Mike Brumbaugh and I finally made a trip to the famed Bugaboos within the mighty Purcell Mountains at the end of July, 2007. Mikey’s been a good friend since we met sport climbing at Rifle in Colorado and we’d been talking about taking a trip up to this fantastic British Columbian spot after years of drooling over photos. The well traveled trade routes from Steck and Roper’s 50 Classic Climbs of North America (Sierra Club Books 1979) have inspired me since I started climbing in high school. And now, I was finally going to get a chance to sink my meat into the splitter granite cracks of the Beckey-Chouinard (AKA West Buttress) on South Howser and the East Ridge on Bugaboo Spire.

Once we’d arrived at the backside of the range, and after lounging around dumbstruck and humbled by the massive towers above us, we took off for our first objective, the Beckey-Chouinard on South Howser at around 11 AM. Mikey is a beast, kind of like a dog that walks you when it’s been caged up for a while. He owns a ski and bike shop in Avon CO, so I think that’s how he felt — ready to get it on. Anyway, he took off like he’d just seen a cat, and basically launched us up the route dragging me along behind him. Coming from my home in Tennessee (at almost sea level) I was out of breath almost the whole way. We arrived at the summit just before sunset and were rewarded with a gorgeous view only those who’ve visited the Bugs can relate to. 

See a photo gallery from this trip