Conundrum Peak Trip Report 08/07/2011

Peak(s):	Conundrum Peak - 14,037 feet
Date Posted:	08/07/2011
Date Climbed:	08/06/2011
Author:	DScott49

Making a conundrum of Conundrum Peak
Back on 23 July I hiked to the top of Castle, my first peak in the Elks (see previous TR). This past Friday (5 Aug) I decided to head back out to Castle Creek Road after work to tackle Conundrum, "the easy peak." I selected a campsite just above my last one, a little above the Pearl Pass junction ( Conundrum Campsite ). I met a few groups of people who were hiking and driving up past my site to camp closer to the end of the road. The end of the road at 12,800 is accessible for good clearance 4-wheel drive. Also, conditions at the first creek crossing are about the same as my TR two weeks ago. Several of the people I met through the day were fellow 14ers.com fans. It is always nice to meet them face-to-face. It rained on and off through the night with some fairly heavy lightning and thunder. I was concerned that the hike may be a bust; but at 4 AM when I got up the sky was clear and full of stars. I headed up the road (or was that a river?)( Road or River? ) and enjoyed the cool morning. Before I forget, let me give a warning: BRING YOUR INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH MOSQUITO SPRAY!!!. The rains have been awesome for the greenery and wildflowers( Wildflowers )( More wildflowers ), but have been just as beneficial for the bugs! Dawn was breaking as I reached the end of the road and there were others already well ahead of me on the trails. Going up through the lower basin it is easier to cross the snowfields that to try to skirt them on the talus. I would recommend microspikes or some kind of good traction while the snow is hard in the morning. Later when it softens, you could get by without. This is where I turned the easier of the two peaks into a conundrum. Most of the hikers were doing Castle, then across the saddle to Conundrum, then back over Castle. The snow has melted down to where it is difficult to get up to the saddle, or back down to the snow for a glissade. Well, me being me, I decided to try it anyway. The snowfield is steep but manageable with traction. I used microspikes and my poles and did not have too much trouble getting to the top of the snow. Above the snow field to the saddle is a lot of wet, loose scree, mud, and assorted sizes of rock. Finding anything stable to climb up is difficult. I ended up doing some 4-point scrambling to get through some of it. At one point I heard a guy over on Castle's ridge say "that guy is asking himself what do I do next?" He didn't realize I could hear him so I waved at him; he was exactly right. I was looking at a very steep rock wall in front of me and rotten loose rock to either side. Eventually I made it up. The views were awesome as before. ( Maroon Bells and other 14'ers )( Valley view from Conundrum Summit ). The climb up to the peak is easy from the saddle. ( The route up Conundrum )( Route across to true peak ). Don't forget that the first peak is not the true summit, you have to cross the dip at the Conundrum couloir and then you are on the highest of Conundrum's two peaks over 14,000 ft. I visited with a few good people at the top before heading down. Bill and his wife (forgive my poor memory for names) , seen here on Conundrum's peak ( Bill and spouse ) advised me to go over Castle on the way back and even offered to let me go along with them. Bill has done all the 14ers and his wife only has three left! Of course, I decided on the path less traveled and went back down the cliff below the saddle. You can see in this picture of Castle and the saddle how far down the snow has melted from the ridge( Castle Peak and saddle ). It was again loose and sloppy going down to the snow but I made it without too much difficulty. Once I got to the snow, I decided it was soft enough to plunge-step instead of glissading. There were just too many rocks sticking out at various places to want to risk the slide. The first couple steps went fine; then I hit the ice patch. I lost my balance and my plunge stepping turned into a fast glissade. I managed to keep my feet before me and used my poles for some control, but I did manage to hit a coupe rocks on the way down. I have a few sore spots and bruises where I would rather not discuss . Once I stood up I realized my phone and camera were no longer with me. I had to climb back up . I was able to recover my camera, which was still in good shape, but could not find the phone. Oh well, it was time for a trade-in anyway . The rest of the trip down and out was uneventful and it was a beautiful day. I will have a few painful memories of Conundrum for a few days but #37 and my 60th ascent are behind me. Happy hiking all! Dr. Dave Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Making a conundrum of Conundrum Peak

Back on 23 July I hiked to the top of Castle, my first peak in the Elks (see previous TR). This past Friday (5 Aug) I decided to head back out to Castle Creek Road after work to tackle Conundrum, "the easy peak." I selected a campsite just above my last one, a little above the Pearl Pass junction (

). I met a few groups of people who were hiking and driving up past my site to camp closer to the end of the road. The end of the road at 12,800 is accessible for good clearance 4-wheel drive. Also, conditions at the first creek crossing are about the same as my TR two weeks ago. Several of the people I met through the day were fellow 14ers.com fans. It is always nice to meet them face-to-face.

It rained on and off through the night with some fairly heavy lightning and thunder. I was concerned that the hike may be a bust; but at 4 AM when I got up the sky was clear and full of stars. I headed up the road (or was that a river?)(

) and enjoyed the cool morning. Before I forget, let me give a warning: BRING YOUR INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH MOSQUITO SPRAY!!!. The rains have been awesome for the greenery and wildflowers(

)(

), but have been just as beneficial for the bugs! Dawn was breaking as I reached the end of the road and there were others already well ahead of me on the trails. Going up through the lower basin it is easier to cross the snowfields that to try to skirt them on the talus. I would recommend microspikes or some kind of good traction while the snow is hard in the morning. Later when it softens, you could get by without.

This is where I turned the easier of the two peaks into a conundrum. Most of the hikers were doing Castle, then across the saddle to Conundrum, then back over Castle. The snow has melted down to where it is difficult to get up to the saddle, or back down to the snow for a glissade. Well, me being me, I decided to try it anyway. The snowfield is steep but manageable with traction. I used microspikes and my poles and did not have too much trouble getting to the top of the snow. Above the snow field to the saddle is a lot of wet, loose scree, mud, and assorted sizes of rock. Finding anything stable to climb up is difficult. I ended up doing some 4-point scrambling to get through some of it. At one point I heard a guy over on Castle's ridge say "that guy is asking himself what do I do next?" He didn't realize I could hear him so I waved at him; he was exactly right. I was looking at a very steep rock wall in front of me and rotten loose rock to either side. Eventually I made it up. The views were awesome as before. (

)(

).

The climb up to the peak is easy from the saddle. (

)(

). Don't forget that the first peak is not the true summit, you have to cross the dip at the Conundrum couloir and then you are on the highest of Conundrum's two peaks over 14,000 ft. I visited with a few good people at the top before heading down. Bill and his wife (forgive my poor memory for names)

, seen here on Conundrum's peak (

) advised me to go over Castle on the way back and even offered to let me go along with them. Bill has done all the 14ers and his wife only has three left! Of course, I decided on the path less traveled and went back down the cliff below the saddle. You can see in this picture of Castle and the saddle how far down the snow has melted from the ridge(

).

It was again loose and sloppy going down to the snow but I made it without too much difficulty. Once I got to the snow, I decided it was soft enough to plunge-step instead of glissading. There were just too many rocks sticking out at various places to want to risk the slide. The first couple steps went fine; then I hit the ice patch. I lost my balance and my plunge stepping turned into a fast glissade. I managed to keep my feet before me and used my poles for some control, but I did manage to hit a coupe rocks on the way down. I have a few sore spots and bruises where I would rather not discuss

. Once I stood up I realized my phone and camera were no longer with me. I had to climb back up

. I was able to recover my camera, which was still in good shape, but could not find the phone. Oh well, it was time for a trade-in anyway

.
The rest of the trip down and out was uneventful and it was a beautiful day. I will have a few painful memories of Conundrum for a few days but #37 and my 60th ascent are behind me.

Happy hiking all!
Dr. Dave

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

Montagne	Loud Mouth Was Me 8/8/2011 1:42am Doc, I must apologize for the excessively loud comments about your conundrum. I can't imagine what you said about our conundrum when we descended the same route that you came up. We were foolish for not bringing our ice axes. We found that using a sharp rock in each hand serves as crude substitutes. We felt like survivalist inching our way down. Stupid? Yes. Adventure? Yes.
hiker97	Conundrum 8/8/2011 3:36am Doc, Thanks for taking pictures for us to enjoy. I enjoyed talking with you at the top of Conundrum. I am sorry you slipped and have some bruises and pain, I also slipped on that same snow field and tore up my knee. Happy hiking!
MoSko	I might have your phone! 8/8/2011 6:35pm We meet again, Dave! It was good to see you along the trail this weekend. If it makes you feel any better, we made a conundrum out of Castle...I'm working on my TR right now. I didn't read your TR until just now, but I might have your phone! A Verizon Samsung? I found it as we were on our way up to the saddle. I posted on the Lost/Found... Well, if it's yours, let me know and I can mail it your way (or if you're in Denver, we can drop it off to you somewhere).
DScott49	Hey again! 8/8/2011 7:21pm I saw your message on the Forum; I'm sure it's mine, most people were smart enough to stay off that stretch of snow and muck Below is my response from on the forum. No rush, but it would be nice to get it back for the reasons I mention below. Looking forward to your TR! Hey Mo Sko, that is too funny! I think you found my phone. I did an unintended glissade down the snow from the saddle (I planned to plunge-step) and ended up sliding so I went with it. I lost my phone and camera. Fortunately I was able to find the camera but did not find my phone. I replaced the phone already but would like to get it back for the contacts and especially the pictures I have on it. I live in Colorado Springs. It was nice to run into you on the hike, and I'm very glad you are observant! If you would be willing to mail it to me, I would be happy to pay you back for all expenses. My address is: David A. Scott 7376 Legend Hill Drive Colorado Springs, CO 80923 I promise not to leave you hanging with the bill Dr. Dave
MoSko	We'll put it in the mail... 8/8/2011 7:34pm Sorry...I didn't check the forum again this morning...checked it last night and didn't see any responses. Too funny that it ended up being your phone. Yes, we are more than happy to mail it your way. Please don't worry about the $. It'll be a couple bucks. Not a big deal. I'm a big fan of good karma and paying it forward. Hope to see you on the trail again at some point!
DScott49	Many thanks and positive vibes your way! 8/8/2011 9:45pm You are too awesome! Thank you so much and I'm sure we will cross paths (or trails) again in the future. Have an awesome week!
ChrisM	Challenging Climb! 8/9/2011 1:44pm Sometimes, right when we think we have it figured out, something happens to keep us thinking. Congrats on getting the Conundrum!! Hopefully, this weekend, I can conquer both in one swoop. Thanks for your timely intel on these two peaks! ChrisM

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