The Bugaboos are North America's answer to the French Alps, offering the same high quality granite above beautiful glaciers like those found in Chamonix, but with one big difference - there are no telepheriques or huge crowds here, only the isolation and grandeur characteristic of the mountains of Canada.

A climber overlooks "The Hounds Tooth" and "Marmolata" from a glacial tarn in the Bugaboos.

Bugaboo Glacier Provincial Park encompasses scores of beautiful spires, all providing classic alpine routes on sweeping faces and elegantly defined ridges of high quality granite. The spires rise from the midst of large glaciers, and all approaches and descents involve a combination of rock, snow, and ice, as well as crevasse field travel. The beauty of these mountains is rivaled only by a few of the world's ranges, and both their challenge and their aesthetics are augmented by their wilderness setting.

Access to the mountains is by a two-hour drive south and then west of Golden, British Columbia, half on a paved and half on a dirt road. A short, but steep hike, brings us to the Alpine Club of Canada's hut. After an additional 45 minutes, we arrive at Applebee, a beautiful granite and meadow-covered knob much closer to the spires and surrounded by excellent bouldering. From this 8000-foot camp, climbs ranging from non-technical, to mid fifth-class, to Grade V, 5.10's are all within reach. There are lots of options and it's easy to choose a series of ascents to match skills at any level.

Enjoying success on the summit of Bugaboo Spire while admiring
the symmetry of Snowpatch Spire below. Andy Bourne

Pigeon Spire, South Howser Tower, Bugaboo Spire, and Snowpatch Spire all conjure up some of the great moments in the history of North American alpine climbing. They deserve a place high on the priority list of anyone with an attraction to wilderness setting and a love of the classic alpine environment.

Climbers on the Crescent Glacier in the Bugaboos with Snowpatch Spire behind. Matt Anderson: www.matthewandersonphoto.com.