Sean Isaac and Marc Piché made the first winter ascent of Pigeon Spire in the Bugaboos via its north face. The two flew by helicopter to just outside the park boundary on the Bugaboos’ west side, then skied over the Pigeon-Howser col to the base of their line: the 1948 Beckey-Hieb-Widrig route. Although this wet, mossy gully is seldom, if ever, repeated during the busy summer season, the two Canadians hoped it would offer good alpine mixed climbing in winter. 

After a frigid snow-cave bivouac, the two started up the north face on March 12 in subzero (F) temps and climbed the route in eight pitches (up to M6). They found steep snow, thin ice, dry tooling and some rope tricks near the summit, topped out at 5 p.m., and rappelled to their bivy. The next day they skied out to the road. According to Isaac, this is only the fifth winter route to be climbed in the Bugaboos—Snowpatch Spire was climbed in 1975, South Howser Tower in 1981, Bugaboo Spire in 1985 and a second route on Snowpatch in 1999.
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