Tag Archives: bugaboos

Given enough time, tragic events have a way—perhaps once or twice in a lifetime—of turning into something good. Much is learned from the study of great disasters. Because of the Titanic sinking, today’s ships are much safer. Investigations of major air crashes have led to many improvements in air travel safety, and so on. The same is true for wilderness …

Although I grew up on the west side of the Cascade Range, I didn’t really start getting serious about the mountains until I was at the University of Washington in the mid-90’s. As I started hiking, then scrambling, then climbing, I was (and still am) drawn north. The North Cascades have probably the best mountaineering in the lower 48, but …

You may have arrived at mid-life and realized you never got around to becoming an expert mountaineer. You meant to. Really. The notion of one day standing atop some rocky spire was the only thing that kept you going as you toiled away in your cubicle at age 24. But one day you came home from work to find you …

by Lisa Toner WHOOSH! Calm skies become turbulent, jarring me out of my climbing-induced reverie. The wind rips loudly over the sharp ridge upon which I stand, with a sound like tearing canvas. Huddling closer to the wall of cold granite, I pay out rope to my climbing partner – who also happens to be my husband. The rope twitches. …

    Located in British Columbia’s Purcell Mountains, the Bugaboos are a remarkable collection of granite spires that attract climbers from around the world. In the early years of the twentieth century, climbing routes were established by the legendary Conrad Kain, and by the 1950’s and 60’s, marquee climbers such as Fred Beckey and Yvon Chouinard were putting up new, …