View allAll Photos Tagged thebug
After bailing on Crescent spire due to a sudden downpour we headed back to camp where the weather got worse before it improved. After some heavy rain, hail and thunder the sky cleared way for more clouds to rise up from the valley below. Within minutes of this photo the glaciers were obscured by cloudy haze and our fantastic view was once again hidden.
The Bugaboos - August 12-18, 2012
Living in Squamish I am very lucky to be surrounded by excellent rock to train my technical climbing skills as well as many great peaks for scrambling. But, until last week I had never had the opportunity to combine the two skills I've been developing for years. That all changed when a friend invited me to be her partner on the yearly trip my friend group takes. Two months after the invitiation, a partner swap, and a week of careful packing and preparation I actually found myself driving east about to embark on what would be the greatest adventure of my life to date.
The moment I arrived at basecamp my lofty climbing aspiration were downgraded to starting with a 4th class route and going from there. I received tons of advice from friends that had been going for several years, but still nothing could have prepared me for the reality of being there. The ascent to Applebee basecamp, the scale of the spires, the difficulty of the glaciers, and the exposure did not translate well to maps and photos I found myself in awe and terror. Every single obstacle I encountered was more physically and mentally demanding that I could have expected.
Even though we were with a large group of friends, we were on our own when we headed out for the day and often learning as we went. As a result we learned many lessons the hard way, including when to put crampons on, when to switch into rock shoes, how hard preventing rockfall can be, and all the ways rappelling can go wrong.
It was both the single most terrifying and rewarding experience of my life. Never did I expect to learn so much in a week, or do so little actual climbing. Instead it was a wild ride of alpine obstacles, and a truly life changing experience shared with great friends old and new.
A brief summary of my adventure:
Aug 12 - Hike into Applebee base camp with 80+lbs pack full of climbing, camping, and glacier gear as well as 7 days of food, and clothes for everything from -10 to +30 degrees celcius rain and shine.
Aug 13 - Eastpost spire, combination of Northeast and Northwest ridges.
Aug 14 - Crescent Spire, W ridge. - Rained off first attempt, after self arresting and improv. anchor construction.
Aug 15 - Crescent Spire, W ridge - Successful ascent followed by rappelling disaster involving ditching a rope that was later recovered
Aug 16 - Pigeon Spire, W ridge - Got 30m up route then turned back to save terror management skills for descent back down the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col
Aug 17 - Eastpost spire again and bathing in the tarn
Aug 18 - Hike out and long drive home
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding my experience.
Photos from this trip were taken with a combination of my Nikon D7000, Olympus uT8000 & GoPro HD2
After the approach to basecamp Alana and I decided we would do a short scramble up Eastpost Spire as our first Bugaboo outing. It's not only the closest spire to camp, but the approach doesn't involve glacier travel and the route is a mellow class 4 scramble with little exposure. Since we didn't know what to expect or how comfortable we would feel we brought our rack and a single rope. We ended up scrambling easily up the spire with no route finding problems. We never needed any gear on the way up, but since we had a rope we chose to rappel off the summit. The anchors were spanking new, and not mentioned in the guidebook for obvious reasons. This is Alana and I on the summit of Eastpost Spire, our first Bugaboo summit. I didn't realize how bright it had become out and could really have used my sunglasses at this point. Also, I will most certainly be purchasing and bringing a tri-pod on my next trip to the Bugaboos.
The Bugaboos - August 12-18, 2012
Living in Squamish I am very lucky to be surrounded by excellent rock to train my technical climbing skills as well as many great peaks for scrambling. But, until last week I had never had the opportunity to combine the two skills I've been developing for years. That all changed when a friend invited me to be her partner on the yearly trip my friend group takes. Two months after the invitiation, a partner swap, and a week of careful packing and preparation I actually found myself driving east about to embark on what would be the greatest adventure of my life to date.
The moment I arrived at basecamp my lofty climbing aspiration were downgraded to starting with a 4th class route and going from there. I received tons of advice from friends that had been going for several years, but still nothing could have prepared me for the reality of being there. The ascent to Applebee basecamp, the scale of the spires, the difficulty of the glaciers, and the exposure did not translate well to maps and photos I found myself in awe and terror. Every single obstacle I encountered was more physically and mentally demanding that I could have expected.
Even though we were with a large group of friends, we were on our own when we headed out for the day and often learning as we went. As a result we learned many lessons the hard way, including when to put crampons on, when to switch into rock shoes, how hard preventing rockfall can be, and all the ways rappelling can go wrong.
It was both the single most terrifying and rewarding experience of my life. Never did I expect to learn so much in a week, or do so little actual climbing. Instead it was a wild ride of alpine obstacles, and a truly life changing experience shared with great friends old and new.
A brief summary of my adventure:
Aug 12 - Hike into Applebee base camp with 80+lbs pack full of climbing, camping, and glacier gear as well as 7 days of food, and clothes for everything from -10 to +30 degrees celcius rain and shine.
Aug 13 - Eastpost spire, combination of Northeast and Northwest ridges.
Aug 14 - Crescent Spire, W ridge. - Rained off first attempt, after self arresting and improv. anchor construction.
Aug 15 - Crescent Spire, W ridge - Successful ascent followed by rappelling disaster involving ditching a rope that was later recovered
Aug 16 - Pigeon Spire, W ridge - Got 30m up route then turned back to save terror management skills for descent back down the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col
Aug 17 - Eastpost spire again and bathing in the tarn
Aug 18 - Hike out and long drive home
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding my experience.
Photos from this trip were taken with a combination of my Nikon D7000, Olympus uT8000 & GoPro HD2
We bailed on our first attempt of Crescent spire due to rain, but we had a great learning experience and it was a very photogenic day in the mountains. We had planned our outing in accordance with the weather; at no point were we in any danger. I never expected I would learn that much through trial and error in a single day without facing an actual disaster. Taking our lessons from the previous days mistakes we were off again for a second more efficient attempt of Crescent spire. This time we crossed the moraines and glacier quicker, put on our harnesses and crampons before the snow got steep, and our rock shoes before we got on the rock.
Yay! We made it up the col, and this was the view of Applebee dome and surrounding area we got from the top. If you look closely (or have a big enough screen) you can see all the little tents way down at camp.
The Bugaboos - August 12-18, 2012
Living in Squamish I am very lucky to be surrounded by excellent rock to train my technical climbing skills as well as many great peaks for scrambling. But, until last week I had never had the opportunity to combine the two skills I've been developing for years. That all changed when a friend invited me to be her partner on the yearly trip my friend group takes. Two months after the invitiation, a partner swap, and a week of careful packing and preparation I actually found myself driving east about to embark on what would be the greatest adventure of my life to date.
The moment I arrived at basecamp my lofty climbing aspiration were downgraded to starting with a 4th class route and going from there. I received tons of advice from friends that had been going for several years, but still nothing could have prepared me for the reality of being there. The ascent to Applebee basecamp, the scale of the spires, the difficulty of the glaciers, and the exposure did not translate well to maps and photos I found myself in awe and terror. Every single obstacle I encountered was more physically and mentally demanding that I could have expected.
Even though we were with a large group of friends, we were on our own when we headed out for the day and often learning as we went. As a result we learned many lessons the hard way, including when to put crampons on, when to switch into rock shoes, how hard preventing rockfall can be, and all the ways rappelling can go wrong.
It was both the single most terrifying and rewarding experience of my life. Never did I expect to learn so much in a week, or do so little actual climbing. Instead it was a wild ride of alpine obstacles, and a truly life changing experience shared with great friends old and new.
A brief summary of my adventure:
Aug 12 - Hike into Applebee base camp with 80+lbs pack full of climbing, camping, and glacier gear as well as 7 days of food, and clothes for everything from -10 to +30 degrees celcius rain and shine.
Aug 13 - Eastpost spire, combination of Northeast and Northwest ridges.
Aug 14 - Crescent Spire, W ridge. - Rained off first attempt, after self arresting and improv. anchor construction.
Aug 15 - Crescent Spire, W ridge - Successful ascent followed by rappelling disaster involving ditching a rope that was later recovered
Aug 16 - Pigeon Spire, W ridge - Got 30m up route then turned back to save terror management skills for descent back down the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col
Aug 17 - Eastpost spire again and bathing in the tarn
Aug 18 - Hike out and long drive home
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding my experience.
Photos from this trip were taken with a combination of my Nikon D7000, Olympus uT8000 & GoPro HD2
After the approach to basecamp Alana and I decided we would do a short scramble up Eastpost Spire as our first Bugaboo outing. It's not only the closest spire to camp, but the approach doesn't involve glacier travel and the route is a mellow class 4 scramble with little exposure. Since we didn't know what to expect or how comfortable we would feel we brought our rack and a single rope. We ended up scrambling easily up the spire with no route finding problems. We never needed any gear on the way up, but since we had a rope we chose to rappel off the summit. The anchors were spanking new, and not mentioned in the guidebook for obvious reasons. Here is Alana rapping off the summit.
The Bugaboos - August 12-18, 2012
Living in Squamish I am very lucky to be surrounded by excellent rock to train my technical climbing skills as well as many great peaks for scrambling. But, until last week I had never had the opportunity to combine the two skills I've been developing for years. That all changed when a friend invited me to be her partner on the yearly trip my friend group takes. Two months after the invitiation, a partner swap, and a week of careful packing and preparation I actually found myself driving east about to embark on what would be the greatest adventure of my life to date.
The moment I arrived at basecamp my lofty climbing aspiration were downgraded to starting with a 4th class route and going from there. I received tons of advice from friends that had been going for several years, but still nothing could have prepared me for the reality of being there. The ascent to Applebee basecamp, the scale of the spires, the difficulty of the glaciers, and the exposure did not translate well to maps and photos I found myself in awe and terror. Every single obstacle I encountered was more physically and mentally demanding that I could have expected.
Even though we were with a large group of friends, we were on our own when we headed out for the day and often learning as we went. As a result we learned many lessons the hard way, including when to put crampons on, when to switch into rock shoes, how hard preventing rockfall can be, and all the ways rappelling can go wrong.
It was both the single most terrifying and rewarding experience of my life. Never did I expect to learn so much in a week, or do so little actual climbing. Instead it was a wild ride of alpine obstacles, and a truly life changing experience shared with great friends old and new.
A brief summary of my adventure:
Aug 12 - Hike into Applebee base camp with 80+lbs pack full of climbing, camping, and glacier gear as well as 7 days of food, and clothes for everything from -10 to +30 degrees celcius rain and shine.
Aug 13 - Eastpost spire, combination of Northeast and Northwest ridges.
Aug 14 - Crescent Spire, W ridge. - Rained off first attempt, after self arresting and improv. anchor construction.
Aug 15 - Crescent Spire, W ridge - Successful ascent followed by rappelling disaster involving ditching a rope that was later recovered
Aug 16 - Pigeon Spire, W ridge - Got 30m up route then turned back to save terror management skills for descent back down the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col
Aug 17 - Eastpost spire again and bathing in the tarn
Aug 18 - Hike out and long drive home
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding my experience.
Photos from this trip were taken with a combination of my Nikon D7000, Olympus uT8000 & GoPro HD2
After the approach to basecamp Alana and I decided we would do a short scramble up Eastpost Spire as our first Bugaboo outing. It's not only the closest spire to camp, but the approach doesn't involve glacier travel and the route is a mellow class 4 scramble with little exposure. Since we didn't know what to expect or how comfortable we would feel we brought our rack and a single rope. We ended up scrambling easily up the spire with no route finding problems. We never needed any gear on the way up, but since we had a rope we chose to rappel off the summit. The anchors were spanking new, and not mentioned in the guidebook for obvious reasons. This is Alana working her way up the blocky and often loose terrain of Eastpost spire. In the background you can see Crescent spire, and the towers.
The Bugaboos - August 12-18, 2012
Living in Squamish I am very lucky to be surrounded by excellent rock to train my technical climbing skills as well as many great peaks for scrambling. But, until last week I had never had the opportunity to combine the two skills I've been developing for years. That all changed when a friend invited me to be her partner on the yearly trip my friend group takes. Two months after the invitiation, a partner swap, and a week of careful packing and preparation I actually found myself driving east about to embark on what would be the greatest adventure of my life to date.
The moment I arrived at basecamp my lofty climbing aspiration were downgraded to starting with a 4th class route and going from there. I received tons of advice from friends that had been going for several years, but still nothing could have prepared me for the reality of being there. The ascent to Applebee basecamp, the scale of the spires, the difficulty of the glaciers, and the exposure did not translate well to maps and photos I found myself in awe and terror. Every single obstacle I encountered was more physically and mentally demanding that I could have expected.
Even though we were with a large group of friends, we were on our own when we headed out for the day and often learning as we went. As a result we learned many lessons the hard way, including when to put crampons on, when to switch into rock shoes, how hard preventing rockfall can be, and all the ways rappelling can go wrong.
It was both the single most terrifying and rewarding experience of my life. Never did I expect to learn so much in a week, or do so little actual climbing. Instead it was a wild ride of alpine obstacles, and a truly life changing experience shared with great friends old and new.
A brief summary of my adventure:
Aug 12 - Hike into Applebee base camp with 80+lbs pack full of climbing, camping, and glacier gear as well as 7 days of food, and clothes for everything from -10 to +30 degrees celcius rain and shine.
Aug 13 - Eastpost spire, combination of Northeast and Northwest ridges.
Aug 14 - Crescent Spire, W ridge. - Rained off first attempt, after self arresting and improv. anchor construction.
Aug 15 - Crescent Spire, W ridge - Successful ascent followed by rappelling disaster involving ditching a rope that was later recovered
Aug 16 - Pigeon Spire, W ridge - Got 30m up route then turned back to save terror management skills for descent back down the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col
Aug 17 - Eastpost spire again and bathing in the tarn
Aug 18 - Hike out and long drive home
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding my experience.
Photos from this trip were taken with a combination of my Nikon D7000, Olympus uT8000 & GoPro HD2
After bailing on Crescent spire due to a sudden downpour we headed back to camp where the weather got worse before it improved. After some heavy rain, hail and thunder the sky cleared way for more clouds to rise up from the valley below. Over the course of minutes the cloud coverage swung between extremes, at one point providing this dramatic glimpse through the clouds to the mountain within.
The Bugaboos - August 12-18, 2012
Living in Squamish I am very lucky to be surrounded by excellent rock to train my technical climbing skills as well as many great peaks for scrambling. But, until last week I had never had the opportunity to combine the two skills I've been developing for years. That all changed when a friend invited me to be her partner on the yearly trip my friend group takes. Two months after the invitiation, a partner swap, and a week of careful packing and preparation I actually found myself driving east about to embark on what would be the greatest adventure of my life to date.
The moment I arrived at basecamp my lofty climbing aspiration were downgraded to starting with a 4th class route and going from there. I received tons of advice from friends that had been going for several years, but still nothing could have prepared me for the reality of being there. The ascent to Applebee basecamp, the scale of the spires, the difficulty of the glaciers, and the exposure did not translate well to maps and photos I found myself in awe and terror. Every single obstacle I encountered was more physically and mentally demanding that I could have expected.
Even though we were with a large group of friends, we were on our own when we headed out for the day and often learning as we went. As a result we learned many lessons the hard way, including when to put crampons on, when to switch into rock shoes, how hard preventing rockfall can be, and all the ways rappelling can go wrong.
It was both the single most terrifying and rewarding experience of my life. Never did I expect to learn so much in a week, or do so little actual climbing. Instead it was a wild ride of alpine obstacles, and a truly life changing experience shared with great friends old and new.
A brief summary of my adventure:
Aug 12 - Hike into Applebee base camp with 80+lbs pack full of climbing, camping, and glacier gear as well as 7 days of food, and clothes for everything from -10 to +30 degrees celcius rain and shine.
Aug 13 - Eastpost spire, combination of Northeast and Northwest ridges.
Aug 14 - Crescent Spire, W ridge. - Rained off first attempt, after self arresting and improv. anchor construction.
Aug 15 - Crescent Spire, W ridge - Successful ascent followed by rappelling disaster involving ditching a rope that was later recovered
Aug 16 - Pigeon Spire, W ridge - Got 30m up route then turned back to save terror management skills for descent back down the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col
Aug 17 - Eastpost spire again and bathing in the tarn
Aug 18 - Hike out and long drive home
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding my experience.
Photos from this trip were taken with a combination of my Nikon D7000, Olympus uT8000 & GoPro HD2
End of gala special as the eight locos leave Dungeness station back to New Romney. RHDR 2012 Gala, Sunday 28May12
Fox & No.4 'The bug' & No.6 'Samson' & No.8 'Hurricane' & No.2 'Northern Chief' quintuple head a service for Dungeness
We bailed on our first attempt of Crescent spire due to rain, but we had a great learning experience and it was a very photogenic day in the mountains. We had planned our outing in accordance with the weather; at no point were we in any danger. I never expected I would learn that much through trial and error in a single day without facing an actual disaster. Taking our lessons from the previous days mistakes we were off again for a second more efficient attempt of Crescent spire. This time we crossed the moraines and glacier quicker, put on our harnesses and crampons before the snow got steep, and our rock shoes before we got on the rock.
This time around Alana lead the first pitch quickly reaching the first belay. We chose to swap leads, so once again I lead the second. Without the rain it was a much more enjoyable, although slightly less exciting experience. This is Alana cleaning a piece of gear from nice ledge along the slab.
The Bugaboos - August 12-18, 2012
Living in Squamish I am very lucky to be surrounded by excellent rock to train my technical climbing skills as well as many great peaks for scrambling. But, until last week I had never had the opportunity to combine the two skills I've been developing for years. That all changed when a friend invited me to be her partner on the yearly trip my friend group takes. Two months after the invitiation, a partner swap, and a week of careful packing and preparation I actually found myself driving east about to embark on what would be the greatest adventure of my life to date.
The moment I arrived at basecamp my lofty climbing aspiration were downgraded to starting with a 4th class route and going from there. I received tons of advice from friends that had been going for several years, but still nothing could have prepared me for the reality of being there. The ascent to Applebee basecamp, the scale of the spires, the difficulty of the glaciers, and the exposure did not translate well to maps and photos I found myself in awe and terror. Every single obstacle I encountered was more physically and mentally demanding that I could have expected.
Even though we were with a large group of friends, we were on our own when we headed out for the day and often learning as we went. As a result we learned many lessons the hard way, including when to put crampons on, when to switch into rock shoes, how hard preventing rockfall can be, and all the ways rappelling can go wrong.
It was both the single most terrifying and rewarding experience of my life. Never did I expect to learn so much in a week, or do so little actual climbing. Instead it was a wild ride of alpine obstacles, and a truly life changing experience shared with great friends old and new.
A brief summary of my adventure:
Aug 12 - Hike into Applebee base camp with 80+lbs pack full of climbing, camping, and glacier gear as well as 7 days of food, and clothes for everything from -10 to +30 degrees celcius rain and shine.
Aug 13 - Eastpost spire, combination of Northeast and Northwest ridges.
Aug 14 - Crescent Spire, W ridge. - Rained off first attempt, after self arresting and improv. anchor construction.
Aug 15 - Crescent Spire, W ridge - Successful ascent followed by rappelling disaster involving ditching a rope that was later recovered
Aug 16 - Pigeon Spire, W ridge - Got 30m up route then turned back to save terror management skills for descent back down the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col
Aug 17 - Eastpost spire again and bathing in the tarn
Aug 18 - Hike out and long drive home
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding my experience.
Photos from this trip were taken with a combination of my Nikon D7000, Olympus uT8000 & GoPro HD2
After 4 days on the trip, and all the obstacles I had encountered I had planned to have an emotional rest day. That didn't end up happening when the option to go up Pigeon Spire's west ridge as a group came up. Before I knew it five of us were setting off from camp towards the Snowpatch-Bugaboo Col. We travelled un-roped up the steep col; the path was well trodden, but it still made me nervous. There was no room for error as we navigated the bergshrunds, and my nerves only got worse as we moved above them. The scramble off the col in crampons over loose, sandy, rock terrain was extremely scary, and a first for me. At that point the thought of descending down the col was so terrifying it made crossing the next glacier towards the Pigeon-Howers col seems like a cake walk (really it was either way). I was feeling rather proud of myself by the time we got to the base of Pigeon's west ridge, but it didn't take long for that to change. I made it less than 50m up the route before I decided it would be best for me to turn around and wait at the base to travel back to camp with the team. I had experienced a lot of new and scary experiences on the trip so far, and had almost reached my fear processing limit. I still had to descend the col and knew that it would take a lot out of me.
I was given the options to be lowered off the top of the col, into the bergschrund, and down the other side, or to walk down the way I came up. I had gotten myself up there, and was going to get myself down on my own. I experienced one of greatest moments of concentration in my life while climbing down loose rocks in crampons onto the icy snow below, and descending through the bergschrunds. A great wave of relief came over as I passed below the bergschrunds, but it wasn't over yet; rockfall is a constant threat on the col. I made it down safely, learned a lot about myself, and made the right decision to turn around when I did. Pigeon spire isn't going anywhere, and now it will feel fun when I climb it next season.
This is the view of Pigeon Spire from the top of the Snowpatch-Bugaboo col.
The Bugaboos - August 12-18, 2012
Living in Squamish I am very lucky to be surrounded by excellent rock to train my technical climbing skills as well as many great peaks for scrambling. But, until last week I had never had the opportunity to combine the two skills I've been developing for years. That all changed when a friend invited me to be her partner on the yearly trip my friend group takes. Two months after the invitiation, a partner swap, and a week of careful packing and preparation I actually found myself driving east about to embark on what would be the greatest adventure of my life to date.
The moment I arrived at basecamp my lofty climbing aspiration were downgraded to starting with a 4th class route and going from there. I received tons of advice from friends that had been going for several years, but still nothing could have prepared me for the reality of being there. The ascent to Applebee basecamp, the scale of the spires, the difficulty of the glaciers, and the exposure did not translate well to maps and photos I found myself in awe and terror. Every single obstacle I encountered was more physically and mentally demanding that I could have expected.
Even though we were with a large group of friends, we were on our own when we headed out for the day and often learning as we went. As a result we learned many lessons the hard way, including when to put crampons on, when to switch into rock shoes, how hard preventing rockfall can be, and all the ways rappelling can go wrong.
It was both the single most terrifying and rewarding experience of my life. Never did I expect to learn so much in a week, or do so little actual climbing. Instead it was a wild ride of alpine obstacles, and a truly life changing experience shared with great friends old and new.
A brief summary of my adventure:
Aug 12 - Hike into Applebee base camp with 80+lbs pack full of climbing, camping, and glacier gear as well as 7 days of food, and clothes for everything from -10 to +30 degrees celcius rain and shine.
Aug 13 - Eastpost spire, combination of Northeast and Northwest ridges.
Aug 14 - Crescent Spire, W ridge. - Rained off first attempt, after self arresting and improv. anchor construction.
Aug 15 - Crescent Spire, W ridge - Successful ascent followed by rappelling disaster involving ditching a rope that was later recovered
Aug 16 - Pigeon Spire, W ridge - Got 30m up route then turned back to save terror management skills for descent back down the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col
Aug 17 - Eastpost spire again and bathing in the tarn
Aug 18 - Hike out and long drive home
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding my experience.
Photos from this trip were taken with a combination of my Nikon D7000, Olympus uT8000 & GoPro HD2
Side A - Leavin' Here
Side B - Leave Us Alone + See If I Care.
Recorded at Cherry Studios, Croydon, London.
By my last day in the bugs I was ready for a break, so I lounged around all morning before enjoying a scramble up Eastpost Spire again. This time Manuel and I went together, and took a nice long stay at the summit. This the view from the summit of the Snowpatch-Bugaboo col with the Howser towers in the back. From this perspective you start to get an idea of how steep it really is.
The Bugaboos - August 12-18, 2012
Living in Squamish I am very lucky to be surrounded by excellent rock to train my technical climbing skills as well as many great peaks for scrambling. But, until last week I had never had the opportunity to combine the two skills I've been developing for years. That all changed when a friend invited me to be her partner on the yearly trip my friend group takes. Two months after the invitiation, a partner swap, and a week of careful packing and preparation I actually found myself driving east about to embark on what would be the greatest adventure of my life to date.
The moment I arrived at basecamp my lofty climbing aspiration were downgraded to starting with a 4th class route and going from there. I received tons of advice from friends that had been going for several years, but still nothing could have prepared me for the reality of being there. The ascent to Applebee basecamp, the scale of the spires, the difficulty of the glaciers, and the exposure did not translate well to maps and photos I found myself in awe and terror. Every single obstacle I encountered was more physically and mentally demanding that I could have expected.
Even though we were with a large group of friends, we were on our own when we headed out for the day and often learning as we went. As a result we learned many lessons the hard way, including when to put crampons on, when to switch into rock shoes, how hard preventing rockfall can be, and all the ways rappelling can go wrong.
It was both the single most terrifying and rewarding experience of my life. Never did I expect to learn so much in a week, or do so little actual climbing. Instead it was a wild ride of alpine obstacles, and a truly life changing experience shared with great friends old and new.
A brief summary of my adventure:
Aug 12 - Hike into Applebee base camp with 80+lbs pack full of climbing, camping, and glacier gear as well as 7 days of food, and clothes for everything from -10 to +30 degrees celcius rain and shine.
Aug 13 - Eastpost spire, combination of Northeast and Northwest ridges.
Aug 14 - Crescent Spire, W ridge. - Rained off first attempt, after self arresting and improv. anchor construction.
Aug 15 - Crescent Spire, W ridge - Successful ascent followed by rappelling disaster involving ditching a rope that was later recovered
Aug 16 - Pigeon Spire, W ridge - Got 30m up route then turned back to save terror management skills for descent back down the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col
Aug 17 - Eastpost spire again and bathing in the tarn
Aug 18 - Hike out and long drive home
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding my experience.
Photos from this trip were taken with a combination of my Nikon D7000, Olympus uT8000 & GoPro HD2
After deciding to turn back on Pigeon Spire's west ridge in order to manager rising stress levels I had a couple hours to kill while waiting on the Pigeon-Howser Col, so I snapped a bunch of photos.
Here is the view from the Pigeon-Howser col outhouse, need I say more...
The Bugaboos - August 12-18, 2012
Living in Squamish I am very lucky to be surrounded by excellent rock to train my technical climbing skills as well as many great peaks for scrambling. But, until last week I had never had the opportunity to combine the two skills I've been developing for years. That all changed when a friend invited me to be her partner on the yearly trip my friend group takes. Two months after the invitiation, a partner swap, and a week of careful packing and preparation I actually found myself driving east about to embark on what would be the greatest adventure of my life to date.
The moment I arrived at basecamp my lofty climbing aspiration were downgraded to starting with a 4th class route and going from there. I received tons of advice from friends that had been going for several years, but still nothing could have prepared me for the reality of being there. The ascent to Applebee basecamp, the scale of the spires, the difficulty of the glaciers, and the exposure did not translate well to maps and photos I found myself in awe and terror. Every single obstacle I encountered was more physically and mentally demanding that I could have expected.
Even though we were with a large group of friends, we were on our own when we headed out for the day and often learning as we went. As a result we learned many lessons the hard way, including when to put crampons on, when to switch into rock shoes, how hard preventing rockfall can be, and all the ways rappelling can go wrong.
It was both the single most terrifying and rewarding experience of my life. Never did I expect to learn so much in a week, or do so little actual climbing. Instead it was a wild ride of alpine obstacles, and a truly life changing experience shared with great friends old and new.
A brief summary of my adventure:
Aug 12 - Hike into Applebee base camp with 80+lbs pack full of climbing, camping, and glacier gear as well as 7 days of food, and clothes for everything from -10 to +30 degrees celcius rain and shine.
Aug 13 - Eastpost spire, combination of Northeast and Northwest ridges.
Aug 14 - Crescent Spire, W ridge. - Rained off first attempt, after self arresting and improv. anchor construction.
Aug 15 - Crescent Spire, W ridge - Successful ascent followed by rappelling disaster involving ditching a rope that was later recovered
Aug 16 - Pigeon Spire, W ridge - Got 30m up route then turned back to save terror management skills for descent back down the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col
Aug 17 - Eastpost spire again and bathing in the tarn
Aug 18 - Hike out and long drive home
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding my experience.
Photos from this trip were taken with a combination of my Nikon D7000, Olympus uT8000 & GoPro HD2
Our second day at Applebee called for the only rain forecasted the entire trip, and as a result most people chose this as a rest day. Not wanting to take a rest day, or be trapped in a storm we chose an objective that was not only close to camp, but also didn't involve any commitment (so as to facilitate an easy retreat), the west ridge of Crescent spire. Eventually in the mountains weather will occur, and you will have to face it. I'm not one to shy from unfavorable conditions; so we headed out prepared to get wet and turn back. In the least would be a good scouting day, and for me a good cloudage day for photos.
After navigating the moraines beyond camp, and past the first tarn we came to the second tarn at the base of the Crescent glacier. After some rock hopping to cross a stream we were left with two choices to go further: scrambling a short rock step, or follow the snow path around the edge of the moraine. Initially wanting to avoid the rock step we followed the path around the tarn, but that option quickly petered out exposing us to a fall in the icy water if we had continued. This is a view across the tarn of Crescent glacier and the Bugaboo-Crescent col, our eventual destination.
The Bugaboos - August 12-18, 2012
Living in Squamish I am very lucky to be surrounded by excellent rock to train my technical climbing skills as well as many great peaks for scrambling. But, until last week I had never had the opportunity to combine the two skills I've been developing for years. That all changed when a friend invited me to be her partner on the yearly trip my friend group takes. Two months after the invitiation, a partner swap, and a week of careful packing and preparation I actually found myself driving east about to embark on what would be the greatest adventure of my life to date.
The moment I arrived at basecamp my lofty climbing aspiration were downgraded to starting with a 4th class route and going from there. I received tons of advice from friends that had been going for several years, but still nothing could have prepared me for the reality of being there. The ascent to Applebee basecamp, the scale of the spires, the difficulty of the glaciers, and the exposure did not translate well to maps and photos I found myself in awe and terror. Every single obstacle I encountered was more physically and mentally demanding that I could have expected.
Even though we were with a large group of friends, we were on our own when we headed out for the day and often learning as we went. As a result we learned many lessons the hard way, including when to put crampons on, when to switch into rock shoes, how hard preventing rockfall can be, and all the ways rappelling can go wrong.
It was both the single most terrifying and rewarding experience of my life. Never did I expect to learn so much in a week, or do so little actual climbing. Instead it was a wild ride of alpine obstacles, and a truly life changing experience shared with great friends old and new.
A brief summary of my adventure:
Aug 12 - Hike into Applebee base camp with 80+lbs pack full of climbing, camping, and glacier gear as well as 7 days of food, and clothes for everything from -10 to +30 degrees celcius rain and shine.
Aug 13 - Eastpost spire, combination of Northeast and Northwest ridges.
Aug 14 - Crescent Spire, W ridge. - Rained off first attempt, after self arresting and improv. anchor construction.
Aug 15 - Crescent Spire, W ridge - Successful ascent followed by rappelling disaster involving ditching a rope that was later recovered
Aug 16 - Pigeon Spire, W ridge - Got 30m up route then turned back to save terror management skills for descent back down the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col
Aug 17 - Eastpost spire again and bathing in the tarn
Aug 18 - Hike out and long drive home
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding my experience.
Photos from this trip were taken with a combination of my Nikon D7000, Olympus uT8000 & GoPro HD2
Roadburn Festival 2017 (#7) 🔥
Top 20 🔝:
Best Live: Oranssi Pazuzu (FI),
Best New Band: Auðn (IS),
Apocalyptic: Mysticum (NO),
Spirit of Roadburn: Ulver (NO), Coven (US), Chelsea Wolfe (US), Amenra (BE), True Widow (US), Esben and the Witch (UK), Magma (FR), Inter Arma (US), Deafheaven (US), Wolvennest (BE), Suma (SWE), Oathbreaker (BE), SubRosa (US), Rome (LU), Misþyrming (IS), The Bug vs Dylan Carlson of Earth (US), Radar Men From The Moon (NL).
—
Roadburn 2017 video report: Day 0
A quick video of the pre-party at Cul de Sac to warm you all up.
With: Distillator
www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7HG3p5sqbg
—
Roadburn 2017 video report: Day 1
With: Bongzilla, Coven, Wolves in the Throne Room, Deafheaven, Ortega ft. Gnaw Their Tongues, Alaric, Verwoed
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA3Kkhsoob4
—
Roadburn 2017 video report: Day 2
With: Schammasch, Magma, Ruby the Hatchet, Chelsea Wolfe, Coven, Big Business, Jonkoklapper, Harsh Toke, Baroness, Zeal & Ardor
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFBzHHO5rP8
—
Roadburn 2017 video report: Day 3
With: Trans Am, Wolvennest, The Bug meets Dylan Carlson of Earth, Razors in the Night, Misþyrming, My Dying Bride, Jonkoklapper, Chris Wild, Memoriam, Disfear, Aluk Todolo
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ioMhVqnUsI
—
Roadburn 2017 video report: Day 4
With: Faal, Oxbow, Author & Punisher, Pallbearer, Sumac, Les Discrets, Gong, Ulver, Come to Grief, Pillorian
www.youtube.com/watch?v=saoONj4Z3JY
—
CVLT Nation:
Day 1
www.cvltnation.com/cvlt-nation-captures-roadburn-2017-day...
Day 2
www.cvltnation.com/cvlt-nation-captures-roadburn-2017-day...
Day 3
www.cvltnation.com/cvlt-nation-captures-roadburn-2017-day...
Day 4
www.cvltnation.com/cvlt-nation-captures-roadburn-2017-day...
Days 3 & 4 (Part II)
www.cvltnation.com/cvlt-nation-captures-roadburn-part-ii-...
—
Invisible Oranges:
www.invisibleoranges.com/roadburn-2017-day-one/
www.invisibleoranges.com/roadburn-2017-day-two/
www.invisibleoranges.com/roadburn-2017-day-three/
www.invisibleoranges.com/roadburn-2017-day-four/
—
Vika @ DP report (in Russian):
Koen Gijsbers:
www.youtube.com/user/kkpgijsbers/videos
Souvlaki93:
www.youtube.com/user/Souvlaki93/videos
—
Roadburn 2017 @ Day 1 (20/04).
—
Как обычно тут было много внезапных открытий, плюс человек 7-8 только из СПб, которых я знал, попадались люди из Украины и Москвы. Оценки, приоритеты и уровень #упрт в разные моменты у всех сильно отличались, поэтому то что написано ниже понравилось именно мне, в те самые неуловимые моменты.
Первый день запомнился напрочь забойным сэтом sludge/stoner/reverb шведов Suma, они же и стали первым открытием.
Смело рекомендую заценить при случае лайвы Deafheaven и Wolves In The Throne Room, которые как будто перешли в другое измерение, резко прибавив за последние годы, помню пару лет назад на барселонской Примавере Deafheaven представляли как хипстеров от black metal — теперь это атмосферный post-blackgaze (собственно WITTR можно совсем скоро увидеть в СПб).
Другим открытием стали калифорнийцы Alaric, post-punk с doom налётом — зацените их прошлогодний альбом End of Mirrors.
Наконец понравился dark martial neofolk от Rome (Jérôme Reuter) из Люксембурга — он впервые выступил на Rb, хотя после шквала bm переключаться на подобную музыку было непросто.
Далее на фест приземлилась оккультная Esther "Jinx" Dawson, со своими адептами из Coven, впервые прибывшими в Европу, разумеется она вышла на сцену из настоящего гроба, после чего устроила «satanic black mass», как говорится — witchcraft destroys minds & reaps souls — их фанатами в своё время с одной стороны был King Diamond, с другой Charles Manson, плюс в Британии появился ответ в лице Black Sabbath, мало того, гитариста Coven зовут Оз Озборн (дада), помимо этого можно отметить вокальное сходство Jinx с Grace Slick из The Great Society / Jefferson Airplane.
Посмотрел наконец SubRosa (аж два раза) — psychedelic stoner doom with neoclassical undertones — We are attempting to be the sonic interpreters of that which is intangible, люблю их.
После чего начался acid/psychedelic фильм, озвученный коллективом Bongzilla, и всё это уже начало напоминать Apocalypse Now — эти ребята выехали на теме войн полисбастардс с плантациями растений в штатах в 1948-1963, сейчас-то дело идёт к декриминализации всей этой темы — т.е. чуваки не зря рубились все эти годы, причём выжили, что удивительнее всего.
Лучшими в этот день стали долгожданные darkwave/post-punk британцы Esben & The Witch, которые давно мне нравятся, но я их ни разу не видел — mission complete!
01. Esben and the Witch
02. Deafheaven
03. Suma
04. Coven
05. Rome
06. SubRosa
07. Wolves In The Throne Room
08. Alaric
09. Bongzilla
10. Lycus
missed: Drow Elixir, Ash Borer, Batushka, Gnod, Dälek, Joy, Fórn (очень плотное расписание тут, и много пересечений, увы).
—
Roadburn 2017 @ Day 2 (21/04).
—
Главное открытие D2 — Auðn (!) из Исландии, проехавшие катком post-black metal по ушам благодарных слушателей, для них разумеется выделили самый маленький подвал, в смысле бар (как все мы любим — поэтому туда пришлось прийти очень сильно заранее). После концерта друзья сфотографировались с ними, те слегка удивились узнав что мы из России, ударник спросил из какого города, оказалось ему даже знакомо название St. Petersburg. В этот же день был ещё один десант из Исландии, в лице Naðra / Zhrine — остаётся только констатировать, что в этой удивительной стране ледников и пепла кипит как лава сверхмощная post-bm сцена.
Тем временем на главное сцене — ethereal gothic дива Chelsea Wolfe со своим doom folk'ом, а ведь ещё пару лет назад она тоже пела в небольших залах (впервые она мне попалась на фесте Roadburn 2011, практически сразу после своего Apokalypsis, потом у нас в Прибое на SKIF XVII в 2013), и вот уже легко собирает main stage с огромной толпой — выросла на наших глазах практически, после Rb я её посмотрел ещё раз, на финском фесте Sideways, мало того, в сентябре выходит новый альбом, его она и играет.
Subrosa выступали второй раз с acoustic/drone программой — они хороши в любом виде.
Психоделический stoner / shoegaze в исполнении True Widow уже завозили на Rb в 2014, и тогда мы даже сфотографировались с Nicole Estill, они кстати и в Москве засветились, плюс только что выпустили новый альбом, став одной из причин поездки!
Потом настало время Church of Ra — сначала был post-black привет из Гента, от авангардистов из Oathbreaker (кстати у них вышел новый альбом, и они успели побывать в СПб, кто ходил тот не я, увы), собственно и Amenra неоднократно играли на Rb (и в СПб, например в Арктике, в 16.05.2012), в прошлом году аж дважды, тогда мне запомнился полуакустический slowcore/ambient сет по мотивам релиза Afterlife — когда они шаманили сидя в кругу спиной к залу, в этом году был атмосферный sludge metal с примесями, как всегда у них.
Magma — олдскульный progressive психодел из Франции, они играли свой главный альбом «Mekanïk Destruktive Kommandöh», 1973, который в основном никто не слышал, лол, так что было очень интересно посмотреть, да и небольшой reset после шквала sludge/black не помешал.
Запомнились британские Telepathy, в баре Cul De Sac — неплохой progressive/sludge post-metal, в марте 2017 у них был альбом Tempest, но вживую это всё звучит конечно лучше.
К сожалению пропустил King Woman с Kristina Esfandiari, бывшей вокалисткой shoegaze группы Whirr! Безудержно забойного Perturbator'а все мы видели и не раз, например в заведении MOD — show must go on!
01. True Widow
02. Auðn
03. Chelsea Wolfe
04. Oathbreaker
05. Subrosa (subdued)
06. Amenra
07. Magma
08. Naðra
09. Telepathy
10. Zhrine
11. Perturbator
12. Whores.
missed: King Woman, Zu, Zeal & Ador, Baroness, Integrity, Fange, Big Business.
—
Roadburn 2017 @ Day 3 (22/04).
—
Сразу два открытия — бельгийский psychedelic drone/doom от Wolvennest (WLVNNST) и совершенно тоталитарное шоу норвегов Mysticum, которые рубились возвышаясь в дыму на огромных постаментах, освещая офигевших зрителей main stage прожекторами, видимо времён войны, заливая всем в уши industrial black metal варево — в плане шоу именно их лайв был наиболее эффектен!
Что касается Oranssi Pazuzu, то буквально на наших глазах, за эти 7 Roadburn-фестов, на которые мы уже скатались, они стали олицетворением post-black metal сцены и не только финской, причём их уникальный уклон в psychedelic/art сносит крышу не только адептам — в этом году их позвали даже на Flow!
И снова исландцы — Misþyrming, которые ошарашили всех в прошлом году своим представлением, теперь их даже не объявляли заранее — получился неожиданный сюрприз, спасибо Walter!
Французы Aluk Todolo тут уже играли — люблю их психоделический kraut/post-black.
Застал финиш drone/ambient проекта Dylan Carlson из Earth и The Bug (electronic music wizard Kevin Martin), хотя у них там телеги минут по 20, так что ок.
Вашингтонских пост-рокеров из Trans Am увидеть здесь я ожидал меньше всего, хотя это был классный привет из 90х, осталось ещё позвать на Rb Tortoise и Labradford с Windy & Carl.
Ahab — любопытный немецкий funeral doom.
Напрочь зверский crust/d-beat лайв получился у шведов Disfear — раз в жизни стоит побывать и на таком концерте.
Memoriam — британский old-school death metal, по касательной.
Наконец снова вспомнил, что я с детства за My Dying Bride (никогда не забуду эти кассеты, хаха), но первый раз я увидел их в Авроре, в 2011, когда они заехали в СПб — ностальгический улёт!
Жаль пропустил калифорнийский post-ebm/industrial revival Youth Code, хотя я видел их в The Place, СПб в 2016, когда пришло 40 человек, группа-то хорошая.
01. Oranssi Pazuzu
02. Wolvennest
03. The Bug vs Dylan Carlson of Earth
04. Misþyrming
05. Mysticum
06. My Dying Bride
07. Aluk Todolo
08. Trans Am
09. Ahab
10. Disfear
11. Memoriam
12. Cobalt
missed: Youth Code, Warning, Razors In The Night, Dolch, Carpenter Brut, Woe, Lotus, Serpent Venum.
—
Roadburn 2017 @ Day 4 (23/04).
—
Открытием внезапно стали местные молодые ребята — космические psychedelic/stoner голландцы RMFTM, из соседнего городка Sint-Oedenrode, что рядом с Эйндховеном. Понравились dark folk чуваки из Jaye Jayle своими kraut запилами.
Внезапно на фест вписали нетипичный avant-garde/noise rock проект Oxbow с блюзовым налётом — для разрядки OK.
Лучшими, как мне кажется, стали Ulver, сыгравшие новый альбом под концептуальный видеоряд, хотя эта группа уже давно из другой Вселенной.
Inter Arma я тут уже однажды видел — этот progressive sludge хорошо запоминается, они отыграли свой классный прошлогодний альбом и скоро будут в СПб.
Потом успел на Pillorian, новый проект основателя распавшихся Agalloch (John Haughm) — у них только что вышел новый альбом, его и представили.
Les Discrets французский folk/post-metal/shoegaze уже видел и не раз, они знамениты в помимо всего благодаря их основателю по имени Fursy Teyssier (songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist), который заодно рисует гениальные обложки для альбомов.
По касательной подвернулись The Doomsday Kingdom — типичный шведский дум (они даже дум делают мелодичным) и Valborg — немецкий progressive doom/death, тоже ничего.
Далее был красивый мистический drone folk от Emma Ruth Rundle — swallowed by darkness, гитаристка Red Sparowes/вокалистка Marriages. Жаль она заболела и остановила свой тур, из-за чего так и не заехала в СПб, кстати её ранние записи, типа Electric Guitar, очень сильно отличаются в сторону drone от того что сейчас (и мне как раз нравится).
На финише всех прибил убил posthardcore/sludge от Come To Grief. В Бостоне 90-х была crust punk группа Grief, чей дебютный альбом назывался Come to Grief (1994) — собственно эти же чуваки и переименовали свою же группу.
И после всего этого ада, уже совсем ночью, в локальной шаверме встретили Subrosa в полном составе — бесценный опыт!
—
Total Recall 💀:
—
Фотки в бесконечном процессе (in progress) интересно как менялось их число: 2011(422), 2012(355), 2013(521), 2014(664), 2015(818), 2016(1124), 2017(1546) — всего 5450, lol, ну вы поняли, ниже будет лишь малая часть.
—
Roadburn 2017:
www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10210337120201552.10737...
www.flickr.com/photos/deepskyobject/albums/72157676706213765
—
Roadburn 2016:
www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10208439767208913.10737...
www.flickr.com/photos/deepskyobject/albums/72157666935666300
—
Roadburn 2015:
www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10205982365375403.10737...
www.flickr.com/photos/deepskyobject/albums/72157651921034806
deep-sky-object.livejournal.com/tag/roadburn%202015
—
Roadburn 2014:
www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10203190405218144.10737...
www.flickr.com/photos/deepskyobject/albums/72157684637707061
—
Roadburn 2013:
www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10200858412399781.10737...
deep-sky-object.livejournal.com/tag/roadburn%202013
—
Roadburn 2012:
www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10203785362331700.10737...
deep-sky-object.livejournal.com/tag/roadburn%202012
—
Roadburn 2011:
www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1986446377998.2114462.1...
deep-sky-object.livejournal.com/tag/roadburn%202011
—
The End. 🔚
#roadburn #roadburn2017 #tilburg #netherlands #blackmetal #postmetal #heavypsych #drone #doom #postbm #funeraldoom #sludge #progressive #kraut
After the approach to basecamp Alana and I decided we would do a short scramble up Eastpost Spire as our first Bugaboo outing. It's not only the closest spire to camp, but the approach doesn't involve glacier travel and the route is a mellow class 4 scramble with little exposure. Since we didn't know what to expect or how comfortable we would feel we brought our rack and a single rope. We ended up scrambling easily up the spire with no route finding problems. We never needed any gear on the way up, but since we had a rope we chose to rappel off the summit. The anchors were spanking new, and not mentioned in the guidebook for obvious reasons. After a smooth rappell off the summit we easily navigated out way back down the same route we ascended. Here is Alana descending from the Crescent-Eastpost col. Much of the ground was very loose in the col, but with a keen eye one can spot secure rocks to nimbly scurry between.
The Bugaboos - August 12-18, 2012
Living in Squamish I am very lucky to be surrounded by excellent rock to train my technical climbing skills as well as many great peaks for scrambling. But, until last week I had never had the opportunity to combine the two skills I've been developing for years. That all changed when a friend invited me to be her partner on the yearly trip my friend group takes. Two months after the invitiation, a partner swap, and a week of careful packing and preparation I actually found myself driving east about to embark on what would be the greatest adventure of my life to date.
The moment I arrived at basecamp my lofty climbing aspiration were downgraded to starting with a 4th class route and going from there. I received tons of advice from friends that had been going for several years, but still nothing could have prepared me for the reality of being there. The ascent to Applebee basecamp, the scale of the spires, the difficulty of the glaciers, and the exposure did not translate well to maps and photos I found myself in awe and terror. Every single obstacle I encountered was more physically and mentally demanding that I could have expected.
Even though we were with a large group of friends, we were on our own when we headed out for the day and often learning as we went. As a result we learned many lessons the hard way, including when to put crampons on, when to switch into rock shoes, how hard preventing rockfall can be, and all the ways rappelling can go wrong.
It was both the single most terrifying and rewarding experience of my life. Never did I expect to learn so much in a week, or do so little actual climbing. Instead it was a wild ride of alpine obstacles, and a truly life changing experience shared with great friends old and new.
A brief summary of my adventure:
Aug 12 - Hike into Applebee base camp with 80+lbs pack full of climbing, camping, and glacier gear as well as 7 days of food, and clothes for everything from -10 to +30 degrees celcius rain and shine.
Aug 13 - Eastpost spire, combination of Northeast and Northwest ridges.
Aug 14 - Crescent Spire, W ridge. - Rained off first attempt, after self arresting and improv. anchor construction.
Aug 15 - Crescent Spire, W ridge - Successful ascent followed by rappelling disaster involving ditching a rope that was later recovered
Aug 16 - Pigeon Spire, W ridge - Got 30m up route then turned back to save terror management skills for descent back down the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col
Aug 17 - Eastpost spire again and bathing in the tarn
Aug 18 - Hike out and long drive home
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding my experience.
Photos from this trip were taken with a combination of my Nikon D7000, Olympus uT8000 & GoPro HD2
Our second day at Applebee called for the only rain forecasted the entire trip, and as a result most people chose this as a rest day. Not wanting to take a rest day, or be trapped in a storm we chose an objective that was not only close to camp, but also didn't involve any commitment (so as to facilitate an easy retreat), the west ridge of Crescent spire. Eventually in the mountains weather will occur, and you will have to face it. I'm not one to shy from unfavorable conditions; so we headed out prepared to get wet and turn back. In the least would be a good scouting day, and for me a good cloudage day for photos.
We had been carefully monitoring the sky on our approach, and without a doubt in my mind rain was coming. Still, that wasn't enough to make me skip great photo opportunities in the hopes of a pre-storm summit. This is a view of Snowpatch Spire from on top of Crescent glacier. On the right is the Bugaboo-Snowpatch Col with Pigeon Spire in the background. The Bugaboo-Snowpatch Col was apparently in the best condition out of the past several years, and the trail was well travelled. Still the low snow cover left lots of exposed loose rocks which tumbled down the col frequently. I'm glad to have had an experience getting up and down that obstacle under 'good' conditions before coming back in future years. As it was I found it a terrifying experience navigating around bergschrunds on such steep terrain (un-roped).
The Bugaboos - August 12-18, 2012
Living in Squamish I am very lucky to be surrounded by excellent rock to train my technical climbing skills as well as many great peaks for scrambling. But, until last week I had never had the opportunity to combine the two skills I've been developing for years. That all changed when a friend invited me to be her partner on the yearly trip my friend group takes. Two months after the invitiation, a partner swap, and a week of careful packing and preparation I actually found myself driving east about to embark on what would be the greatest adventure of my life to date.
The moment I arrived at basecamp my lofty climbing aspiration were downgraded to starting with a 4th class route and going from there. I received tons of advice from friends that had been going for several years, but still nothing could have prepared me for the reality of being there. The ascent to Applebee basecamp, the scale of the spires, the difficulty of the glaciers, and the exposure did not translate well to maps and photos I found myself in awe and terror. Every single obstacle I encountered was more physically and mentally demanding that I could have expected.
Even though we were with a large group of friends, we were on our own when we headed out for the day and often learning as we went. As a result we learned many lessons the hard way, including when to put crampons on, when to switch into rock shoes, how hard preventing rockfall can be, and all the ways rappelling can go wrong.
It was both the single most terrifying and rewarding experience of my life. Never did I expect to learn so much in a week, or do so little actual climbing. Instead it was a wild ride of alpine obstacles, and a truly life changing experience shared with great friends old and new.
A brief summary of my adventure:
Aug 12 - Hike into Applebee base camp with 80+lbs pack full of climbing, camping, and glacier gear as well as 7 days of food, and clothes for everything from -10 to +30 degrees celcius rain and shine.
Aug 13 - Eastpost spire, combination of Northeast and Northwest ridges.
Aug 14 - Crescent Spire, W ridge. - Rained off first attempt, after self arresting and improv. anchor construction.
Aug 15 - Crescent Spire, W ridge - Successful ascent followed by rappelling disaster involving ditching a rope that was later recovered
Aug 16 - Pigeon Spire, W ridge - Got 30m up route then turned back to save terror management skills for descent back down the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col
Aug 17 - Eastpost spire again and bathing in the tarn
Aug 18 - Hike out and long drive home
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding my experience.
Photos from this trip were taken with a combination of my Nikon D7000, Olympus uT8000 & GoPro HD2
After deciding to turn back on Pigeon Spire's west ridge in order to manager rising stress levels I had a couple hours to kill while waiting on the Pigeon-Howser Col, so I snapped a bunch of photos.
Here is the outhouse on the Pigeon-Howser col with the Howser towers in the background. It was without a doubt the most scenic outhouse I have ever experienced.
The Bugaboos - August 12-18, 2012
Living in Squamish I am very lucky to be surrounded by excellent rock to train my technical climbing skills as well as many great peaks for scrambling. But, until last week I had never had the opportunity to combine the two skills I've been developing for years. That all changed when a friend invited me to be her partner on the yearly trip my friend group takes. Two months after the invitiation, a partner swap, and a week of careful packing and preparation I actually found myself driving east about to embark on what would be the greatest adventure of my life to date.
The moment I arrived at basecamp my lofty climbing aspiration were downgraded to starting with a 4th class route and going from there. I received tons of advice from friends that had been going for several years, but still nothing could have prepared me for the reality of being there. The ascent to Applebee basecamp, the scale of the spires, the difficulty of the glaciers, and the exposure did not translate well to maps and photos I found myself in awe and terror. Every single obstacle I encountered was more physically and mentally demanding that I could have expected.
Even though we were with a large group of friends, we were on our own when we headed out for the day and often learning as we went. As a result we learned many lessons the hard way, including when to put crampons on, when to switch into rock shoes, how hard preventing rockfall can be, and all the ways rappelling can go wrong.
It was both the single most terrifying and rewarding experience of my life. Never did I expect to learn so much in a week, or do so little actual climbing. Instead it was a wild ride of alpine obstacles, and a truly life changing experience shared with great friends old and new.
A brief summary of my adventure:
Aug 12 - Hike into Applebee base camp with 80+lbs pack full of climbing, camping, and glacier gear as well as 7 days of food, and clothes for everything from -10 to +30 degrees celcius rain and shine.
Aug 13 - Eastpost spire, combination of Northeast and Northwest ridges.
Aug 14 - Crescent Spire, W ridge. - Rained off first attempt, after self arresting and improv. anchor construction.
Aug 15 - Crescent Spire, W ridge - Successful ascent followed by rappelling disaster involving ditching a rope that was later recovered
Aug 16 - Pigeon Spire, W ridge - Got 30m up route then turned back to save terror management skills for descent back down the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col
Aug 17 - Eastpost spire again and bathing in the tarn
Aug 18 - Hike out and long drive home
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding my experience.
Photos from this trip were taken with a combination of my Nikon D7000, Olympus uT8000 & GoPro HD2
After bailing on Crescent spire due to a sudden downpour the day before we were off to a quicker and more organized start on our second attempt. Here I am belaying Alana up the first 'pitch' of the Crescent-Bugaboo col from my cozy spot nestled between the glacier and the climb.
The Bugaboos - August 12-18, 2012
Living in Squamish I am very lucky to be surrounded by excellent rock to train my technical climbing skills as well as many great peaks for scrambling. But, until last week I had never had the opportunity to combine the two skills I've been developing for years. That all changed when a friend invited me to be her partner on the yearly trip my friend group takes. Two months after the invitiation, a partner swap, and a week of careful packing and preparation I actually found myself driving east about to embark on what would be the greatest adventure of my life to date.
The moment I arrived at basecamp my lofty climbing aspiration were downgraded to starting with a 4th class route and going from there. I received tons of advice from friends that had been going for several years, but still nothing could have prepared me for the reality of being there. The ascent to Applebee basecamp, the scale of the spires, the difficulty of the glaciers, and the exposure did not translate well to maps and photos I found myself in awe and terror. Every single obstacle I encountered was more physically and mentally demanding that I could have expected.
Even though we were with a large group of friends, we were on our own when we headed out for the day and often learning as we went. As a result we learned many lessons the hard way, including when to put crampons on, when to switch into rock shoes, how hard preventing rockfall can be, and all the ways rappelling can go wrong.
It was both the single most terrifying and rewarding experience of my life. Never did I expect to learn so much in a week, or do so little actual climbing. Instead it was a wild ride of alpine obstacles, and a truly life changing experience shared with great friends old and new.
A brief summary of my adventure:
Aug 12 - Hike into Applebee base camp with 80+lbs pack full of climbing, camping, and glacier gear as well as 7 days of food, and clothes for everything from -10 to +30 degrees celcius rain and shine.
Aug 13 - Eastpost spire, combination of Northeast and Northwest ridges.
Aug 14 - Crescent Spire, W ridge. - Rained off first attempt, after self arresting and improv. anchor construction.
Aug 15 - Crescent Spire, W ridge - Successful ascent followed by rappelling disaster involving ditching a rope that was later recovered
Aug 16 - Pigeon Spire, W ridge - Got 30m up route then turned back to save terror management skills for descent back down the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col
Aug 17 - Eastpost spire again and bathing in the tarn
Aug 18 - Hike out and long drive home
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding my experience.
Photos from this trip were taken with a combination of my Nikon D7000, Olympus uT8000 & GoPro HD2
I hadn't given too much though to the difficulty of the approach to Applebee Dome camp, except for the ladder. I dreaded the ladder on the way up and grew to dread it even more on the way down. The ladder itself iwasn't very difficult, but with a oversized top heavy pack weighing in at over 2/3rds my body weight it was a rather unnerving experience. On top of that the top of the ladder was taken out by a avalanche this past winter. Now the top rung is even with the ground, with only one support bar rising up less than a foot above ground level, with the other being a jagged corner (that's the one under Alanas left hand). To navigate off the ladder safetly without risking tipping over backwards I chose to crawl off the ladder and along the ground until I could find a rock to help me stand up. As it turned out this was the method of choice for most people I talked to. During my stay in the bugs I couldn't help but think about how hard and scary it was going to be to get back on the ladder on the descent. The way down was pretty much as bad as I imagined it would be, luckily I had some help by fellow hikers who helped hold the weight of my pack while I sketickly mounted the ladder. I got down safetly, but I'm sure hoping they fix that ladder for my trip next year.
The Bugaboos - August 12-18, 2012
Living in Squamish I am very lucky to be surrounded by excellent rock to train my technical climbing skills as well as many great peaks for scrambling. But, until last week I had never had the opportunity to combine the two skills I've been developing for years. That all changed when a friend invited me to be her partner on the yearly trip my friend group takes. Two months after the invitiation, a partner swap, and a week of careful packing and preparation I actually found myself driving east about to embark on what would be the greatest adventure of my life to date.
The moment I arrived at basecamp my lofty climbing aspiration were downgraded to starting with a 4th class route and going from there. I received tons of advice from friends that had been going for several years, but still nothing could have prepared me for the reality of being there. The ascent to Applebee basecamp, the scale of the spires, the difficulty of the glaciers, and the exposure did not translate well to maps and photos I found myself in awe and terror. Every single obstacle I encountered was more physically and mentally demanding that I could have expected.
Even though we were with a large group of friends, we were on our own when we headed out for the day and often learning as we went. As a result we learned many lessons the hard way, including when to put crampons on, when to switch into rock shoes, how hard preventing rockfall can be, and all the ways rappelling can go wrong.
It was both the single most terrifying and rewarding experience of my life. Never did I expect to learn so much in a week, or do so little actual climbing. Instead it was a wild ride of alpine obstacles, and a truly life changing experience shared with great friends old and new.
A brief summary of my adventure:
Aug 12 - Hike into Applebee base camp with 80+lbs pack full of climbing, camping, and glacier gear as well as 7 days of food, and clothes for everything from -10 to +30 degrees celcius rain and shine.
Aug 13 - Eastpost spire, combination of Northeast and Northwest ridges.
Aug 14 - Crescent Spire, W ridge. - Rained off first attempt, after self arresting and improv. anchor construction.
Aug 15 - Crescent Spire, W ridge - Successful ascent followed by rappelling disaster involving ditching a rope that was later recovered
Aug 16 - Pigeon Spire, W ridge - Got 30m up route then turned back to save terror management skills for descent back down the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col
Aug 17 - Eastpost spire again and bathing in the tarn
Aug 18 - Hike out and long drive home
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding my experience.
Photos from this trip were taken with a combination of my Nikon D7000, Olympus uT8000 & GoPro HD2
Snafflehounds were a constant source of stress and entertainment. It took extreme diligence to survive the Bugaboos without holes chewed in my gear. Many friends found their packs and other items chewed through as a result of one forgotten bar or sack of trail mix at the end of a long day. Snafflehounds come in many varieties from the mini Chipmunk, to this Squirrely creature, Pikas, and Marmots. There was even a giant Marmot that lived in the morrains below camp. Luckily the worst I received were some dropping on my backpack hood one morning.
The Bugaboos - August 12-18, 2012
Living in Squamish I am very lucky to be surrounded by excellent rock to train my technical climbing skills as well as many great peaks for scrambling. But, until last week I had never had the opportunity to combine the two skills I've been developing for years. That all changed when a friend invited me to be her partner on the yearly trip my friend group takes. Two months after the invitiation, a partner swap, and a week of careful packing and preparation I actually found myself driving east about to embark on what would be the greatest adventure of my life to date.
The moment I arrived at basecamp my lofty climbing aspiration were downgraded to starting with a 4th class route and going from there. I received tons of advice from friends that had been going for several years, but still nothing could have prepared me for the reality of being there. The ascent to Applebee basecamp, the scale of the spires, the difficulty of the glaciers, and the exposure did not translate well to maps and photos I found myself in awe and terror. Every single obstacle I encountered was more physically and mentally demanding that I could have expected.
Even though we were with a large group of friends, we were on our own when we headed out for the day and often learning as we went. As a result we learned many lessons the hard way, including when to put crampons on, when to switch into rock shoes, how hard preventing rockfall can be, and all the ways rappelling can go wrong.
It was both the single most terrifying and rewarding experience of my life. Never did I expect to learn so much in a week, or do so little actual climbing. Instead it was a wild ride of alpine obstacles, and a truly life changing experience shared with great friends old and new.
A brief summary of my adventure:
Aug 12 - Hike into Applebee base camp with 80+lbs pack full of climbing, camping, and glacier gear as well as 7 days of food, and clothes for everything from -10 to +30 degrees celcius rain and shine.
Aug 13 - Eastpost spire, combination of Northeast and Northwest ridges.
Aug 14 - Crescent Spire, W ridge. - Rained off first attempt, after self arresting and improv. anchor construction.
Aug 15 - Crescent Spire, W ridge - Successful ascent followed by rappelling disaster involving ditching a rope that was later recovered
Aug 16 - Pigeon Spire, W ridge - Got 30m up route then turned back to save terror management skills for descent back down the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col
Aug 17 - Eastpost spire again and bathing in the tarn
Aug 18 - Hike out and long drive home
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding my experience.
Photos from this trip were taken with a combination of my Nikon D7000, Olympus uT8000 & GoPro HD2
After the approach to basecamp Alana and I decided we would do a short scramble up Eastpost Spire as our first Bugaboo outing. It's not only the closest spire to camp, but the approach doesn't involve glacier travel and the route is a mellow class 4 scramble with little exposure. Since we didn't know what to expect or how comfortable we would feel we brought our rack and a single rope. We ended up scrambling easily up the spire with no route finding problems. We never needed any gear on the way up, but since we had a rope we chose to rappel off the summit. The anchors were spanking new, and not mentioned in the guidebook for obvious reasons. This is Alana working her way up the blocky and often loose terrain of Eastpost spire. This was a short section we travelled up off route. When we reached the top of the slab it quickly became apparent that we were off route and continuing ahead was not class 4 anymore, or at least it was exposed and sketcky, In the background you can see the wondferful Bugaboo spire, Crescent glacier, the Snowpatch-Bugaboo col, as well as the Bugaboo-Crescent col and the lovely tarns that hydrate us in the alpine.
The Bugaboos - August 12-18, 2012
Living in Squamish I am very lucky to be surrounded by excellent rock to train my technical climbing skills as well as many great peaks for scrambling. But, until last week I had never had the opportunity to combine the two skills I've been developing for years. That all changed when a friend invited me to be her partner on the yearly trip my friend group takes. Two months after the invitiation, a partner swap, and a week of careful packing and preparation I actually found myself driving east about to embark on what would be the greatest adventure of my life to date.
The moment I arrived at basecamp my lofty climbing aspiration were downgraded to starting with a 4th class route and going from there. I received tons of advice from friends that had been going for several years, but still nothing could have prepared me for the reality of being there. The ascent to Applebee basecamp, the scale of the spires, the difficulty of the glaciers, and the exposure did not translate well to maps and photos I found myself in awe and terror. Every single obstacle I encountered was more physically and mentally demanding that I could have expected.
Even though we were with a large group of friends, we were on our own when we headed out for the day and often learning as we went. As a result we learned many lessons the hard way, including when to put crampons on, when to switch into rock shoes, how hard preventing rockfall can be, and all the ways rappelling can go wrong.
It was both the single most terrifying and rewarding experience of my life. Never did I expect to learn so much in a week, or do so little actual climbing. Instead it was a wild ride of alpine obstacles, and a truly life changing experience shared with great friends old and new.
A brief summary of my adventure:
Aug 12 - Hike into Applebee base camp with 80+lbs pack full of climbing, camping, and glacier gear as well as 7 days of food, and clothes for everything from -10 to +30 degrees celcius rain and shine.
Aug 13 - Eastpost spire, combination of Northeast and Northwest ridges.
Aug 14 - Crescent Spire, W ridge. - Rained off first attempt, after self arresting and improv. anchor construction.
Aug 15 - Crescent Spire, W ridge - Successful ascent followed by rappelling disaster involving ditching a rope that was later recovered
Aug 16 - Pigeon Spire, W ridge - Got 30m up route then turned back to save terror management skills for descent back down the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col
Aug 17 - Eastpost spire again and bathing in the tarn
Aug 18 - Hike out and long drive home
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding my experience.
Photos from this trip were taken with a combination of my Nikon D7000, Olympus uT8000 & GoPro HD2
This is my most favourite mountain top I have. I used the rocks to hold down my tops and socks while I went scrambling so the sweat could dry before the hike out of Applebee camp. I have spent countless days climbing and exploring the mountain and coastlines in this shirt. The bright color is great in photos, and it fits perfectly. I know if I have the chance to wear this top it will be a good day, even if I don't summit. For all those days I do summit, I only grow more attached to this tank. It's become a cozy safety blanket on adventures, so this is a tribute to my favourite top. This is also one of my favourite photos of the trip, perhaps due to my love for the shirt.
The Bugaboos - August 12-18, 2012
Living in Squamish I am very lucky to be surrounded by excellent rock to train my technical climbing skills as well as many great peaks for scrambling. But, until last week I had never had the opportunity to combine the two skills I've been developing for years. That all changed when a friend invited me to be her partner on the yearly trip my friend group takes. Two months after the invitiation, a partner swap, and a week of careful packing and preparation I actually found myself driving east about to embark on what would be the greatest adventure of my life to date.
The moment I arrived at basecamp my lofty climbing aspiration were downgraded to starting with a 4th class route and going from there. I received tons of advice from friends that had been going for several years, but still nothing could have prepared me for the reality of being there. The ascent to Applebee basecamp, the scale of the spires, the difficulty of the glaciers, and the exposure did not translate well to maps and photos I found myself in awe and terror. Every single obstacle I encountered was more physically and mentally demanding that I could have expected.
Even though we were with a large group of friends, we were on our own when we headed out for the day and often learning as we went. As a result we learned many lessons the hard way, including when to put crampons on, when to switch into rock shoes, how hard preventing rockfall can be, and all the ways rappelling can go wrong.
It was both the single most terrifying and rewarding experience of my life. Never did I expect to learn so much in a week, or do so little actual climbing. Instead it was a wild ride of alpine obstacles, and a truly life changing experience shared with great friends old and new.
A brief summary of my adventure:
Aug 12 - Hike into Applebee base camp with 80+lbs pack full of climbing, camping, and glacier gear as well as 7 days of food, and clothes for everything from -10 to +30 degrees celcius rain and shine.
Aug 13 - Eastpost spire, combination of Northeast and Northwest ridges.
Aug 14 - Crescent Spire, W ridge. - Rained off first attempt, after self arresting and improv. anchor construction.
Aug 15 - Crescent Spire, W ridge - Successful ascent followed by rappelling disaster involving ditching a rope that was later recovered
Aug 16 - Pigeon Spire, W ridge - Got 30m up route then turned back to save terror management skills for descent back down the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col
Aug 17 - Eastpost spire again and bathing in the tarn
Aug 18 - Hike out and long drive home
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding my experience.
Photos from this trip were taken with a combination of my Nikon D7000, Olympus uT8000 & GoPro HD2
Adam sorting gear at Applebee basecamp in preparation for a day of alpine climbing.
The Bugaboos - August 12-18, 2012
Living in Squamish I am very lucky to be surrounded by excellent rock to train my technical climbing skills as well as many great peaks for scrambling. But, until last week I had never had the opportunity to combine the two skills I've been developing for years. That all changed when a friend invited me to be her partner on the yearly trip my friend group takes. Two months after the invitiation, a partner swap, and a week of careful packing and preparation I actually found myself driving east about to embark on what would be the greatest adventure of my life to date.
The moment I arrived at basecamp my lofty climbing aspiration were downgraded to starting with a 4th class route and going from there. I received tons of advice from friends that had been going for several years, but still nothing could have prepared me for the reality of being there. The ascent to Applebee basecamp, the scale of the spires, the difficulty of the glaciers, and the exposure did not translate well to maps and photos I found myself in awe and terror. Every single obstacle I encountered was more physically and mentally demanding that I could have expected.
Even though we were with a large group of friends, we were on our own when we headed out for the day and often learning as we went. As a result we learned many lessons the hard way, including when to put crampons on, when to switch into rock shoes, how hard preventing rockfall can be, and all the ways rappelling can go wrong.
It was both the single most terrifying and rewarding experience of my life. Never did I expect to learn so much in a week, or do so little actual climbing. Instead it was a wild ride of alpine obstacles, and a truly life changing experience shared with great friends old and new.
A brief summary of my adventure:
Aug 12 - Hike into Applebee base camp with 80+lbs pack full of climbing, camping, and glacier gear as well as 7 days of food, and clothes for everything from -10 to +30 degrees celcius rain and shine.
Aug 13 - Eastpost spire, combination of Northeast and Northwest ridges.
Aug 14 - Crescent Spire, W ridge. - Rained off first attempt, after self arresting and improv. anchor construction.
Aug 15 - Crescent Spire, W ridge - Successful ascent followed by rappelling disaster involving ditching a rope that was later recovered
Aug 16 - Pigeon Spire, W ridge - Got 30m up route then turned back to save terror management skills for descent back down the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col
Aug 17 - Eastpost spire again and bathing in the tarn
Aug 18 - Hike out and long drive home
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding my experience.
Photos from this trip were taken with a combination of my Nikon D7000, Olympus uT8000 & GoPro HD2
Our second day at Applebee called for the only rain forecasted the entire trip, and as a result most people chose this as a rest day. Not wanting to take a rest day, or be trapped in a storm we chose an objective that was not only close to camp, but also didn't involve any commitment (so as to facilitate an easy retreat), the west ridge of Crescent spire. Eventually in the mountains weather will occur, and you will have to face it. I'm not one to shy from unfavorable conditions; so we headed out prepared to get wet and turn back. In the least would be a good scouting day, and for me a good cloudage day for photos.
This is a view of Crescent towers with Crescent spire, and the Bugaboo-Crescent col in the background, as we worked our way through the moraines between camp and the first tarn.
The Bugaboos - August 12-18, 2012
Living in Squamish I am very lucky to be surrounded by excellent rock to train my technical climbing skills as well as many great peaks for scrambling. But, until last week I had never had the opportunity to combine the two skills I've been developing for years. That all changed when a friend invited me to be her partner on the yearly trip my friend group takes. Two months after the invitiation, a partner swap, and a week of careful packing and preparation I actually found myself driving east about to embark on what would be the greatest adventure of my life to date.
The moment I arrived at basecamp my lofty climbing aspiration were downgraded to starting with a 4th class route and going from there. I received tons of advice from friends that had been going for several years, but still nothing could have prepared me for the reality of being there. The ascent to Applebee basecamp, the scale of the spires, the difficulty of the glaciers, and the exposure did not translate well to maps and photos I found myself in awe and terror. Every single obstacle I encountered was more physically and mentally demanding that I could have expected.
Even though we were with a large group of friends, we were on our own when we headed out for the day and often learning as we went. As a result we learned many lessons the hard way, including when to put crampons on, when to switch into rock shoes, how hard preventing rockfall can be, and all the ways rappelling can go wrong.
It was both the single most terrifying and rewarding experience of my life. Never did I expect to learn so much in a week, or do so little actual climbing. Instead it was a wild ride of alpine obstacles, and a truly life changing experience shared with great friends old and new.
A brief summary of my adventure:
Aug 12 - Hike into Applebee base camp with 80+lbs pack full of climbing, camping, and glacier gear as well as 7 days of food, and clothes for everything from -10 to +30 degrees celcius rain and shine.
Aug 13 - Eastpost spire, combination of Northeast and Northwest ridges.
Aug 14 - Crescent Spire, W ridge. - Rained off first attempt, after self arresting and improv. anchor construction.
Aug 15 - Crescent Spire, W ridge - Successful ascent followed by rappelling disaster involving ditching a rope that was later recovered
Aug 16 - Pigeon Spire, W ridge - Got 30m up route then turned back to save terror management skills for descent back down the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col
Aug 17 - Eastpost spire again and bathing in the tarn
Aug 18 - Hike out and long drive home
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding my experience.
Photos from this trip were taken with a combination of my Nikon D7000, Olympus uT8000 & GoPro HD2
On our final day in the Bugaboos Manuel and I found ourselves in need of a more restful day. After a slow morning we prepared for a scramble up Eastpost spire, which we followed up with a dip in the tarn and sun bathing session on the slabs. This is Manuel at basecamp lacing up his boots for the outing, a very important step in the process.
The Bugaboos - August 12-18, 2012
Living in Squamish I am very lucky to be surrounded by excellent rock to train my technical climbing skills as well as many great peaks for scrambling. But, until last week I had never had the opportunity to combine the two skills I've been developing for years. That all changed when a friend invited me to be her partner on the yearly trip my friend group takes. Two months after the invitiation, a partner swap, and a week of careful packing and preparation I actually found myself driving east about to embark on what would be the greatest adventure of my life to date.
The moment I arrived at basecamp my lofty climbing aspiration were downgraded to starting with a 4th class route and going from there. I received tons of advice from friends that had been going for several years, but still nothing could have prepared me for the reality of being there. The ascent to Applebee basecamp, the scale of the spires, the difficulty of the glaciers, and the exposure did not translate well to maps and photos I found myself in awe and terror. Every single obstacle I encountered was more physically and mentally demanding that I could have expected.
Even though we were with a large group of friends, we were on our own when we headed out for the day and often learning as we went. As a result we learned many lessons the hard way, including when to put crampons on, when to switch into rock shoes, how hard preventing rockfall can be, and all the ways rappelling can go wrong.
It was both the single most terrifying and rewarding experience of my life. Never did I expect to learn so much in a week, or do so little actual climbing. Instead it was a wild ride of alpine obstacles, and a truly life changing experience shared with great friends old and new.
A brief summary of my adventure:
Aug 12 - Hike into Applebee base camp with 80+lbs pack full of climbing, camping, and glacier gear as well as 7 days of food, and clothes for everything from -10 to +30 degrees celcius rain and shine.
Aug 13 - Eastpost spire, combination of Northeast and Northwest ridges.
Aug 14 - Crescent Spire, W ridge. - Rained off first attempt, after self arresting and improv. anchor construction.
Aug 15 - Crescent Spire, W ridge - Successful ascent followed by rappelling disaster involving ditching a rope that was later recovered
Aug 16 - Pigeon Spire, W ridge - Got 30m up route then turned back to save terror management skills for descent back down the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col
Aug 17 - Eastpost spire again and bathing in the tarn
Aug 18 - Hike out and long drive home
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding my experience.
Photos from this trip were taken with a combination of my Nikon D7000, Olympus uT8000 & GoPro HD2
One of the original locos on the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway, ''The Bug''.
The loco was built by Krauss, Munich (No 6378) in 1926, to one of their standard designs, and was used during the construction - and extension - of the RHDR, but later sold off, and ended up in a scrapyard in 1950.
The loco remained there until 1972, when it was rescued by Sir William McAlpine, and restored..
A 15" gauge railway opened here in the early 1930s using 'The Bug', a steam loco acquired from the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway. The railway closed in 1950 and the loco spent several years in a scrapyard before being rescued in 1972. It's now back at Romney again.
The loco seen here is 'The Bug' from the Romney Hythe & Dymchurch Railway. This railway operated during the 1930s/40s and had closed by 1950.
Our second day at Applebee called for the only rain forecasted the entire trip, and as a result most people chose this as a rest day. Not wanting to take a rest day, or be trapped in a storm we chose an objective that was not only close to camp, but also didn't involve any commitment (so as to facilitate an easy retreat), the west ridge of Crescent spire. Eventually in the mountains weather will occur, and you will have to face it. I'm not one to shy from unfavorable conditions; so we headed out prepared to get wet and turn back. In the least would be a good scouting day, and for me a good cloudage day for photos.
After navigating the moraines beyond camp, and past the first tarn we came to the second tarn at the base of the Crescent glacier. After some rock hopping to cross a stream we were left with two choices to go further: scrambling a short rock step, or follow the snow path around the edge of the moraine. The path around the tarn didn't pan out so we headed up the rock step. If you've ever wondered what exactly a 'short unexposed step' entails, here is Alana with a hand/foot match moving up the approx. 4m step.
The Bugaboos - August 12-18, 2012
Living in Squamish I am very lucky to be surrounded by excellent rock to train my technical climbing skills as well as many great peaks for scrambling. But, until last week I had never had the opportunity to combine the two skills I've been developing for years. That all changed when a friend invited me to be her partner on the yearly trip my friend group takes. Two months after the invitiation, a partner swap, and a week of careful packing and preparation I actually found myself driving east about to embark on what would be the greatest adventure of my life to date.
The moment I arrived at basecamp my lofty climbing aspiration were downgraded to starting with a 4th class route and going from there. I received tons of advice from friends that had been going for several years, but still nothing could have prepared me for the reality of being there. The ascent to Applebee basecamp, the scale of the spires, the difficulty of the glaciers, and the exposure did not translate well to maps and photos I found myself in awe and terror. Every single obstacle I encountered was more physically and mentally demanding that I could have expected.
Even though we were with a large group of friends, we were on our own when we headed out for the day and often learning as we went. As a result we learned many lessons the hard way, including when to put crampons on, when to switch into rock shoes, how hard preventing rockfall can be, and all the ways rappelling can go wrong.
It was both the single most terrifying and rewarding experience of my life. Never did I expect to learn so much in a week, or do so little actual climbing. Instead it was a wild ride of alpine obstacles, and a truly life changing experience shared with great friends old and new.
A brief summary of my adventure:
Aug 12 - Hike into Applebee base camp with 80+lbs pack full of climbing, camping, and glacier gear as well as 7 days of food, and clothes for everything from -10 to +30 degrees celcius rain and shine.
Aug 13 - Eastpost spire, combination of Northeast and Northwest ridges.
Aug 14 - Crescent Spire, W ridge. - Rained off first attempt, after self arresting and improv. anchor construction.
Aug 15 - Crescent Spire, W ridge - Successful ascent followed by rappelling disaster involving ditching a rope that was later recovered
Aug 16 - Pigeon Spire, W ridge - Got 30m up route then turned back to save terror management skills for descent back down the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col
Aug 17 - Eastpost spire again and bathing in the tarn
Aug 18 - Hike out and long drive home
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding my experience.
Photos from this trip were taken with a combination of my Nikon D7000, Olympus uT8000 & GoPro HD2
Ken approaches Cooper-Gran on Bugaboo Spire optimistic the weather will improve on a gloomy morning. Alana and I were on our way to try our second attempt on Crescent spire after being rained off the previous day when the boys caught up to us. Thanks to our rappelling mis-adventure we all got back onto the glacier around the same time that night. Ken's optimism paid off because the clouds all burned off and they had a successful ascent.
The Bugaboos - August 12-18, 2012
Living in Squamish I am very lucky to be surrounded by excellent rock to train my technical climbing skills as well as many great peaks for scrambling. But, until last week I had never had the opportunity to combine the two skills I've been developing for years. That all changed when a friend invited me to be her partner on the yearly trip my friend group takes. Two months after the invitiation, a partner swap, and a week of careful packing and preparation I actually found myself driving east about to embark on what would be the greatest adventure of my life to date.
The moment I arrived at basecamp my lofty climbing aspiration were downgraded to starting with a 4th class route and going from there. I received tons of advice from friends that had been going for several years, but still nothing could have prepared me for the reality of being there. The ascent to Applebee basecamp, the scale of the spires, the difficulty of the glaciers, and the exposure did not translate well to maps and photos I found myself in awe and terror. Every single obstacle I encountered was more physically and mentally demanding that I could have expected.
Even though we were with a large group of friends, we were on our own when we headed out for the day and often learning as we went. As a result we learned many lessons the hard way, including when to put crampons on, when to switch into rock shoes, how hard preventing rockfall can be, and all the ways rappelling can go wrong.
It was both the single most terrifying and rewarding experience of my life. Never did I expect to learn so much in a week, or do so little actual climbing. Instead it was a wild ride of alpine obstacles, and a truly life changing experience shared with great friends old and new.
A brief summary of my adventure:
Aug 12 - Hike into Applebee base camp with 80+lbs pack full of climbing, camping, and glacier gear as well as 7 days of food, and clothes for everything from -10 to +30 degrees celcius rain and shine.
Aug 13 - Eastpost spire, combination of Northeast and Northwest ridges.
Aug 14 - Crescent Spire, W ridge. - Rained off first attempt, after self arresting and improv. anchor construction.
Aug 15 - Crescent Spire, W ridge - Successful ascent followed by rappelling disaster involving ditching a rope that was later recovered
Aug 16 - Pigeon Spire, W ridge - Got 30m up route then turned back to save terror management skills for descent back down the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col
Aug 17 - Eastpost spire again and bathing in the tarn
Aug 18 - Hike out and long drive home
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding my experience.
Photos from this trip were taken with a combination of my Nikon D7000, Olympus uT8000 & GoPro HD2
Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway's 0-4-0TT No. 4 'The Bug' departs Warren Halt, with Bure Valley Railway's No. 7 'Spitfire' on the front, working the late running 12:52 shuttle service to New Romney
After deciding to turn back on Pigeon Spire's west ridge in order to manager rising stress levels I had a couple hours to kill while waiting on the Pigeon-Howser Col, so I snapped a bunch of photos.
The view of Marmolata from the Pigeon-Howser col. I really wanted to climb this one for the views it provides, but the crevasse situation this year was pretty bad so I am waiting.
The Bugaboos - August 12-18, 2012
Living in Squamish I am very lucky to be surrounded by excellent rock to train my technical climbing skills as well as many great peaks for scrambling. But, until last week I had never had the opportunity to combine the two skills I've been developing for years. That all changed when a friend invited me to be her partner on the yearly trip my friend group takes. Two months after the invitiation, a partner swap, and a week of careful packing and preparation I actually found myself driving east about to embark on what would be the greatest adventure of my life to date.
The moment I arrived at basecamp my lofty climbing aspiration were downgraded to starting with a 4th class route and going from there. I received tons of advice from friends that had been going for several years, but still nothing could have prepared me for the reality of being there. The ascent to Applebee basecamp, the scale of the spires, the difficulty of the glaciers, and the exposure did not translate well to maps and photos I found myself in awe and terror. Every single obstacle I encountered was more physically and mentally demanding that I could have expected.
Even though we were with a large group of friends, we were on our own when we headed out for the day and often learning as we went. As a result we learned many lessons the hard way, including when to put crampons on, when to switch into rock shoes, how hard preventing rockfall can be, and all the ways rappelling can go wrong.
It was both the single most terrifying and rewarding experience of my life. Never did I expect to learn so much in a week, or do so little actual climbing. Instead it was a wild ride of alpine obstacles, and a truly life changing experience shared with great friends old and new.
A brief summary of my adventure:
Aug 12 - Hike into Applebee base camp with 80+lbs pack full of climbing, camping, and glacier gear as well as 7 days of food, and clothes for everything from -10 to +30 degrees celcius rain and shine.
Aug 13 - Eastpost spire, combination of Northeast and Northwest ridges.
Aug 14 - Crescent Spire, W ridge. - Rained off first attempt, after self arresting and improv. anchor construction.
Aug 15 - Crescent Spire, W ridge - Successful ascent followed by rappelling disaster involving ditching a rope that was later recovered
Aug 16 - Pigeon Spire, W ridge - Got 30m up route then turned back to save terror management skills for descent back down the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col
Aug 17 - Eastpost spire again and bathing in the tarn
Aug 18 - Hike out and long drive home
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding my experience.
Photos from this trip were taken with a combination of my Nikon D7000, Olympus uT8000 & GoPro HD2
After deciding to turn back on Pigeon Spire's west ridge in order to manager rising stress levels I had a couple hours to kill while waiting on the Pigeon-Howser Col, so I snapped a bunch of photos.
This is the view of Pigeon Spire's west ridge from the Pigeon-Howser Col with Bugaboo Spire on the left beyond the glacier.
The Bugaboos - August 12-18, 2012
Living in Squamish I am very lucky to be surrounded by excellent rock to train my technical climbing skills as well as many great peaks for scrambling. But, until last week I had never had the opportunity to combine the two skills I've been developing for years. That all changed when a friend invited me to be her partner on the yearly trip my friend group takes. Two months after the invitiation, a partner swap, and a week of careful packing and preparation I actually found myself driving east about to embark on what would be the greatest adventure of my life to date.
The moment I arrived at basecamp my lofty climbing aspiration were downgraded to starting with a 4th class route and going from there. I received tons of advice from friends that had been going for several years, but still nothing could have prepared me for the reality of being there. The ascent to Applebee basecamp, the scale of the spires, the difficulty of the glaciers, and the exposure did not translate well to maps and photos I found myself in awe and terror. Every single obstacle I encountered was more physically and mentally demanding that I could have expected.
Even though we were with a large group of friends, we were on our own when we headed out for the day and often learning as we went. As a result we learned many lessons the hard way, including when to put crampons on, when to switch into rock shoes, how hard preventing rockfall can be, and all the ways rappelling can go wrong.
It was both the single most terrifying and rewarding experience of my life. Never did I expect to learn so much in a week, or do so little actual climbing. Instead it was a wild ride of alpine obstacles, and a truly life changing experience shared with great friends old and new.
A brief summary of my adventure:
Aug 12 - Hike into Applebee base camp with 80+lbs pack full of climbing, camping, and glacier gear as well as 7 days of food, and clothes for everything from -10 to +30 degrees celcius rain and shine.
Aug 13 - Eastpost spire, combination of Northeast and Northwest ridges.
Aug 14 - Crescent Spire, W ridge. - Rained off first attempt, after self arresting and improv. anchor construction.
Aug 15 - Crescent Spire, W ridge - Successful ascent followed by rappelling disaster involving ditching a rope that was later recovered
Aug 16 - Pigeon Spire, W ridge - Got 30m up route then turned back to save terror management skills for descent back down the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col
Aug 17 - Eastpost spire again and bathing in the tarn
Aug 18 - Hike out and long drive home
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding my experience.
Photos from this trip were taken with a combination of my Nikon D7000, Olympus uT8000 & GoPro HD2
By my last day in the Bugaboos I was pretty dirty and salty, so after scrambling Eastpost spire we took a dip in the tarn. Shortly after Manuel and I arrived so did our friends Alana and Flo, as well as another group finishing their day. Here's everyone making the most of the warm sun after bathing. Once the sun dips behind the spires it gets very cold quickly.
The Bugaboos - August 12-18, 2012
Living in Squamish I am very lucky to be surrounded by excellent rock to train my technical climbing skills as well as many great peaks for scrambling. But, until last week I had never had the opportunity to combine the two skills I've been developing for years. That all changed when a friend invited me to be her partner on the yearly trip my friend group takes. Two months after the invitiation, a partner swap, and a week of careful packing and preparation I actually found myself driving east about to embark on what would be the greatest adventure of my life to date.
The moment I arrived at basecamp my lofty climbing aspiration were downgraded to starting with a 4th class route and going from there. I received tons of advice from friends that had been going for several years, but still nothing could have prepared me for the reality of being there. The ascent to Applebee basecamp, the scale of the spires, the difficulty of the glaciers, and the exposure did not translate well to maps and photos I found myself in awe and terror. Every single obstacle I encountered was more physically and mentally demanding that I could have expected.
Even though we were with a large group of friends, we were on our own when we headed out for the day and often learning as we went. As a result we learned many lessons the hard way, including when to put crampons on, when to switch into rock shoes, how hard preventing rockfall can be, and all the ways rappelling can go wrong.
It was both the single most terrifying and rewarding experience of my life. Never did I expect to learn so much in a week, or do so little actual climbing. Instead it was a wild ride of alpine obstacles, and a truly life changing experience shared with great friends old and new.
A brief summary of my adventure:
Aug 12 - Hike into Applebee base camp with 80+lbs pack full of climbing, camping, and glacier gear as well as 7 days of food, and clothes for everything from -10 to +30 degrees celcius rain and shine.
Aug 13 - Eastpost spire, combination of Northeast and Northwest ridges.
Aug 14 - Crescent Spire, W ridge. - Rained off first attempt, after self arresting and improv. anchor construction.
Aug 15 - Crescent Spire, W ridge - Successful ascent followed by rappelling disaster involving ditching a rope that was later recovered
Aug 16 - Pigeon Spire, W ridge - Got 30m up route then turned back to save terror management skills for descent back down the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col
Aug 17 - Eastpost spire again and bathing in the tarn
Aug 18 - Hike out and long drive home
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding my experience.
Photos from this trip were taken with a combination of my Nikon D7000, Olympus uT8000 & GoPro HD2
The Inukshuk above Applebee camp with Eastpost spire in the background.
The Bugaboos - August 12-18, 2012
Living in Squamish I am very lucky to be surrounded by excellent rock to train my technical climbing skills as well as many great peaks for scrambling. But, until last week I had never had the opportunity to combine the two skills I've been developing for years. That all changed when a friend invited me to be her partner on the yearly trip my friend group takes. Two months after the invitiation, a partner swap, and a week of careful packing and preparation I actually found myself driving east about to embark on what would be the greatest adventure of my life to date.
The moment I arrived at basecamp my lofty climbing aspiration were downgraded to starting with a 4th class route and going from there. I received tons of advice from friends that had been going for several years, but still nothing could have prepared me for the reality of being there. The ascent to Applebee basecamp, the scale of the spires, the difficulty of the glaciers, and the exposure did not translate well to maps and photos I found myself in awe and terror. Every single obstacle I encountered was more physically and mentally demanding that I could have expected.
Even though we were with a large group of friends, we were on our own when we headed out for the day and often learning as we went. As a result we learned many lessons the hard way, including when to put crampons on, when to switch into rock shoes, how hard preventing rockfall can be, and all the ways rappelling can go wrong.
It was both the single most terrifying and rewarding experience of my life. Never did I expect to learn so much in a week, or do so little actual climbing. Instead it was a wild ride of alpine obstacles, and a truly life changing experience shared with great friends old and new.
A brief summary of my adventure:
Aug 12 - Hike into Applebee base camp with 80+lbs pack full of climbing, camping, and glacier gear as well as 7 days of food, and clothes for everything from -10 to +30 degrees celcius rain and shine.
Aug 13 - Eastpost spire, combination of Northeast and Northwest ridges.
Aug 14 - Crescent Spire, W ridge. - Rained off first attempt, after self arresting and improv. anchor construction.
Aug 15 - Crescent Spire, W ridge - Successful ascent followed by rappelling disaster involving ditching a rope that was later recovered
Aug 16 - Pigeon Spire, W ridge - Got 30m up route then turned back to save terror management skills for descent back down the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col
Aug 17 - Eastpost spire again and bathing in the tarn
Aug 18 - Hike out and long drive home
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding my experience.
Photos from this trip were taken with a combination of my Nikon D7000, Olympus uT8000 & GoPro HD2
We bailed on our first attempt of Crescent spire due to rain, but we had a great learning experience and it was a very photogenic day in the mountains. We had planned our outing in accordance with the weather; at no point were we in any danger. I never expected I would learn that much through trial and error in a single day without facing an actual disaster. Taking our lessons from the previous days mistakes we were off again for a second more efficient attempt of Crescent spire. This time we crossed the moraines and glacier quicker, put on our harnesses and crampons before the snow got steep, and our rock shoes before we got on the rock.
We smoothly sailed up the col swapping leads. None of the belay stations could be seen from the start of the pitch, but we managed alright. Luckily the belay at the top of the third pitch was protected by a nice roof and tucked around a corner because the fourth pitch involved a lot of loose rock. The fourth lead was mine; I was pretty scared as I moved upward having never been on a rope climbing on such loose ground. Here is Alana making her way up the fourth pitch while taking a moment to flick the rope so I can easily take up slack.
The Bugaboos - August 12-18, 2012
Living in Squamish I am very lucky to be surrounded by excellent rock to train my technical climbing skills as well as many great peaks for scrambling. But, until last week I had never had the opportunity to combine the two skills I've been developing for years. That all changed when a friend invited me to be her partner on the yearly trip my friend group takes. Two months after the invitiation, a partner swap, and a week of careful packing and preparation I actually found myself driving east about to embark on what would be the greatest adventure of my life to date.
The moment I arrived at basecamp my lofty climbing aspiration were downgraded to starting with a 4th class route and going from there. I received tons of advice from friends that had been going for several years, but still nothing could have prepared me for the reality of being there. The ascent to Applebee basecamp, the scale of the spires, the difficulty of the glaciers, and the exposure did not translate well to maps and photos I found myself in awe and terror. Every single obstacle I encountered was more physically and mentally demanding that I could have expected.
Even though we were with a large group of friends, we were on our own when we headed out for the day and often learning as we went. As a result we learned many lessons the hard way, including when to put crampons on, when to switch into rock shoes, how hard preventing rockfall can be, and all the ways rappelling can go wrong.
It was both the single most terrifying and rewarding experience of my life. Never did I expect to learn so much in a week, or do so little actual climbing. Instead it was a wild ride of alpine obstacles, and a truly life changing experience shared with great friends old and new.
A brief summary of my adventure:
Aug 12 - Hike into Applebee base camp with 80+lbs pack full of climbing, camping, and glacier gear as well as 7 days of food, and clothes for everything from -10 to +30 degrees celcius rain and shine.
Aug 13 - Eastpost spire, combination of Northeast and Northwest ridges.
Aug 14 - Crescent Spire, W ridge. - Rained off first attempt, after self arresting and improv. anchor construction.
Aug 15 - Crescent Spire, W ridge - Successful ascent followed by rappelling disaster involving ditching a rope that was later recovered
Aug 16 - Pigeon Spire, W ridge - Got 30m up route then turned back to save terror management skills for descent back down the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col
Aug 17 - Eastpost spire again and bathing in the tarn
Aug 18 - Hike out and long drive home
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding my experience.
Photos from this trip were taken with a combination of my Nikon D7000, Olympus uT8000 & GoPro HD2
The Bugaboo-Snowpatch col is dangerous place to be. It's not only steep with bergshcrunds, but is constantly under threat of rockfall. One must move quick, but steady and remain secure with each step. Luckily this year the angle was lower due to less snow, but that also meant more exposed loose rocks at the top. I think I may have held my breath the entire trip down, but I'm thankful for the experience. I would not have chosen rappelling off the top over walking down.
The Bugaboos - August 12-18, 2012
Living in Squamish I am very lucky to be surrounded by excellent rock to train my technical climbing skills as well as many great peaks for scrambling. But, until last week I had never had the opportunity to combine the two skills I've been developing for years. That all changed when a friend invited me to be her partner on the yearly trip my friend group takes. Two months after the invitiation, a partner swap, and a week of careful packing and preparation I actually found myself driving east about to embark on what would be the greatest adventure of my life to date.
The moment I arrived at basecamp my lofty climbing aspiration were downgraded to starting with a 4th class route and going from there. I received tons of advice from friends that had been going for several years, but still nothing could have prepared me for the reality of being there. The ascent to Applebee basecamp, the scale of the spires, the difficulty of the glaciers, and the exposure did not translate well to maps and photos I found myself in awe and terror. Every single obstacle I encountered was more physically and mentally demanding that I could have expected.
Even though we were with a large group of friends, we were on our own when we headed out for the day and often learning as we went. As a result we learned many lessons the hard way, including when to put crampons on, when to switch into rock shoes, how hard preventing rockfall can be, and all the ways rappelling can go wrong.
It was both the single most terrifying and rewarding experience of my life. Never did I expect to learn so much in a week, or do so little actual climbing. Instead it was a wild ride of alpine obstacles, and a truly life changing experience shared with great friends old and new.
A brief summary of my adventure:
Aug 12 - Hike into Applebee base camp with 80+lbs pack full of climbing, camping, and glacier gear as well as 7 days of food, and clothes for everything from -10 to +30 degrees celcius rain and shine.
Aug 13 - Eastpost spire, combination of Northeast and Northwest ridges.
Aug 14 - Crescent Spire, W ridge. - Rained off first attempt, after self arresting and improv. anchor construction.
Aug 15 - Crescent Spire, W ridge - Successful ascent followed by rappelling disaster involving ditching a rope that was later recovered
Aug 16 - Pigeon Spire, W ridge - Got 30m up route then turned back to save terror management skills for descent back down the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col
Aug 17 - Eastpost spire again and bathing in the tarn
Aug 18 - Hike out and long drive home
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding my experience.
Photos from this trip were taken with a combination of my Nikon D7000, Olympus uT8000 & GoPro HD2