Sadly, our time ran out, and we were forced to retreat without bagging our final “classic” on the list, Bugaboo Spire. But I’m still glad we got away with what we did, and now I have more reasons and routes to go back for. The Bugaboos are a magnificent and wild place with some of the most immaculate white granite anywhere. The hardened adventurer, Conrad Kain, is my new hero; he climbed Bugaboo Spire in 1916! I was destroyed after a week of climbing there using all sorts of high tech, lightweight gear. He didn't even have a trail! Most of us can only imagine what an experience it was to be in the Bugaboos, long before everyone else.

Luke Laeser currently lives is Chattanooga, TN, is the Online Editor for Climbing.com and UrbanClimberMag.com and can't wait to get back to the Bugaboos.

See a photo gallery from this trip