The Northeast Ridge

Saturday we woke up planning to head to Pigeon Spire and do a route there, but halfway through the approach, Kurt said "Hey, why don't we go do the Northeast Ridge of Bugaboo today and avoid the crowds on the splitter day tomorrow?" 

We already knew the approach and descent and the weather was pretty good so we figured we could move through it efficiently. We sprinted up to the base of the approach, up to the base of the route and hopped on.

The Northeast Ridge is a classic North American Route, with the crux move being one of the first moves. Kurt led, Matt followed and I cleaned. I fell on the crux move. My hand slipped off the sharp granite and due to rope stretch and my proximity to the ground my butt ended up back in the snow!

After I started climbing, I got up to the first belay ledge. From now for 9 of the next 10 pitches I belayed Kurt. He is a very proficient leader and allowed us to move quickly up the route. 

Midway up the route I realized just why this route is such a classic. The awesome exposure, not to much but enough to really show you how high you up, the gorgeous views in clear weather and the fun pitches, such as the finger crack, long chimney, and "step of faith" as I like to call it that was scary due to exposure but really not difficult. 

After 10 pitches, we topped out for the technical climbing and put our boots on, and transitioned to 4th class mode which allowed us to move really quick. We traversed across the top of Bugaboo Spire, me leading the group. 

Although the moves were not at all hard, it was super exposed with 2,000 foot drop offs on either side. At the point that I feel is the scariest of all, a small slab about 3 feet wide and 6 feet long with crazy exposure on either side, Matt had trouble removing a cam that I placed that had walked. I then had to stop and hang out in the middle of this slab, with a moderate wind blowing over my side. 

After I got over that sketchy section we moved into a sheltered area, where we moved down and up to the summit. Although this is not the true route, it is much quicker, less technically difficult and probably a good bit more fun. 

We sat on the summit for only a few minutes, Kurt and my second time there, and then went into descent mode. We descended much more efficiently then other groups have. We did the whole route in about 12 hours, not even originally planning on do it that fast. The guide book says it takes a group about 12-16 hours to do, and that it's not uncommon for groups to get caught in the dark. 

A group of climbers did the route earlier in the week and spent 23 hours and a night on the route. They had the misfortune of getting ropes hung up on the descent and didn't know the ascent or descent. This whole experience was a good way to prove that planning really allows for speed and safety. 

After returning to camp around 7:30, I broke out my salmon and mashed potatoes, the dinner I had been saving for the route all the week. It was glorious, and after a hearty dinner and conversation with other climbers, I climbed in my sleeping bag for a well deserved and fit-full night's sleep.