Best Guidebook for the Bugaboos

Howdy Folks,

I will be traveling through Jasper and Banff National Parks in early to mid July, with our final destination being the Bugaboos. What guidebook(s) would you suggest given our rough literary? Any routes, books and/or additional suggestions/information would be greatly appreciated.

NOTE: We are not looking to climb ice. Our preference is multi-pitch trad climbing; moderate snow approaches are not an issue.

Thanks in advance!

this has always been a life goal for me! enjoy it, wish I had information to give. I'd love to hear about your travels. happy climbing.

The Elaho guide, bar none.

For the non-Bugs stuff, I'd look at Canadian Rock: Select Climbs of the West. As a local, I find that it doesn't cover any area with enough detail so I refer to the area specific guide books but for a quick trip through the Rockies, it covers a large area and it'll have most of the interesting climbs. If you're going to be spending your time mostly around Banff, then Banff Rock is better but you'll miss out on the goodies in Jasper, Revelstoke and Canmore.

bugs beta bump!

It would be helpful to know more about what you're looking for. Almost every climb in the Bugs fits the "multi-pitch trad" label, and every one I've done was just incredible.

I can seriously recommend anything that catches your eye on the Bugaboos. However, while you're driving through Jasper, check out the East Ridge of Edith Cavell. It's a great time.

Edith Cavell

Dougherty's Selected Alpine Climbs includes some good rock routes that aren't described anywhere else. But make local inquiries first, it's known as the "Liar's Guide" or "Selected Alpine Sandbags" for good reason. And be very careful about any routes that involve glacier travel, the book is 25 years old and the glaciers have changed a lot in the meantime.

Yes, the "book of lies" is great for the Rockies, but it's really hard to find in the States.

For two of the guidebooks mentioned (bugs and canadian rock)

highcol.ca/books/

east of banff is Genereux Ghost Rock

Thanks for the recommendations so far guys. I'll definitely have to check out those guides.

Dobson, you're right, I guess "multi-pitch trad" doesn't really narrow it down that much. After a little browsing on Mountain Project and Summit Post a couple climbs that caught my eye and seem to fit the bill were the following:

summitpost.org/escargot-cor…
dowclimbing.com/GrandSentin…

Both of those seem like good quality lines with reasonable approaches. We will be climbing in a party of three some that's also something to consider.

The East Ridge of Edith Cavell definitely looks amazing! It also sounds like a really long day. We do plan on doing some summit hikes and scrambles too while in the area (i.e. Mt. Temple).

Thanks again!

Jonathan Dull wrote:Thanks for the recommendations so far guys. I'll definitely have to check out those guides. Dobson, you're right, I guess "multi-pitch trad" doesn't really narrow it down that much. After a little browsing on Mountain Project and Summit Post a couple climbs that caught my eye and seem to fit the bill were the following: summitpost.org/escargot-cor… dowclimbing.com/GrandSentin… Both of those seem like good quality lines with reasonable approaches. We will be climbing in a party of three some that's also something to consider. The East Ridge of Edith Cavell definitely looks amazing! It also sounds like a really long day. We do plan on doing some summit hikes and scrambles too while in the area (i.e. Mt. Temple). Thanks again!

It's a long day, but not super endurance crazy. We did another big climb two days after.

Looking at the time stamps of the photos, we got started in the morning about 7am. We were well established on the ridge in another hour. We finished the easy half by ten. The technical half was extraordinarily icy which slowed us down a bit, and put us on the summit at 3:30. We descended the long way off the back (and got lost) and reached flatland before 7. That puts the mountain itself at less than twelve hours for total Rockies noobs. The hike back sucked, but it wasn't hard.

If I did it in happy rock-climby conditions, I'd definitely reverse the route. It would be faster, easier, and more fun.

Dobson wrote: We did another big climb two days after. The technical half was extraordinarily icy which slowed us down a bit, and put us on the summit at 3:30. .

Which other climb did you do? Would you recommend it?

And hopefully the route/approach is in good condition once we arrive. We will not be equipped to climb any technical ice.

Jonathan Dull wrote: Which other climb did you do? Would you recommend it? And hopefully the route/approach is in good condition once we arrive. We will not be equipped to climb any technical ice.

We did the Skyladder on Andromeda and it was beautiful. The "Book of Lies" calls it Grade II, (no technical grade), which I think is hilarious. I can't recommend it if you aren't ready for steep snow and (not steep) ice. The only rock we encountered was some terrible and kinda scary fourth-class shale.

Skyladder

It's hard to compare the climbing in the Rockies to that in the Bugaboos. The Bugs feel like high quality trad climbing that happens to be in a beautiful alpine environment. Everything I've done in the Rockies was a full-on mountaineering adventure requiring all the skills I had in my arsenal. They're both great climbing destinations, just for completely different reasons.

rei.com/product/704241/buga…

Has anyone had experience with this guide? I'm going to purchase the ones already suggested, however this is the only one at REI and I have several gift cards I could cover this with. Is it worth it?

+1 for Atkinson/Piche. Detailed. Multiple route photos and topos for the major routes. Lots of routes. Good descriptions. Folks defaulted to this guide from the green guide when we were up there.

Jonathan Dull wrote:http://www.rei.com/product/704241/bugaboo-rock-a-climbing-guide#descriptionTab Has anyone had experience with this guide? I'm going to purchase the ones already suggested, however this is the only one at REI and I have several gift cards I could cover this with. Is it worth it?

If you are going to get the Elaho (Atkinson/Piche) guide, there's no reason to have anything else for the Bugaboos. It sets a high standard for quality in an alpine guide.

Which books offer the best historical information? I am particularly interested in the history of early FAs.

adkeditor Brown wrote: Which books offer the best historical information? I am particularly interested in the history of early FAs.

The Atkinson/Piché and Green/Benson guidebooks both include historical introductions, but the best historical information is in original articles in the American Alpine Journal and Canadian Alpine Journal. Both guidebooks have references to these articles. Old AAJ articles are freely available on-line, but for CAJ you'll have to visit a library.

Another secondary source is John Garden's 1987 book "The Bugaboos: An Alpine History". You can find used copies on Amazon for just a few dollars.

Anyone have a copy of the Atkinson/Piché guidebook they'd be willing to sell? Can't find any online, was hoping to read up before going this summer. 

https://shop.climbonsquamish.com/high-col-bugaboos-guidebook.html?id=197804

but they are not shipping to the US. No problem if you can go to Squamish for pickup or have a friend across the border receive the book.

MEC had it and will ship to US. If you call climbon they'll often ship it to you in US.