Snowpatch Spire - East Face

Second only to the west faces of the Howser Towers in size but much steeper and a lot easier to access, the east face of Snowpatch Spire has been one of the main playgrounds of the Bugaboos since Fred Beckey (again!) opened the first line on the wall in 1959. In 2015, it became home to one of the hardest free big wall lines in the world, the Tom Egan Memorial Route at 5.14a.

Unfortunately, in December 2022, the fault line of Bugaboo Corner finally gave way, and a large portion of the lower right face came crashing down the glacier. Many routes, including Tom Egan, are now gone. The upper portion of the ultra-classic Sunshine Crack, on the edge of the face, might still be climbable if an alternative start can be found.

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Route List

1: Left Hand var., 5.9, A. Hall, C. Hall, C. Boeking, 08/1986
2: Direct var., 5.10-, R. MacAllister, G. Gledhill
3: Snowpatch Route, 5.8, J. Arnold, R. Bedayn, 08/1940
4: Honeymooners var., 5.9, L. Benoliel, A. Hamilton, 08/1989
5: Lost on the Beckey, 5.12, C. McGee, J. Walsh, 08/2017
6: Beckey-Mather, 5.7 A2, F. Beckey, H. Mather, 08/1959
7: Johnston-Kruk, 5.12-, C. Johnston, J. Kruk, 08/2008
8: Vertical Party, 5.9 A2, M. Arbos, J. Clotet, 08/1993
9: East Face Diagonal/Slanting Sinkers, 5.7 A3/5.13+, P. Carman, Y. Chouinard, D. Tompkins, 08/1971 C. Brazeau et al., 08/2021
10: Sendero Norte, 5.12c, J. Walsh, C. Brazeau, 08/2007 W. Stanhope, H. Findlay, J. Kruk, M. Segal, 07/2009
11: In Harm’s Way, 5.8 A3, P. Cole, M. Richey, R. Rouner, 08/1975
12: Deux ex Machina, 5.9 A3, M. Jefferson, J. Shervais, D. Saunders, 08/1974
13: Welcome to the Machine, 5.11+, J. Walsh, M. Kadatz, A. Berg, 08/2015
14: Minotaur, 5.12-, J. Walsh, C. Moorhead, 08/2011
15: Sunshine Wall *, 5.10, A. Higbee, D. Breashers, 07/1975
16: Les Bruixes Es Pentinen, 5.10+ A3, Besora, Bou, Queipo, 1997
17: Parker-Brashaw, 5.9 A1, P. Brasahw, A. Parker, 07/1977
18: Labyrinth, 5.12-, J. Walsh, J. Simms, 08/2009
19: Tekenika *, 5.12+, M. Mayr, H. Mair, O. Renzler, 08/2005
20: Men with Options *, 5.12, C. Johnston, C. Giesler, J. Lavigne, S. Meis, 07/2014
21: Chercher la Femme *, 5.12+ A0, T. Gibson, J. Schaffer, 07/2012
22: Warrior’s Way *, 5.10 A3+, Cliff Jirka, Craig Jirka, A. Dannerbeck, Rick D., 07/1993
23: Hockey Night in Jersey *, 5.9 C3, S. Grossman, K. Johnston, 07/1994
24: Sweet Silvia *, 5.12, W. Hair, K. Harvey, B. Jackson, C. Luebben, 07/1997
25: Tom Egan Memorial Route *, 5.9 A3/5.14, D. Hatten, J. Simpson, 08/1978 W. Stanhope, M. Segal, 08/2015
26: White Ducks in Space *, 5.7 A3, R. Orvig, J. Richardson, 07/1987
27: Power of Lard *, 5.12, G. Dengler, T. Lamprecht, 08/1996
28: Hobo’s Haven *, 5.7 A4/5.13-, J. Beyer, 08/1976/C. Brazeau et al., 08/2021
29: East Columbia Indirect *, 5.12-, C. Brazeau, C. Lank, 08/2012
30: Bugaboo Corner *, 5.10, E. Davies, P. Derouin, I. Rowe, 07/1971
31: Sunshine Crack *, 5.11-, A. Lowe, S. Scott, 07/1980

Sources

• “The Bugaboos, The Climbers Guide,” Chris Atkinson, Marc Piché, High Col Press, 2022

• “Bugaboo Rock, A Climbing Guide,” 2nd ed., Randall Green, Joe Bensen, The Mountaineers Books, 2003

• “The Bugaboos, An Alpine History,” J.F. Garden, Footprint Publishing, 1987

• The American Alpine Journal, Vol. 60, Issue 92, 2018

• Mountain Project

• Friends of the Bugaboos Facebook Page

• James Madden

• Jon Walsh

Updates

Jan 30, 2023: First version published.

Feb 8, 2023: Updated name of line 2 from "Right Hand var" to "Direct var".

Mar 7, 2024: Graphic design update.

Feb 18, 2026: Graphic design update, reprocessed base image, changed colors, added details in caption info, removed the ugly red marking of the rockfall (affected routes are still marked with a * in the caption).