Bugaboo Spire
Bugaboo Spire
Height: 3,204 m (10,512 ft)
Total vertical gain from the Kain Hut: 1000 m (3,300 ft)
Kain Route: 5.6, mostly 3rd and 4th class. Bugaboo Spire was first climbed by Conrad Kain in 1916. The Kain Route is one of the 50 classic climbs of North America, is the easiest route up Bugaboo Spire and also the descent for the famous North East Ridge. The approach is via the Bugaboo Snowpatch Col where you then begin scrambling up a 3rd class ridge that steepens to 4th class and eventually 5th class where a few pitches of excellent crack climbing are encountered just before the summit. A classic climb and less committing than the alternate NE ridge. A fit party of two can climb the Kain Route in 10 hours return trip from the Kain hut
NE Ridge: 5.8, 12 pitches. The North East Ridge of Bugaboo Spire is probably the most highly sought after climb in the Bugaboos. After ascending the Crescent Glacier to the Crescent/Bugaboo Col, the hardest climbing is encountered right at the start. Each belay stance has a perfect ledge and the ridge becomes less steep and easier the higher you climb. The exciting final knife blade ridge between the two summits is a place that will be ingrained in your memory for ever. A mega classic climb. A fit party of two can climb the North East Ridge in 12 hours return trip from the Kain Hut
Pictured above is nearing the summit of Bugaboo Spire with client Rodney Green and me leading the crux ‘Gendarme’ pitch in 2013.
