Snowpatch Spire
Elevation3084 m
Prominence284 m
Parent peakHowser Spire (3,412 m)[1]
CountryCanada
ProvinceBritish Columbia
DistrictKootenay Land District
Protected areaBugaboo Provincial Park
RangePurcell Mountains
The Bugaboos
Coordinates50°44′11″N 116°46′56″W
TopoNTS
Age135 Million years ago[2]
RockGranodiorite[2]
First ascentAugust 1940 by Raffi Bedayan and Jack Arnold[3]
Easiest route[4]

Snowpatch Spire is a mountain peak in British Columbia, Canada. With its first ascent in 1940, it was the last of the Bugaboo Spires to be climbed.[1] It is located southwest of the Conrad Kain hut, between Bugaboo, Vowell and Crescent Glaciers, at the south end of Bugaboo Provincial Park.[5] The mountain's toponym was officially adopted October 29, 1962, by the Geographical Names Board of Canada.[6]

Climate

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Snowpatch Spire is located in a subarctic climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers.[7] Winter temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C.

Routes

Climbing routes on Snowpatch Spire:[8]

  • Wildflowers
  • Kraus-McCarthy – class 5.9
  • Sunshine – class 5.11
  • Surf's Up (aka Southwest Ridge) – class 5.9
  • Southeast Corner (aka Snowpatch Route) – class 5.8

References

  1. ^ "Snowpatch Spire, Peakvisor.com". Retrieved 2023-02-05.
  2. ^ Mary Caperton Morton (2017), Aerial Geology; A High-Altitude Tour of North America's Spectacular Volcanoes, Canyons, Glaciers, Lakes, Craters, and Peaks, Timber Press, ISBN 9781604698350, p. 42
  3. ^ Bedayan, Raffi (1941). "A Bugaboo No Longer". Vol. 4. p. 219. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
  4. ^ "Snowpatch Spire – 10,006' BC". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  5. ^ 21772. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
  6. ^ JBMUJ. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
  7. ^
  8. ^ "Snowpatch Spire Rock Climbing". mountainproject.com. Retrieved 2023-02-05.