This is one of Canada’s premiere alpine climbing areas. The Bugaboos have an incredible combination of steep rock and rugged glaciers. This is a mountaineers dream where you can combine scrambling, glacier travel, rock climbing and steep snow and ice climbing on the same day. Pricing for the Bugaboos will vary depending on the objectives and the number of guests. This is a minimum 5 day trip and options exist to either camp at a high bivy site (Appleby campground) or stay at the ACC Kain hut. The drive in will be a 45km drive on logging roads accessed from Hwy 95 between Radium and Golden, B.C. From the parking lot the hike takes 3hrs to the Kain hut and 4hrs to Appleby campground. A typical agenda would be to hike in on day 1. Climb days 2-4 and climb/hike out on day 5.
Here are some climbing options once we are up at the hut or the campground:

Eastpost spire: A short trip to a spectacular summit! 2-5 hours round trip. The NE ridge has some wonderful scrambling and low 5th class climbing.

Crescent spires: several options exist for shorter more technical multi pitch rock climbing.

Pigeon Spire Grade II 5.4 : The W ridge of Pigeon Spire is one of the best alpine routes in Canada. This is a 5-10hr round trip with plenty of glacier travel and amazing positions on an exposed clean granite ridge.

Bugaboo Spire Kain route grade II 5.6 : Bugaboo Spire is a monolith of granite and saves it’s biggest technical challenge for the top. Incredible climbing on perfect granite with lots of exposure. This trip is 6-10hrs long.

Bugaboo Spire NE ridge grade III 5.7 : The NE ridge is another one of the best routes in Canada. It’s hard to imagine a more stunning line up a mountain. This one has it all with fantastic technical climbing on solid granite. The NE ridge can take from 9-13hrs.

Snowpatch Spire snowpatch route grade III 5.8 : Another classic climbing up beside the incredible Snowpatch feature that hangs high above the Kain hut. This is a long and sustained technical rock climb with up to 20 pitches of climbing from 5.4 to 5.8. We can expect to take 10-14hrs return trip from the Kain hut.

Equipment list for overnight alpine rock climbing

• Overnight pack large enough for spare clothing, 3 days food, climbing equipment, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and some toiletries.
• 3 days of food (inquire about catered trips.)
• Sleeping bag good to -5 Celsius.
• Thermarest or sleeping pad
• Cup, bowl and spoon
• Toiletries
• Headlamp
• Sunglasses and sunscreen
• Rain gear
• gaiters
• Clothing suitable for the weather (long pants help protect the knees while climbing)
• Lightweight mountaineering boots.
• Collapsible trekking pole
• I can provide a harness, helmet, crampons, ice axe and all technical climbing equipment

Cost

See Pricing & Booking.

Mt. Robson is the tallest peak in the ‘Canadian’ Rockies. The climbing season for Robson is typically mid Aug to early Sept. There are several routes to the summit but the one I will be describing is the Kain Face. There are a few different options for flying in. Common landings on the mountain are Berg Lake, The Extinguisher Tower, or the Dome. A flight into the Dome can shorten the trip to a minimum of 3 days. A flight into the Extinguisher Tower or Berg Lake shortens the trip to a minimum of 5 days and hiking in from the trailhead is a minimum 7 day trip. I require that we have developed a climbing relationship prior to attempting Mt Robson. The ideal guiding ratio for this peak is 2 guests : 2guides. Depending on conditions, travel efficiency can be greatly increased by having a 1:1 ratio for the technical climbing and having 4 people on a rope for the glacier travel.

Equipment list for overnight alpine rock climbing

• Overnight pack large enough for spare clothing, 3 days food, climbing equipment, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and some toiletries. (60 litres)
• 3 days of food (inquire about catered trips.)
• Sleeping bag good to -5 Celsius.
• Thermarest or sleeping pad
• Cup, bowl and spoon
• Toiletries
• Headlamp
• Sunglasses and sunscreen
• Rain gear
• gaiters
• Clothing suitable for the weather (long pants help protect the knees while climbing)
• Lightweight mountaineering boots.
• Collapsible trekking pole
• I can provide a harness, helmet, crampons, ice axe and all technical climbing equipment

Cost

See Pricing & Booking.

Mt. Tupper and Swiss Peaks – 3 day trip grade III 5.5

Mt Tupper and the Swiss peaks traverse are best climbed from the Hermit Meadows campground. Day 1 is spent going over equipment, mountain conditions and safety and then hiking into the campground (2hr hike with overnight packs). From the campground we have 2 climbing days to get up these incredible peaks. The Swiss peaks along with Mt Rogers tower above the surrounding area and several options exist for traversing some or all of the summits in this chain of summits. Mt. Tupper is off in the other direction and is pure fun with constant movement on exposed ridges and the occasional section of more technical climbing to keep things challenging. We will hike out after our climb on day 3.

Equipment list for overnight alpine rock climbing

• Overnight pack large enough for spare clothing, 3 days food, climbing equipment, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and some toiletries.
• 3 days of food (inquire about catered trips.)
• Sleeping bag good to -5 Celsius.
• Thermarest or sleeping pad
• Cup, bowl and spoon
• Toiletries
• Headlamp
• Sunglasses and sunscreen
• Rain gear
• gaiters
• Clothing suitable for the weather (long pants help protect the knees while climbing)
• Lightweight mountaineering boots.
• Collapsible trekking pole
• I can provide a harness, helmet, crampons, ice axe and all technical climbing equipment

Cost

See Pricing & Booking.

Mt. Sir Donald and Uto Peak – 3 day trip grade III 5.4

Mt Sir Donald will be the peak you compare all other peaks to. It’s an incredibly long ridge climb with fantastic exposure and great views. Constant movement on impeccable quartzite. Uto is equal in quality but a much shorter day. Both peaks are accessed from a bivi campground at the base of both peaks. Day 1 is a 2-4 hour hike in. We will go over equipment, mountain conditions and safety before hiking in. Days 2 and 3 will be spent climbing and we will hike out after our climb on Day 3. The NW ridge on Sir Donald is arguably the best alpine rock route in Canada. Not to be missed!!

Equipment list for overnight alpine rock climbing

• Overnight pack large enough for spare clothing, 3 days food, climbing equipment, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and some toiletries.
• 3 days of food (inquire about catered trips.)
• Sleeping bag good to -5 Celsius.
• Thermarest or sleeping pad
• Cup, bowl and spoon
• Toiletries
• Headlamp
• Sunglasses and sunscreen
• Rain gear
• gaiters
• Clothing suitable for the weather (long pants help protect the knees while climbing)
• Lightweight mountaineering boots.
• Collapsible trekking pole
• I can provide a harness, helmet, crampons, ice axe and all technical climbing equipment

Cost

See Pricing & Booking.