Bugaboos Trip (Part 1)

The hike in.

Bob Jahn and I had planned this trip for quite awhile and then waited to pull the trigger on going until the forecast was good for maximum climbing. This was important since I had read trip reports from people that were in their tent for a good portion of the time they were there. The weather can be fickle and hard to predict how the storms from the coast will hit the Bugaboos.

Camp at Applebee with Eastpost Spire behind.

The first night we stayed at the Boulders campground. We got up the next morning and decided to climb the Eastpost Spire and traverse down to check out the camping at Applebee Dome. This was a moderate (5.6) climb, but had great position over the valley as we traversed the ridge to the summit. We descended to the campground and packed up for the move to Applebee Dome. It is a very nice set up for staying awhile. It has water via spigot, clean bathrooms, and plenty of space. We selected a site near the approach for the Crescent Spire. We climbed a few pitches on great rock. We made it up the Crescent Towers and back before it was even near time for dinner! I had sprained my ankle on the hike into the Bugs and it wasn't letting up. I was dreading anything with a long approach. We wanted to hit Bugaboo Spire the next day. I was happy since it was fairly close. We soloed up the Kain Route and hurried back down due to thunder and lighting. Once we reached the col, it was not as bad. Bob wanted to see the East Creek bivy site below the Beckey/Chouinard. We trudged across the glacier and saw it. 

Bob on the Crescent with the Crescent Glacier below.

On one of the Crescent Towers with Snowpatch/Bugaboo col behind.

It seems like we didn't climb a lot, but when I read about other trips, getting 5 days out of 7 is pretty good luck with the weather. We were just on a reconnoitering trip and ended up climbing quite a bit! I am going to make a Part 2 of this post so I can put the things I wished I did/had or things I thought were good choices for this trip in preparation for next years trip to the Bugs (yes, it IS that good to make a yearly thing).