View source for Snowpatch Spire

{{short description|Mountain in British Columbia, Canada}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Snowpatch Spire
| photo = Snowpatch.jpg
| photo_caption = Snowpatch Spire, with [[Pigeon Spire]] in the background on the right, [[Hound's Tooth]] and [[Marmolata Mountain|Marmolata Spire]] on the left.
| elevation_m = 3084
| elevation_ref =<ref name="pb">{{cite peakbagger|18850|Snowpatch Spire, British Columbia|access-date=2023-02-05}}</ref> 
| prominence_m = 284
| prominence_ref =<ref name=peakvisor>{{cite web|url=https://peakvisor.com/peak/snowpatch-spire.html|title=Snowpatch Spire, Peakvisor.com|access-date=2023-02-05}}</ref>
| parent_peak = [[Howser Spire]] (3,412&nbsp;m)<ref name=peakvisor/>
| map = British Columbia
| map_caption = Location in British Columbia
| mapframe = yes
| mapframe-zoom = 8
| mapframe-caption = Interactive map of Snowpatch Spire
| country = [[Canada]]
| region_type = Province
| region = [[British Columbia]]
| district = [[Kootenay Land District]]
| part_type = Protected&nbsp;area
| part = [[Bugaboo Provincial Park]]
| range = [[Purcell Mountains]]<br />[[The Bugaboos]]
| coordinates = {{coord|50|44|11|N|116|46|56|W|type:mountain_region:CA}}
| coordinates_ref = <ref name=cgndb>{{cite cgndb|id=JBMUJ|name=Snowpatch Spire|accessdate=2023-02-05}}</ref>
| topo = [[National Topographic System|NTS]] {{Canada NTS Map Sheet|82|K|10}}
| age = 135 [[myr|Million years ago]]<ref name ="Morton">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</ref>
| rock = [[Granodiorite]]<ref name ="Morton"/>
| first_ascent = August 1940 by Raffi Bedayan and Jack Arnold<ref name=aaj_1941>{{cite aaj|last=Bedayan|first=Raffi|year=1941|title=A Bugaboo No Longer|volume=4|page=219| article_id=12194121900|access-date=2025-01-04}}</ref>
| easiest_route = {{YDS|5.8}}<ref name="listsofjohn">{{cite web|url=https://listsofjohn.com/peak/216610|title=Snowpatch Spire - 10,006' BC|website=listsofjohn.com|accessdate=2020-11-10}}</ref>
}}

'''Snowpatch Spire''' is a [[mountain]] peak in [[British Columbia]], Canada. With its [[first ascent]] in 1940, it was the last of the [[The Bugaboos|Bugaboo Spires]] to be climbed.<ref name=peakvisor/> It is located southwest of the [[Conrad Kain hut]], between Bugaboo, Vowell and Crescent Glaciers, at the south end of [[Bugaboo Provincial Park]].<ref name=bcgnis>{{cite bcgnis|id=21772|name=Snowpatch Spire|access-date=2023-02-05}}</ref> The mountain's toponym was officially adopted October 29, 1962, by the [[Geographical Names Board of Canada]].<ref name=cgndb/>

==Climate==
Based on the [[Köppen climate classification]], Snowpatch Spire is located in a [[subarctic climate]] zone with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers.<ref name=Peel>{{cite journal | author = Peel, M. C. |author2=Finlayson, B. L. |author3=McMahon, T. A. | year = 2007 | title = Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification | journal = Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. | volume = 11 | pages = 1633–1644 | issn = 1027-5606}}</ref> Winter temperatures can drop below −20&nbsp;°C with wind chill factors below −30&nbsp;°C.

==Routes==
Climbing routes on Snowpatch Spire:<ref name=mountainproject>{{cite web|url=https://www.mountainproject.com/area/105868064/snowpatch-spire|title=Snowpatch Spire Rock Climbing|website=mountainproject.com|access-date=2023-02-05}}</ref>
* ''Wildflowers'' - {{YDS|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

==Gallery==
<div style="max-width: 450px;">
<gallery mode="slideshow">
File:Snowpatch Spire, ne.jpg|Northeast aspect
File:Snowpatch Spire.jpg|Snowpatch Spire seen from Bugaboo Spire
File:2015-06-21 Bugaboos 8790.jpg
File:2015-06-21 Bugaboos 8802.jpg
File:Aerial of the Bugaboos.jpg|Howser Spire (upper left), Snowpatch Spire (left of center), Bugaboo Spire (upper right), Eastpost Spire (lower right). Camera pointed west.
File:Snowpatch Spire in the Bugaboos.jpg
File:Anniversary Peak to Snowpatch Spire.jpg|[[Anniversary Peak]] (left), Hound's Tooth/Marmolata Spire (centered) in Bugaboo Glacier, and Snowpatch Spire (right). East aspect as viewed from Bugaboo Lodge.
</gallery></div>

==References==
{{reflist|1}}

==External links==
* {{cite bivouac|id=2536|title=Snowpatch Spire}}
* Snowpatch Spire weather: [https://www.mountain-forecast.com/peaks/Snowpatch-Spire/forecasts/3084 Mountain-forecast.com]

{{Geographic Location 2
| Center    = Snowpatch Spire
| North     = [[Crescent Spire]] 
| Northeast = [[Conrad Kain hut]]
| East      = Bugaboo Creek 
| Southeast = [[Hound's Tooth (mountain)|Hound's Tooth]] 
| South     = [[Marmolata Mountain|Marmolata Spire]]
| Southwest = [[Pigeon Spire]]
| WSW       = [[Howser Spire]]
| West      = Vowell Glacier
| Northwest = [[Bugaboo Spire]]
}}

[[Category:Columbia Valley]]
[[Category:Three-thousanders of British Columbia]]
[[Category:The Bugaboos]]
[[Category:Kootenay Land District]]