Alpine-Spirit
Rapping the Col
August 26th-29th Karsten and I went on our second annual pilgrimage to the Bugaboos in the Purcells of Eastern British Columbia. This year we did not get the perfect weather we were hoping for, but we did manage to climb a peak that we've been chasing after since seeing it last year: Pigeon Spire. We climbed it via the classic West Ridge line and had a fantastic day. Weather was unstable and threatened to turn often, but the sky made for some striking backdrops to the spires. We will be returning next year to test ourselves against another goal of ours: Snowpatch spire via the "surf's Up" route.
The col was in rougher shape this year than it was the last. It was much more melted and rockfall was a problem. When we climbed up it in the morning, the last ten feet were almost solid ice! I have never been so happy to be wearing crampons and carrying an ice axe!
Rapping the Col
August 26th-29th Karsten and I went on our second annual pilgrimage to the Bugaboos in the Purcells of Eastern British Columbia. This year we did not get the perfect weather we were hoping for, but we did manage to climb a peak that we've been chasing after since seeing it last year: Pigeon Spire. We climbed it via the classic West Ridge line and had a fantastic day. Weather was unstable and threatened to turn often, but the sky made for some striking backdrops to the spires. We will be returning next year to test ourselves against another goal of ours: Snowpatch spire via the "surf's Up" route.
The col was in rougher shape this year than it was the last. It was much more melted and rockfall was a problem. When we climbed up it in the morning, the last ten feet were almost solid ice! I have never been so happy to be wearing crampons and carrying an ice axe!