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.[2] It is located southwest of the Conrad Kain hut, between Bugaboo, Vowell and Crescent Glaciers, at the south end of Bugaboo Provincial Park.[7] The mountain's toponym was officially adopted October 29, 1962, by the Geographical Names Board of Canada.[3]

Snowpatch Spire, The Bugaboos
Snowpatch Spire, with Pigeon Spire in the background on the right, Hound's Tooth and Marmolata Spire on the left.
Highest point
Elevation3,084 m (10,118 ft)[1]
Prominence284 m (932 ft)[2]
Parent peakHowser Spire (3,412 m)[2]
Coordinates50°44′11″N 116°46′56″W / 50.73639°N 116.78222°W / 50.73639; -116.78222[3]
Geography
Map
CountryCanada
ProvinceBritish Columbia
DistrictKootenay Land District
Protected areaBugaboo Provincial Park
Parent rangePurcell Mountains
The Bugaboos
Topo mapNTS 82K10 Howser Creek
Geology
Rock age135 Million years ago[4]
Rock typeGranodiorite[4]
Climbing
First ascentAugust 1940 by Raffi Bedayan and Jack Arnold[5]
Easiest routeclass 5.8[6]

Climate

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Based on the Köppen climate classification, Snowpatch Spire is located in a subarctic climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers.[8] Winter temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C.

Routes

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Climbing routes on Snowpatch Spire:[9]

  • Wildflowers - class 5.9
  • 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
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References

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  1. ^ "Snowpatch Spire, British Columbia". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
  2. ^ a b c "Snowpatch Spire, Peakvisor.com". Retrieved 2023-02-05.
  3. ^ a b "Snowpatch Spire". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
  4. ^ a b 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
  5. ^ Bedayan, Raffi (1941). A Bugaboo No Longer. American Alpine Journal Vol. 4, p. 219 (1941). Retrieved from http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12194121900/A-Bugaboo-No-Longer.
  6. ^ "Snowpatch Spire - 10,006' BC". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  7. ^ "Snowpatch Spire". BC Geographical Names. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
  8. ^ Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11: 1633–1644. ISSN 1027-5606.
  9. ^ "Snowpatch Spire Rock Climbing, Mountainproject.com". Retrieved 2023-02-05.
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