British Columbia, Canada. The granite spires of the group are a popular mountaineering destination. The Bugaboos are protected within Bugaboo Provincial Park.
The Bugaboos are located in the northwestern extreme of the Purcells in the Columbia Mountains, in the south-east of the province. The nearest towns are Radium and Golden. They are commonly subdivided into four divisions: the Bugaboo Glacier Peaks, and the Eastern, Central, and Western Spires. The nearby Vowell and Conrad Groups are usually considered separate from the Bugaboos. [1]
Located in the snow- and rain-heavy "Columbia Wet Belt", this section of the Purcells is subject to heavy erosion and large, active glaciers. [2] Originally covered in weaker rock, glaciation eventually revealed the granodiorite batholiths [3] which form the group's distinctive spires. [2] The surrounding rock is approximately 600 million to 1 billion years old, while the Bugaboo intrusion dates to 135 million years ago. The igneous intrusion cooled slowly, forming the crystalline structure of the hard granite found today. [1]
Originally named the "Nunataks", the Bugaboo spires were first noted by a surveying expedition in the late 1800s. Mining brought the first Europeans to the region with a small, ill-fated gold rush occurring in 1895 and 1896 near Bugaboo Falls. The area was prospected and staked, but the meager deposits turned out to be mostly pyrite and galena. [4] The name "Bugaboo" originated from this rush; the term was used by prospectors for a "dead-end". [5]
Climbers became interested in the group shortly after. In 1910, an expedition led by Thomas Longstaff and surveyor Arthur Oliver Wheeler entered the area. They were guided by renowned European climber Conrad Kain. [5] Kain would return to the area six years later and pioneer many difficult climbing routes. The Austrian climber described his route up Bugaboo Spire as his most difficult Canadian ascent, more challenging than his celebrated route up Mount Robson, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. [5] Along with Albert and Bess McCarthy and others, Kain would pioneer first ascents of North Howser, Marmolata, and Crescent Spires. [1]
Logging in the area resulted in road construction in the 1950s and 60s. This led to a new influx of climbers. Fred Beckey and Yvon Chouinard (founder of the Patagonia clothing company) established new routes on several spires. [1] The growing popularity of the area led the BC government to establish Bugaboo Glacier Provincial Park and the Bugaboo Alpine Recreation Area in 1969. The Alpine Club of Canada constructed a large hut in 1972 to reduce environmental damage to the fragile alpine meadows below the spires. [1]
The Bugaboos have several internationally known rock climbing routes. The Beckey-Chouinard (South Howser Spire), West Ridge (Pigeon Spire), Northeast Ridge (Bugaboo Spire), Snowpatch and Surf's Up (Snowpatch Spire) attract world-class climbers. There are both bolted and free routes throughout the group. [1]
Climbers and hikers often use the 40-person Conrad Kain hut, maintained by the Alpine Club of Canada. Located near Snowpatch Spire, the hut replaced the original fibreglass igloos placed by BC Parks. The Bugaboo Lodge, constructed in 1967, is near the eastern boundary of the park. Heli-skiing and heli-hiking are conducted from the lodge into the park. Ski touring is also popular in the group during the winter. [1]
Friedrich Wolfgang Beckey, known as Fred Beckey, was an American rock climber, mountaineer and book author, who in seven decades of climbing achieved hundreds of first ascents of some of the tallest peaks and most important routes throughout Alaska, the Canadian Rockies and the Pacific Northwest. Among the Fifty Classic Climbs of North America, seven were established by Beckey, often climbing with some of the best known climbers of each generation.
Mount Robson is the most prominent mountain in North America's Rocky Mountain range; it is also the highest point in the Canadian Rockies. The mountain is located entirely within Mount Robson Provincial Park of British Columbia, and is part of the Rainbow Range. Mount Robson is the second highest peak entirely in British Columbia, behind Mount Waddington in the Coast Range. The south face of Mount Robson is clearly visible from the Yellowhead Highway, and is commonly photographed along this route.
Conrad Kain was an Austrian mountain guide who guided extensively in Europe, Canada, and New Zealand, and was responsible for the first ascents of more than 60 routes in British Columbia. He is particularly known for pioneering climbs in the Purcell Mountains and the first ascents of Mount Robson (1913), Mount Louis (1916) and Bugaboo Spire (1916).
The Columbia Mountains are a group of mountain ranges along the Upper Columbia River in British Columbia, Montana, Idaho and Washington. The mountain range covers 135,952 km². The range is bounded by the Rocky Mountain Trench on the east, and the Kootenai River on the south; their western boundary is the edge of the Interior Plateau. Seventy-five percent of the range is located in Canada and the remaining twenty-five percent in the United States; American geographic classifications place the Columbia Mountains as part of the Rocky Mountains complex, but this designation does not apply in Canada. Mount Sir Sandford is the highest mountain in the range, reaching 3,519 metres (11,545 ft).
Bugaboo Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located in the central Purcell Mountains.
The Purcell Wilderness Conservancy is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. It was established in 1974, and encompasses six large drainages in the Purcell Mountains in the southeast of the province. It contains high peaks, alpine meadows and ridges, deep creek and river valleys, and hot springs at Dewar Creek.
The Conrad Kain hut is an alpine hut located in Bugaboo Provincial Park in British Columbia. The hut is maintained by the Alpine Club of Canada. Coordinates: 50°44′18″N116°45′48″W NAD27 11U 516700 5620754
Snowpatch Spire is a mountain peak in British Columbia, Canada. With its first ascent in 1940, it was the last of the Bugaboo Spires to be climbed. It is located southwest of the Conrad Kain hut, between Bugaboo, Vowell and Crescent Glaciers, at the south end of Bugaboo Provincial Park. The mountain's toponym was officially adopted October 29, 1962, by the Geographical Names Board of Canada.
Bugaboo Spire is a peak in Bugaboo mountain range in Canada, located between the Vowell and Crescent glaciers, just under 2 km West of the ACC's Conrad Kain hut. It is known for its alpine climbing. The Spire was first climbed by Conrad Kain in 1916.
Pigeon Spire is a peak in the Purcell Mountains of the Columbia Mountains in southeastern British Columbia, Canada. It may be one of the most climbed of the spires in The Bugaboos owing to its relatively low prominence from the Vowell Glacier and the existence of an easy route. It is not uncommon to have a couple dozen people on this route on a busy weekend. There are longer, harder routes on the spire's North and East faces.
Elfrida Mary Pigou was a prominent Canadian mountaineer and pioneer with many first ascents to her credit. She was born in Vernon, British Columbia, the daughter of Meynell Henry Pigou and his wife Lilian Maud Mackenzie and spent her childhood in the Okanagan region of British Columbia. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of British Columbia in 1931. In 1949 she began a climbing career in the mountainous regions of BC and Washington state that made her perhaps the most distinguished female climber of her generation in Canada.
Fifty Classic Climbs of North America is a 1979 climbing guidebook and history written by Steve Roper and Allen Steck. It is considered a classic piece of climbing literature, known to many climbers as simply "The Book", and has served as an inspiration for more recent climbing books, such as Mark Kroese's Fifty Favorite Climbs. Though much of the book's contents are now out of date, it is still recognized as a definitive text which goes beyond the traditional guidebook.
Howser Spire, or Howser Spire Massif, is a group of three distinct granite peaks, and the highest mountain of the Canadian Bugaboo Spires. The mountain is located at the southwest corner of the Vowell Glacier, within the Bugaboo mountain range in the Purcell Mountains, a subrange of British Columbia's Columbia Mountains, The highest of the three spires is the North Tower at 3,412 m (11,194 ft), the Central Tower the lowest, and the South Tower is slightly lower than the North at 3,292 m (10,801 ft).
Eastpost Spire is a peak in the Purcell Mountains of the Columbia Mountains in southeastern British Columbia, Canada. Eastpost Spire lies just to the East of Bugaboo and Snowpatch Spires.
Peter Kaufmann-Bohren was born on June 23, 1886, in Grindelwald, and he died on June 23, 1971, in Thun, at the age of 85. Peter was a Swiss ski instructor and mountain guide, climbing in the Swiss Alps and the Canadian Rockies.
Taurus Mountain is a mountain summit located in British Columbia, Canada.
Anniversary Peak is a 2,947-metre (9,669-foot) summit in The Bugaboos of British Columbia, Canada. It is located southeast of the Bugaboo Glacier, on the southern boundary of Bugaboo Provincial Park. Precipitation runoff from Anniversary Peak drains into Bugaboo Creek which is a tributary of the Columbia River. Anniversary Peak is more notable for its steep rise above local terrain than for its absolute elevation as topographic relief is significant with the summit rising 1,350 meters (4,429 ft) above Bugaboo Creek in 4 km (2.5 mi).
Mount Conrad is a 3,279-metre (10,758-foot) mountain summit in British Columbia, Canada.
Howser Peak is a 3,094-metre (10,151-foot) summit in The Bugaboos of British Columbia, Canada. It is located south of the Bugaboo Glacier and is the southernmost point of Bugaboo Provincial Park. Precipitation runoff from Howser Peak drains north into Bugaboo Creek which is a tributary of the Columbia River; as well as south to Duncan River via Howser Creek. Howser Peak is more notable for its steep rise above local terrain than for its absolute elevation as topographic relief is significant with the south aspect rising 1,380 meters (4,527 ft) in 2.5 km (1.6 mi).
Northpost Spire is a 2,911-metre (9,551-foot) peak in British Columbia, Canada.