We spent the last few days climbing in the Bugaboos under great conditions. Much of the area is still snow-covered, and even with little to no overnight freeze, travel remained good until late afternoon, with deep postholing only near exposed rocks.

Bugaboo – Snowpatch Col
The Col was still snow-covered from top to bottom, but it won't be long before the narrow section at the top melts out. The descent anchors are still within reach of the snow. We opted to avoid descending it in the afternoon due to intense warming and significant snowmelt on the overhead slopes of Bugaboo Spire.

Bugaboo Glacier
Both the lower and upper Bugaboo Glacier are still snow-covered with relatively straightforward travel. This is beginning to change with some crevasses opening, but it will likely be manageable for a little while longer.

Routes
All routes in the Eastern Spires are being climbed. Both the Kain Route and NE Ridge of Bugaboo Spire have had many ascents. Most routes on the East and West faces of Snowpatch Spire are dry; however, the Snowpatch Route still looks wet in spots. The West Ridge of Pigeon is getting climbed regularly and only requires a few steps on snow. The Becky Chouinard route has been climbed but is likely still snowy and wet in some upper sections. There is a recent report of significant running water and rockfall on All Along the Watchtower on the North Howser Tower.

Camping
Applebee is mostly snow-free and although the water line is not flowing yet, there are many options from melt or from the lake above. We used a filter for all drinking water. East Creek Camp has a few tents and is mostly still snow-covered.

Rockfall
A significant amount of recent rockfall has been observed in the Bugaboos, likely due to saturation from rapid snowmelt and instability caused by the recession of glacier ice and permafrost.

See attached photos for more details.

Marc Piché & Lilla Molnar