The Bugaboos are a
mountain range
A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...
in the
Purcell Mountains
The Purcell Mountains are a mountain range in southeastern British Columbia, Canada. They are a subrange of the Columbia Mountains, which includes the Selkirk, Monashee, and Cariboo Mountains. They are located on the west side of the Rocky Mounta ...
of eastern
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. The
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
spires of the group are a popular
mountaineering
Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...
destination. The Bugaboos are protected within
Bugaboo Provincial Park.
Geography
The Bugaboos are located in the northwestern extreme of the Purcells in the
Columbia Mountains
The Columbia Mountains are a group of mountain ranges along the upper Columbia River in British Columbia, Montana, Idaho and Washington. The mountain range covers 135,952 km² (52,491 sq mi). The range is bounded by the Rocky Mountain T ...
, in the south-east of the province. The nearest towns are
Radium
Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it readily reacts with nitrogen (rather t ...
and
Golden
Golden means made of, or relating to gold.
Golden may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
*Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall
* Golden Cap, Dorset
*Golden Square, Soho, London
*Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershi ...
. They are commonly subdivided into four divisions: the Bugaboo Glacier Peaks, and the Eastern, Central, and Western Spires. The nearby Vowell and Conrad Groups are usually considered separate from the Bugaboos.
Geology
Located in the snow- and rain-heavy "Columbia Wet Belt", this section of the Purcells is subject to heavy erosion and large, active glaciers.
Originally covered in weaker rock, glaciation eventually revealed the
granodiorite
Granodiorite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock similar to granite, but containing more plagioclase feldspar than orthoclase feldspar.
The term banatite is sometimes used informally for various rocks ranging from gra ...
batholiths
A batholith () is a large mass of intrusive igneous rock (also called plutonic rock), larger than in area, that forms from cooled magma deep in Earth's crust. Batholiths are almost always made mostly of felsic or intermediate rock types, suc ...
which form the group's distinctive spires.
The surrounding rock is approximately 600 million to 1 billion years old, while the Bugaboo intrusion dates to 135 million years ago. The
igneous
Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or ...
intrusion cooled slowly, forming the crystalline structure of the hard granite found today.
History
![ConradKain](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/ConradKain.jpg)
Originally named the "Nunataks", the Bugaboo spires were first noted by a surveying expedition in the late 1800s. Mining brought the first Europeans to the region with a small, ill-fated
gold rush
A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...
occurring in 1895 and 1896 near Bugaboo Falls. The area was prospected and staked, but the meager deposits turned out to be mostly
pyrite
The mineral pyrite (), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Iron, FeSulfur, S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral.
Pyrite's metallic Luster (mineralogy), lust ...
and
galena
Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver.
Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It cryst ...
.
The name "Bugaboo" originated from this rush; the term was used by prospectors for a "dead-end".
Climbers became interested in the group shortly after. In 1910, an expedition led by
Thomas Longstaff
Tom George Longstaff (15 January 1875 – 27 June 1964) was an English doctor, explorer and mountaineer, most famous for being the first person to climb a summit of over 7,000 metres in elevation, Trisul, in the India/Pakistan Himalayas in 1907. ...
and surveyor
Arthur Oliver Wheeler entered the area. They were guided by renowned European climber
Conrad Kain
Conrad Kain (10 August 1883, Nasswald – 2 February 1934, Cranbrook, British Columbia) was an Austrian mountain guide who guided extensively in Europe, Canada, and New Zealand, and was responsible for the first ascents of more than 60 routes in ...
.
Kain would return to the area six years later and pioneer many difficult climbing routes. The Austrian climber described his route up Bugaboo Spire as his most difficult Canadian ascent, more challenging than his celebrated route up
Mount Robson
Mount Robson is the most prominent mountain in North America's Rocky Mountain range; it is also the highest point in the Canadian Rockies.
The mountain is located entirely within Mount Robson Provincial Park of British Columbia, and is part of ...
, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies.
Along with Albert and Bess McCarthy and others, Kain would pioneer first ascents of North Howser, Marmolata, and Crescent Spires.
Logging in the area resulted in road construction in the 1950s and 60s. This led to a new influx of climbers.
Fred Beckey
Friedrich Wolfgang Beckey (14 January 1923 – 30 October 2017), known as Fred Beckey, was an American rock climber, mountaineer and book author, who in seven decades of climbing achieved hundreds of first ascents of the tallest peaks and best ro ...
and
Yvon Chouinard
Yvon Chouinard (born November 9, 1938) is an American rock climber, environmentalist, philanthropist and outdoor industry businessman. His company, Patagonia, is known for its commitment to protecting the environment.
Chouinard is also a surf ...
(founder of the
Patagonia
Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and gl ...
clothing company) established new routes on several spires.
The growing popularity of the area led the BC government to establish
Bugaboo Glacier Provincial Park and the Bugaboo Alpine Recreation Area in 1969. The
Alpine Club of Canada
The Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) is an amateur athletic association with its national office in Canmore, Alberta that has been a focal point for Canadian mountaineering since its founding in 1906. The club was co-founded by Arthur Oliver Wheeler ...
constructed a large hut in 1972 to reduce environmental damage to the fragile alpine meadows below the spires.
Climbing and recreation
The Bugaboos have several internationally known
rock climbing
Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...
routes. The ''Beckey-Chouinard'' (South Howser Spire), ''West Ridge'' (Pigeon Spire), ''Northeast Ridge'' (Bugaboo Spire), ''Snowpatch'' and ''Surf's Up'' (Snowpatch Spire) attract world-class climbers. There are both bolted and free routes throughout the group.
Climbers and hikers often use the 40-person
Conrad Kain hut, maintained by the Alpine Club of Canada. Located near Snowpatch Spire, the hut replaced the original fibreglass igloos placed by BC Parks. The Bugaboo Lodge, constructed in 1967, is near the eastern boundary of the park.
Heli-skiing
Heli-skiing is off-trail, downhill skiing or snowboarding where the skier reaches the top of the mountain by helicopter, instead of a ski lift.
History
In the late 1950s, helicopters were used in Alaska and Europe to access remote terrain. The i ...
and heli-hiking are conducted from the lodge into the park.
Ski touring
Ski touring is skiing in the backcountry on unmarked or unpatrolled areas. Touring is typically done off-piste and outside of ski resorts, and may extend over a period of more than one day. It is similar to backcountry skiing but excludes the ...
is also popular in the group during the winter.
Spires
*
Howser Spire
Howser Spire, or Howser Spire Massif, is a group of three distinct granite peaks, and the highest mountain of the Canadian Bugaboo Spires. The mountain is located at the southwest corner of the Vowell Glacier, within the Bugaboo mountain range ...
(3412m - North Tower)
*
South Howser Tower (3,364m)
*
Bugaboo Spire
Bugaboo Spire is a peak in Bugaboo mountain range in Canada, located between the Vowell and Crescent glaciers, just under 2 km West of the ACC's Conrad Kain hut. It is known for its alpine climbing. The Spire was first climbed by Conrad K ...
(3204 m)
*
Pigeon Spire
Pigeon Spire is a peak in the Purcell Mountains of the Columbia Mountains in southeastern British Columbia, Canada. It may be one of the most climbed of the spires in The Bugaboos
The Bugaboos are a mountain range in the Purcell Mountains of ...
(3156 m)
*
Snowpatch Spire
Snowpatch Spire is a mountain peak in British Columbia, Canada. With its first ascent in 1940, it was the last of the Bugaboo Spires to be climbed. It is located southwest of the Conrad Kain hut, across the Crescent Glacier.
Routes
* Wildflo ...
(3084 m)
*
Marmolata Mountain
Marmolata Mountain is a nunatak in the Purcell Mountains of the Columbia Mountains in southeastern British Columbia, Canada. It was named in 1930 by Eaton Cromwell because he thought it looked similar to the highest of the Italian Dolomites
...
(3019m)
*
Brenta Spire
Brenta Spire is a peak in the Purcell Mountains of the Columbia Mountains in southeastern British Columbia, Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pac ...
(2958m)
*
Crescent Spire (2842m)
*
Crescent Towers
Crescent Towers are towers just east of Crescent Spire and south of Eastpost Spire in the Purcell Mountains of the Columbia Mountains in southeastern British Columbia, Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces an ...
(2830m)
*
Hound's Tooth (2830m)
*
Eastpost Spire (2697m)
*
Northpost Spire
Northpost Spire is a peak in British Columbia, Canada.
Description
Northpost Spire is located in The Bugaboos, along the east side of the Vowell Glacier at the south end of Bugaboo Provincial Park. Precipitation runoff from Northpost's north s ...
(2919m)
*
Cobalt Lake Spire
Cobalt is a chemical element with the symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. The free element, p ...
(2682m)
Gallery
File:Marmolata Spire and Hound's Tooth.jpg, Marmolata Spire and Hound's Tooth
File:Pigeon Spire and Howser Spires.jpg, Pigeon Spire and Howser Spires
File:Howser Spires, Bugaboo Range, B.C..jpg, Howser Spires from glacier
File:Summit of Pigeon Spire.jpg, Summit of Pigeon Spire
File:Bugaboo at sunrise.jpg, Bugaboo Spire at sunrise
File:Climbers rope up below Bugaboo Spire.jpg, Climbers rope up below Bugaboo Spire
File:Climbers resting on Bugaboo Spire.jpg, Climbers rest on Bugaboo Spire
File:Snowpatch Spire in the Bugaboos.jpg, Snowpatch Spire
References
External links
Bugaboo Provincial Park*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bugaboos
Purcell Mountains
Kootenays