Castle Peak

Route: Castle and Conundrum
Posted On: 6/28/2013, By: csmith
Info: We made it to 11,400 feet along the road in a 4Runner without problems, and a pickup truck made it to probably around 12,000 ft. Still can't make it to the 12,800 trailhead due to some snow patches but that may change in the next week or so. We ascended the snowfield to the upper basin (first picture), and glissaded off the Castle-Conundrum saddle. The snow was pretty soft. We used microspikes and an ice ax, the spikes didn't do much but the ax was quite helpful for the ascent and the glissade. 

Route: Castle and Conundrum
Posted On: 6/23/2013, By: Coxie2210
Info: Montezuma Basin is still loaded with snow! I made it up to the Basin without the use of Crampons or spikes but they would have been very handy! I gave my spikes to my buddy who had never been out on a 14er in the snow before. There was still enough snow in the coulier up to the saddle between Castle and Conundrum for several to climb it and many of us to enjoy a mach 10 ride to the base of the peaks. 

Route: North Face Couloir
Posted On: 6/20/2013, By: skibum4life
Info: Creek is crossable with a 4x4 truck (frontier) and made it all the way to cabin with no problems at all. 100 yds. past is a thick drift not crossable unless frozen. North couloir is out. 35 yards of rock between snow. Skied the remaining snow at 10 am and was great corn all the way past the lake and down the headwall. 

Route: North Face Couloir
Posted On: 6/17/2013, By: semitrueskerm
Info: River still raging and not safe to cross with vehicle at 1.3 mile mark from lower TH turnoff. I camped here to play it safe, and started at 5 am the next morning. Probably better to not start much later than 5 am with warming temps if you want to do what‘s left of the snow in the Castle / North Face Couloir. If you can get through it with an lifted 4 x 4, you will get another 1.5 miles up until an avalanche slide still blocks the road, though it is melting out fast. About 1.5 - 2 feet thick of snow at this 30 foot section. 4 x 4 may be able to get over this in about 1 to 2 weeks. The Pearl Pass Road junction is then another .5 mile beyond. Still 6 inches of water over the road another .3 miles ahead of that...(the road is morphed into a runoff river), but no problem crossing it either by foot or by vehicle if you drive up that far. A few sections of snow remain higher up over the road into Montezuma Basin, but easy to walk around or across. Snow field remained quite thick and firm above 12,800 feet. Castle Couloir/ North Face Couloir was almost still solid snow. There is about a 6 foot section about 2/3rds up that has almost melted out. You will not be able to ski over this area any more. Other than that, it‘s still a good snow climb and felt solid at 8 am. Wouldn‘t push doing it much past 9 or 10 am, as it is getting mushy by then. On final ridgeline push above North Face Couloir, you have corniced snow on the southwest side of the ridgeline. Avoid it, as it appears quite unstable. There is room and dry area all the way to the summit to the right of that along on the ridgeline. Dry all the way down from Castle to the saddle, and dry all the way over to Conundrum summit. Conundrum Couloir still looks snowfilled top to bottom, but that big cornice at the top of the Conundrum Couloir is still there as of Saturday morning. Plenty of snow from the saddle down to glissade. Two other glissades still are in. Not to bad walking out on the snow sections between the glissades at 11 am...few postholes...but still mushy. 

Route: North Face Couloir
Posted On: 6/11/2013, By: screeman57
Info: Had great climb of the North Face Couloir yesterday. Snow conditions are quite firm and good until about 150 ft. from the top, where it‘s getting thin. As I topped out, a skier was dropping in off the South side into Cumberland basin. Despite the very warm temps (50 deg. at 14k at 8am), very firm snow on the descent--no postholing whatsoever, and excellent glissades all the way down to the mining road. Unbelievable amount of water coming out of there, and a LOT of snow remains. The ridge traverse is free of snow, except for a few tricky sections going up Conundrum. A lot of rockfall in the Conundrum Couloir (virtually constant after 11am). The cornice mentioned in the previous report remains immense. #1) North Face Couloir from the upper basin (on descent) #2) North Face from Conundrum 

Route: Castle and Conundrum
Posted On: 6/9/2013, By: blacomb
Info: The snow is melting fast. We started hiking at 3:30am from the campsite before the bridge and didn‘t start hitting consistent snow until 3 miles in. We didn‘t feel comfortable ascending the Conundrum Couloir based on the enormous cornice currently there, but we did meet someone who skied down the Couloir yesterday. Definite signs of small/medium wet slides. We went up the saddle, hit Conundrum, and then went up the ridge to Castle and skied down the North Face Couloir. Skied down the basin and followed a very narrow strip of snow as the path winds down. Wonderful trip and good snow, but I don‘t think there will be much left after this weekend if it stays warm. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 6/9/2013, By: wildlobo71
Info: For trailhead report, see that; I‘ll post one, too. Departed the campsite right before the creek crossing at 5am - felt it was a real late start and hoped it wouldn‘t be a post-hole fest in the afternoon. From Castle Creek crossing point, the hike on the road in is mostly dry, some avalanche chute and other persistent drifts still exist and are solid in the morning, softer in the afternoon (Photo 1). From Pearl Pass Road turnoff to the basin the upper creek has found a second home on the road, rushing to 5-6 inches in depth in the afternoon. Some creative route-finding is necessary in the afternoons to avoid getting totally soaked boots. I anticipate this will lessen in the upcoming weeks, but while a pain - all that water flowing with such force is a beautiful thing. The road up into the upper basin is drifted over, with narrow dry patches - no tools were necessary until reaching above 12,200‘ or so. The drift-over on the roads was constant and steeper, microspikes could have worked but crampons were nice (Photo 2). Once above the road, crampons were also nice to have to climb to the upper basin. The conditions of the snow was mostly solid, but to where microspike points may not have been deep enough. At the start of the NE ridge trail, equipment carried (crampons, snowshoes) were stashed. The ridge is dry and in good condition to the Castle Couloir summit. The Castle Couloir looks to be the route of choice for skiers; plenty of turns were evident. The top 20-feet of the Castle Peak summit crux is snowed in - looks sketchy from afar, but easily passable. BONUS REPORT - Traverse to Conundrum The traverse was dry, and chossy, like normal. The summit of Conundrum, for all who don‘t know, is the FAR summit, past the couloir. The Conundrum Couloir is holding a massive cornice - rather impressive. It was climbed and skied Saturday morning. DOUBLE BONUS REPORT - Glissading conditions Apprehensive to glissade from the saddle of Castle/Conundrum at first - no other lines evident. The tarn is melted out and the thought was there that the snow in the basin would be very soft. Went for it anyways. A 2pm glissade sounds like a slush-fest but it was the perfect amount of soft surface to keep the glissade very safe. The basin snow was also firm - no postholing anywhere except for rock edges. Highly recommendable. (Photo 3). Photo 4 - the creek that is actually the road in the afternoon. Tools used: Crampons (overkill, microspikes and patience would have worked); Ice Axe; Poles. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 10/27/2012, By: Mtn Izz
Info: Definitely need a 4wd with high clearance to make it to the lower TH at 9,900 ft (before the creek crossing). A 4wd vehicle with chains can make it to about 12,500ft and we saw a truck do it. Snowshoes are recommended as the snow level gets to about 6-8 inches around 12,500ft and 1-2+ft deep once you get to the end of the road leading up to the lower basin. The snow is not very packed down as of now and the boulder fields are not quite fully covered which would be easier to travel over. Hope this helps anyone planning to do this soon. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 10/1/2012, By: uwe
Info: Snow from last week around - probably for the season. Expect some melting, but the summer season is over. Surprised to see the ‘permanent‘ snow field gone. Made hiking up that rock section a bitch. Our CMC group hit 13,900ish. Based on the conditions and skill sets of some of the folks, called it and turned around. Still a great day. No issues getting to Montezuma basin if you are 4Wheeling up. An ice axe, microspikes or crampons, and helmet might be good to bring. Snow on the ridge from Castle to Conundrum. Snow conditions for a climb straight up Conundrum did not look great. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 9/18/2012, By: tjerasdave
Info: Did Castle and Conundrum on 18 Sep. There‘s some snow on the route and although it is melting I suspect it will be around for a couple days. Microspikes were not needed today but with another freeze on the horizon tonight, it might be a good idea to bring them tomorrow. 

Route: Castle and Conundrum
Posted On: 8/6/2012, By: fleetmack
Info: Tons of rockfall both heard and seen on 8/5/12. Only saw one group descend from the saddle and they looked miserable. They left Conundrum probably 20 minutes before we did, we re-ascended Castle to go down, and I‘d bet if we‘d left at the same time from Conundrum we would have beat them down, they looked like they weren‘t having much fun. Looked very dangerous to go down the snow-free saddle. Loose rock everywhere, per usual. 

Route: Castle and Conundrum
Posted On: 7/31/2012, By: drhansenej
Info: There was a posting in the forum about rockfall danger descending from the Castle/Conundrum saddle. I did the route on the 23rd and certainly heard a lot of rockfall down into the basin, but I was not affected by any of it during my descent. The descent route is snow-free but held up pretty well. I didn‘t have any problems with traction going down. I‘ve included a few pics of the descent route. Also posted a view of the basin. The rockfall I witnessed was mainly over that dirty snowfield on the right side of the basin, below the Castle/Conundrum ridge. I wore a helmet just in case, but again, never had a problem. 

Route: Northwest Ridge to Castle-Conundrum Couloir
Posted On: 7/15/2012, By: carson_h
Info: We used micro spikes on a short section of the ascent to the upper basin; however, this section was short and likely avoidable. There is very thin ice/snow only at the very bottom of the Castle-Conundrum couloir, and we cut out well before the snow. We did pull out axes for a glissade on the North side of the lower basin, but the snow was really soft and the axes were unnecessary. Summary: spikes and axes are still helpful, but you could probably live without them. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 7/7/2012, By: sad2
Info: Hiked Castle and Conundrum Saturday July 7, 2012. Northeast Ridge up. Took Northwest Ridge down to saddle. Hiked to Conundrum. There is a canister on Conundrum. Make sure to hit the second point - - the true summit. You will have to descend 50 feet or so from the first summit of Conundrum to get to the true summit. From Conundrum, went back to the saddle between Castle and Conundrum. Key point: I highly recommend an ice axe, microspikes, OR poles on the descent back to the road from the saddle. There is remaining ice and snow on portions of the descent. Very loose gravel, rocks, ice and snow make the descent challenging. It may be easier to re-ascend Castle. Of course, some are more comfortable than others with descending this type of terrain. E-mail with questions. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 6/26/2012, By: KWhelan
Info: We trekked the double on Saturday the 23rd. The road is rougher as advertised between the Pearl Pass cutoff and about 11,200. At that point, the road seems actually better than suggested in the route description. There are boulders (3) which have landed on the upper part of the road but you can pass by each of them. Our ascent was largely uneventful save the wrong turn which saw us end up on the ridge sooner than the route would take you. After descending back to the trail, we completed to Castle, and then summitted Conundrum in short order. We used the glissade from the saddle down which was a Blast!. I doubt it will be usable for much longer into the summer. Descent was across the snowfields and loose rock which featured less than sure footing but multiple sledding opportunities. Love this hike - another set of unique views and vistas. 

Route: Castle and Conundrum
Posted On: 6/24/2012, By: jeremy27
Info: We ascended the NE ridge, summitted Castle, down the NW ridge to the saddle, summitted Conundrum, back to the saddle and descended into the basin. Still snow as you ascend into the basin and down from the saddle. Ice axe was helpful. Glissades were bumpy and slow with the melting and suncups. The descent from the saddle is loose and horrible at least till you hit the snow (1/2 way down probably). Be extra cautious of people below you. Castle‘s north couloir is gone. Conundrum couloir looks to still be holding continuous snow, but won‘t for long given the weather. Good luck. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 6/19/2012, By: Mbodig
Info: For Father‘s Day my Children thought that we should climb Castle Peak and who was I to disagree. The 4-wheel drive road is clear and mostly dry all the way to the Pearl Pass junction. The lower river crossing is in good shape without very much water. We parked at the junction and started hiking. The Road is dry all the way to the end. The permanent snowfields are very small and were easy to climb even without any special gear although an ice axe would have allowed for a fun glissade down. From this point on the route was clear and dry. The hike made for a great Fathers’ Day. 

Route: North Face Couloir
Posted On: 6/3/2012, By: coloradomojo
Info: My son John and I drove to the first switchback above upper bridge (~11,000ft) and camped overnight 1 June. Stream crossing in late afternoon was to just below the running boards of my stock 2006 4Runner. Not as bad coming out about noon 2 June. Road in its usual "3"-"4" state, with some downed branches and snow near 10,800 ft. Hiking road up Montezuma's Basin is free of snow except for last 100 feet. There are some large boulders along the way (first at 12,000ft) that have fallen (been pushed?) onto the road which might stop vehicles capable of making it this far. Climbing above the road, snow was consolidated up headwall and into the upper basin. In couloir, snow getting thin and soft near the top. After summiting Castle, ascended Conundrum and then descended via saddle. Down climbed initial section to ensure clean glissade below rocks starting to stick up. Beware of wet slabs if climbing late. Glissade was fast and fun. Agree with others that it is not a good introductory glissade. By the time we reached the road a thunderstorm rolled over the saddle and chased us down the road with hail. Brought snowshoes (based on on previous year attempt) but did not need them. Also brought avy gear (again based on avalanche evidence seen in year's past) but did not need it. Would suggest avy gear if you anticipate glissading late, due to potential of wet slab avalanche). Had the entire mountain to ourselves which is unusual for a 14er in June (not complaining). Good climb if you can get on it in the next week or two. Pictures: Near top of couloir, picture of couloir from Conundrum, and Castle/Conundrum with couloir on left and glissade track from saddle on right. 

Route: Castle and Conundrum
Posted On: 5/31/2012, By: scrambling
Info: As far as the road is concerned, trees and snow are not issues. Your vehicle and your fortitude will determine how high you can go. I left my vehicle at a numbered campsite below the stream crossing, making for a very long day. I ascended Castle via the north face couloir, putting crampons on at the end of the road and finding crunching, firm, continuous snow to within about 50 yards of the top of the ridge below the final pitch to Castle. At that point, crampons came off and no traction was needed for the Castle and Conundrum summits. What snow there is on the summit traverse I found, if anything, helpful. Loose rock is the concern up there, not snow. I put the crampons back on for the descent from the Castle-Conundrum saddle and took them off when I got back to the top of the road. Glissade conditions were good. Three college-age kids left about the same time as me. They were wearing sneakers and had no traction devices. They arrived at ridge crest at the top of the couloir at the same time I did. What they did was to use open rock areas to ascend the headwall and they crossed snow when necessary via traverses in flat areas to gain the ridge, where there did not appear to be any snow. I should add that, on the couloir, the snow was great at about 8 a.m. crunchy and firm but not icy. However, it is very thin. Often times the handle of the ax found a rock and/or earth at a depth of 4-5 inches. 

Route: Castle and Conundrum
Posted On: 5/30/2012, By: Paula
Info: Road is clear of snow until 12,500‘, and what‘s left above is easy to avoid on foot. The gullies all have deep enough snow for crampons and an ax. Ridges are mostly clear of snow, but snow isn‘t completely avoidable on the Northeast Ridge. Conditions were perfect for glissading in the afternoon.