O Canada! You glorious country, you have my heart! The mountains of Alberta and British Columbia are stunning and sit with prestige, just beckoning to be climbed. I was fortunate enough to experience the alpine rock climbing in the Bugaboos in early September of 2021.

The Bugaboos are an ethereal collection of granite spires located in the Purcell Mountain Range of British Columbia, and they are an outdoor enthusiast’s dream. My trip to the Bugaboos in September was a spur of the moment decision. When Canada reopened its borders to the U.S. in late August, I decided to jump on the chance to climb there. I convinced my fella, Braiden, to join me on the adventure, even though he could only take a week of vacation. We knew we were taking a chance with the weather. We were going late in the climbing season and had only a short window to climb, but we went for it anyway!

I had always worried about the logistics of getting to the Bugaboos, but the travel was pretty easy and affordable. We flew into Calgary from Denver, which is about a 2-hour direct flight. In Calgary, we rented a U-Haul van to accomplish the 5-hour drive to the Bugaboos. I know, the U-Haul sounds ridiculous, but let me explain! Rental car prices during the pandemic soared, and the U-Haul was actually our cheapest option for transportation.

On our way to the Bugaboos, we stopped in Canmore and grabbed some delicious healthy noodle bowls from a cafe I highly recommend visiting, called Communitea. Most of the drive was easy, but the last leg of the drive was on a dirt road and, boy, was it a bumpy one in that U-Haul! Not to mention, we had to do it twice because we forgot fuel for our camp stove and had to turn around and go back to the nearest town to buy some! Once we got to the trailhead, it started pouring rain. We were very happy we had the U-Haul to sleep and stay dry in, and we pushed our hike out to the next day. As we started our hike, we heard people in the parking lot say, ‘Who took the U-Haul up here?!’. We were a tad bit embarrassed!

The hike in was beautiful and the trail was well-developed. Wild raspberry bushes surrounded the hiking trail and I could not resist snacking on the sweet, plump berries every time we encountered them (which probably slowed us down significantly, considering I searched for and plucked only the ripest berries in the bush). We ran into some very friendly Canadians along the way and chatted about climbing objectives. We passed the Conrad Kain Hut (also where we purchased our camping permit) on our way to the Applebee Campground. The Kain Hut is a wonderful option for lodging in the Bugaboos with more accommodations than camping would offer, especially during poor weather.

We were very impressed with the Applebee Campground as well though. The campsites and bathrooms were well-maintained and there was accessible water. Plus, there were lockers and metal racks to store and hang food/items to keep out of the paws of rodents. The views from the campground were stunning, overlooking the glacier and granite spires, as well as the snow-capped mountains in the distance. We had arrived in alpine paradise and there were only a few other campers sharing the space when we arrived! The area felt peaceful and remote.

Our first day of climbing delivered us spectacular weather. Side note: the 5-day weather forecast is posted on the message board in the Applebee Campground, so climbers/hikers can plan their days accordingly. I found this very useful, as the weather can be quite unpredictable in the Bugaboos. Due to our trip being at the tail-end of the Bugaboos climbing season, the crevasses had widened and the Col, which is used to access a number of the spires, had become difficult to navigate. This made it hard to reach a good portion of the climbing routes. For this reason, we ventured out to the Crescent Spire, which had a pretty short and direct approach from camp and did not require any glacier travel.

We climbed a 6-pitch 5.10 route called McTech Arete. The grippy granite, splitter crack systems, and fun roofs made for a fantastic climb. We did, however, manage to get our rope stuck in a crack during one of our rappels! Luckily, it was stuck close to where we were pulling the rope from and we were able to lead up on the other end of the rope to ‘unstuck’ it. For future reference, I would recommend the hike out/gully descent alternative to avoid a potentially bad situation.

We returned to the Applebee Campground from our climb feeling very satisfied and grateful for the day. When we returned, the campground had filled up with more people. All of the new folks were friendly and we all had a good time sharing climbing stories and excitement for the outdoors. Perhaps the most inspiring thing I saw was a group of 2 families with their young children (ages 3-7). The older children hiked all the way up to the campground by themselves and even carried their own backpacks! I loved seeing and hearing children playing out in an alpine setting.

Our second day also blessed us with fantastic weather. I had been eyeing the beautiful, yet intimidating, 5.11+ overhung finger crack next to McTech Arete, called Energy Crisis. I was feeling decently strong still, so I decided to go for the lead. While a shorter climb, the movement was tenuous and challenging. Somehow I managed to send the crux moves, though I eventually pumped out afterwards and fell. I loved every minute of this beautiful and complex climb. I have no photos of this one to share though, as the whole climb was full-on and Braiden had to give a very attentive belay!

The next day, our weather luck ran out. It was raining a lot, so climbing was not an option for us. The forecast called for rain the next couple days as well. We only had one day left of climbing and knew that Banff had a more promising weather forecast, so we decided to hike out and head to Lake Louise for some sport climbing at the back of the lake. Once we arrived at Lake Louise, we were impressed by the bright turquoise color of the lake up against the rugged Rocky Mountains. The climbing was also excellent. We found the Lake Louise quartzite rock to be playful and engaging.

In Banff National Park, we discovered some charming cabins to stay at for the night called the Johnston Canyon Bungalows. They reminded me of my beloved summer cabin stays at Lake Tahoe from my childhood and had great amenities, including outdoor BBQ pits, a bistro, and a cafe/ice cream shop! One of the perks of visiting Alberta in September was that the leaves on the trees had already started to change color, giving off the crisp Fall vibe. Side note: If you are looking to plan a trip to Banff (and more of Canada) and want some great travel tips, I found the The Banff Blog to be a very useful source.

After our fun little outing in Banff/Lake Louise, we made our way back to Calgary since we had to fly out the next day. Hungry for a proper meal, we stopped at a delicious Thai Restaurant (Juree’s Thai Place Restaurant) to complete our trip. The food was delicious and authentic, and was presented artistically on the plate. It was just what the doctor ordered! After we filled our bellies, we spent our last night sleeping in the U-Haul (great money-saver!) before our flight out the next morning.

Our experience in the Bugaboos was a fun and magical one. Being amongst the grand spires was invigorating, yet brought a sense of peace at the same time. The sunsets and sunrises were heavenly. The lakes were glassy and crisp. I cannot wait to return! Honestly, I was hesitant to put forth the effort into taking this trip. I was worried that we would have poor weather the entire time and that my health challenges would stand in the way of me climbing. I am so happy I took the risk because the healing power of the mountains gave me both strength and spirit. We cannot always let the fear that something will not work out hold us back from doing it. Our experiences may not always unfold the way we initially envisioned. Yet, the story still writes itself in the unique way that was meant to be.