Trip Report: Bugaboos with Dawn Glanc

The Bugaboos, located in British Columbia, is a place that I have read and heard about for years. Every time I saw a photo of the splitter granite spires, I would dream of climbing them. The place seemed magical and very alluring. The alpine climbing seemed perfect. On July 20, my dream of going to the Bugaboos became a reality. I received this guiding assignment with a giant smile.

I began the long drive from Bellingham, Washington on that sunny Sunday morning with my new partner for the next 12 days, Michael Lowry. During the drive Michael and I got to know one another. We also discussed what we planned to climb. We had a long hit list of routes. The day went on with the pedal to the metal. By the day's end we arrived in the town of Radium to enjoy our last dinner at the local pub.

In the morning we made the long drive into the Provincial Park. We did the last minute gear shuffle as quick as possible, while getting eaten alive by the mosquitoes. We then barricaded the van from the porcupines, who are rumored to enjoy eating brake lines and other important hoses. When the van was secure, we began the 3-hour hike into the alpine playground.

Our time over the next few days was great. We stayed at the Kain Hut for 7 nights. While we were at the hut, we met many great people from all around the world. It was a very social place where route information and other climbing beta was shared. There was the occasional, 'it was big and I was awesome story', but mostly the conversations were great people telling good stories of the day and other adventures from throughout their days. It was motivating us to go out again the next day with fire in our eyes.

Michael and I got in some great climbing. We did the Kain Route on Bugaboo Spire, the West Ridge of Pigeon Spire, the Northwest Ridge of East Post Spire, and Lion's Way on Central Crescent Tower. We had great weather most days, bluebird and perfect temperatures. We also experienced 2 rain days in which the hut was worth every looney we spent. The last rain day forced us to leave one day early, so we headed to Squamish to finish the trip.

As we drove to Squamish, the clouds on the horizon did not seem to be matching up with the forecast for the slight 20% chance of rain. In the morning we awoke to a steady drizzle. We spent Tuesday milling about in Squamish. I have to say, they have a great public library. We monitored the future forecast on every weather website to see if the end of the rain was in sight. After watching the weather forecast change throughout the day, we could see that the rain was here to stay. We decided to pack up our soggy camp and end the trip a day early. We drove back to Bellingham, and celebrated our successes over a great Sushi dinner.

This was a very amazing trip. I had the opportunity to climb a number of the classic routes, but can see there are still plenty more waiting to be climbed. I am looking forward to making another pilgrimage up to the Bugs in the future. I have my sights set on a few climbs that match that ideal alpine line. Until that next time comes, I will look at my photos of this past trip and re-live those great moments.

-- Dawn Glanc, AAI Guide