Spent August 1st-3rd in the Bugaboos. Temperature were gradually getting warmer over the last couple days and the recent snowfall was slowly melting off.
Routes on Bugaboo, Snowpatch and the Crescent area are all dry and good climbing though there was still a little snow in the chimneys on the NE ridge of Bugaboo yesterday. Bring your long johns if you are not in the sun! Some snow still remains on the N aspects of Pigeon Spire but the W ridge is in good shape. N side of the Howsers was still snowy
Bugaboo-Snowpatch Col is still mostly snow travel with just a few short sections getting icy. The bergshrund is still easy to pass with careful travel. Good freezes overnight made crampons a necessity on any steep snow.
We watched a lot of people travel across the glaciers to Pigeon Spire unroped over the last few days and then yesterday we saw one person fall into a crevasse. The crevasse had no indications of having a weak snow bridge from the our vantage point and was not far from the main trail. Fortunately they were roped up and the climber was back on the surface in a few moments. I think the take home message was to rope up for any of the glacier travel in the Bugaboos whether a trail exists or not.
Have a great trip!
Conrad Janzen
ACMG Ski & Asst. Alpine Guide
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