Download Agreement, Release, and Acknowledgement of Risk:
You (the person requesting this file download) fully understand mountain climbing ("Activity") involves risks and dangers of serious bodily injury, including permanent disability, paralysis, and death ("Risks") and you fully accept and assume all such risks and all responsibility for losses, costs, and damages you incur as a result of your participation in this Activity.
You acknowledge that information in the file you have chosen to download may not be accurate and may contain errors. You agree to assume all risks when using this information and agree to release and discharge 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. and the author(s) of such information (collectively, the "Released Parties").
You hereby discharge the Released Parties from all damages, actions, claims and liabilities of any nature, specifically including, but not limited to, damages, actions, claims and liabilities arising from or related to the negligence of the Released Parties. You further agree to indemnify, hold harmless and defend 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. and each of the other Released Parties from and against any loss, damage, liability and expense, including costs and attorney fees, incurred by 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. or any of the other Released Parties as a result of you using information provided on the 14ers.com or 14ers Inc. websites.
You have read this agreement, fully understand its terms and intend it to be a complete and unconditional release of all liability to the greatest extent allowed by law and agree that if any portion of this agreement is held to be invalid the balance, notwithstanding, shall continue in full force and effect.
By clicking "OK" you agree to these terms. If you DO NOT agree, click "Cancel"...
Castle Peak (North Face Couloir) & Conundrum Pk - Castle Creek TH
Castle & Conundrum Snow Climbs
Date: Saturday, June 9, 2007 Summit Team: BillMiddlebrook, USAKeller, and sdkeil Route: North Face Couloir ascent (and Bill's ski descent), Castle-Conundrum saddle over to Conundrum, Castle-Conundrum saddle slope descent (USAKeller and sdkeil) Total mileage: 9 miles Total elevation gain: ~3,865ft. Total time out (including stop time): 8hrs. 40min.
I've been itching to pick up Conundrum Peak ever since I was weathered off it after grabbing Castle Peak last summer. I had read that Bill was interested in skiing in the Aspen vicinity so I invited him to come with sdkeil and I. He said he was interested climbing and then skiing Castle's North Face- I had no problem repeating that mountain, especially if it meant a new route. With excellent beta from doumall's trip from last week, we were excited to go! sdkeil and I left the Front Range to meet Jcwhite (who was planning on skiing both peaks that same day) in Aspen for a quick bite to eat, then headed up the Castle Creek Road. We saw Bill at the designated campsites along the road (around 10,200ft.), just shy of the first creek crossing. He said he would give us a ride up in the morning to where a snow drift prevented us from going any farther (10,700ft.). We woke up at 3:30am and started hiking up the road by 4:20am (temperature: 36 deg.). Several sections of the road past the drift are mostly melted out. Jcwhite took off to meet some other people to ski Conundrum first. As doumall mentioned, most of this road up to the lower Montezuma Basin area is melted, but there are a few required snow traverses.
We arrived into lower Montezuma Basin at 6:30am...
...where the sun was beginning to rise. Bill and I in lower Montezuma Basin:
The snow was continuous from here up, but we did not find any need for flotation. We walked up to the rock patch in the center of the photo below (below the headwall) to where we put crampons on. I needed to continue to break in my AT boots and since Bill was skiing the North Face, both of us used this spot to change boots. I had also brought my skis, however, backcountry skiing is still new to me so I had not planned on skiing from Castle's summit. I was tempted to stash my skis here, but Bill urged me to take them up to the upper part of Montezuma Basin and practice skiing back down from there. So I did!
We began up the headwall, the weather looking great. A few parties were ahead of us, and a few others were behind us- it was a busy day on Castle and Conundrum!
Looking at the headwall towards the upper basin (climbers can be seen): Photo: Bill
Our objective seen from the upper basin- Castle's North Face Couloir. The ascent route (and Bill's ski descent) shown in blue:
Conundrum Couloir from the upper basin:
We crossed the upper basin over to the base of the couloir and started making our way up, staying on or near the boot pack from the previous week. This couloir is no more than 40 degrees maximum, and covers around 750ft. (vertical) over 0.25mi meeting up with the Northeast Ridge before the final summit pitch.
sdkeil and I climbing up the couloir: Photo: Bill
And Bill hands it to the North Face Couloir- topping out at the Northeast Ridge!
The final pitch to the summit (sdkeil pictured climbing)- although it doesn't look like it, there is some nasty snow and post-holing here:
We arrived at the summit 4hrs. 10min. later (temperature: 28 deg.) at 8:30am and met CincyBearcats from 14ers.com up there. It was windy with the occasional gust, but the weather was still looking great.
Bill, Shawn, and I on the summit of Castle Peak, looking west to the
Maroon Bells, Pyramid Peak, and Snowmass and Capitol (in the far distance):
A zoomed in shot of the rest of the Elk Range:
After a 45min. summit break, sdkeil and I started down the nearly snow-free Northwest Ridge of Castle (no crampons needed) over to Conundrum. We put crampons back on just after the low-point of the saddle.
Conditions of the Northwest Ridge of Castle Peak taken from 13,900ft. This photo also shows
another view of the North Face Couloir (upper part) on the left side of the picture:
The hike up to Conundrum involved some minor scrambling- it was good for us to keep practicing climbing on rock with crampons on. We made it to the summit of Conundrum in just under an hour at 10:10am (temperature: 42 deg.).
Climbing up towards Conundrum's northern "second summit":
The obligatory summit shots- USAKeller and sdkeil on the summit of Conundrum Peak with Castle Peak behind:
Cathedral Peak (13,943ft.) from Conundrum Peak:
It was warming up fast and the snow was starting to soften, so we started back down towards the bottom of the Castle-Conundrum saddle. The snow here was already pretty soft- we decided to downclimb the top half of it until the slope relented a bit and then we glissaded the rest for a relatively quick descent. I picked up my skis and skied down the rest of Montezuma Basin to where it meets with the road at 12,800'.
Shawn and I started walking back down the road to Bill's truck. We knew he and Jcwhite would be waiting for us, but didn't know for how long- we made it back there at 1:00pm; they were waiting for 2 hours! Bill drove us back to Jcwhite's car and we packed up camp. One of these days I will get a ski descent and I can't wait! Great weather. Great company. Great climb.
Bill, don't worry- I did not spend all night thinking about those bears you made me terrified of!!
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
Good to see a another trip report from you Caroline! Looked like great weather and conditions! Wish I had been up there. I should do a trip report on taking 14 cub scouters camping for 2 days! I am more tired now than if I'd been climbing. Great Job all of you! A couple more weeks of good skiing I think Bill!
Yes, those bears were as surprised to see me as I was to see them! Of course I didn't have my camera in-hand. They weren't nearly as bothersome as the porcupines.
It was really great to meet you guys (again, Caroline) this weekend. We started at 2am and you Colorado-ans STILL caught up to us (snail-paced) New Mexicans. We look forward to seeing you guys this summer. We'll have to get in shape first!
-Andy and Sarah
P.S. Bears!!!??? Did you guys really see bears? After countless trips to your wonderful state, we've never seen a single bear or mountain goat!!!
for the nice comments! It was a nice day and lots of 14ers.com people were out.
Corey (Spam)- thank you! It felt great to be back up there again!
CincyBearcats- nice to meet you both too! Let me know if you ever want to join up for a hike this summer. Bill said he did see 2 black bears right before we got there that night. I've lived here my whole life and still have never seen a bear, even though they're in my neighborhood all the time. I've seen my fair share of mountain goats though... I even got one mixed up with a polar bear on Quandary in February...
MountainMatt- Glad we could help out with some info! Have a great hike on Thursday- start early!
Great report! We could have waved to each other from the summits! (I was on Cathedral) I'd really like to have at that Conundrum, couloir! Good photo of it...see any tracks going up it?
Caution: The information contained in this report may not be accurate and should not be the only resource used in preparation for your climb. Failure to have the necessary experience, physical conditioning, supplies or equipment can result in injury or death. 14ers.com and the author(s) of this report provide no warranties, either express or implied, that the information provided is accurate or reliable. By using the information provided, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless 14ers.com and the report author(s) with respect to any claims and demands against them, including any attorney fees and expenses. Please read the 14ers.com Safety and Disclaimer pages for more information.
Please respect private property: 14ers.com supports the rights of private landowners to determine how and by whom their land will be used. In Colorado, it is your responsibility to determine if land is private and to obtain the appropriate permission before entering the property.
It was a nice day and lots of 14ers.com people were out.
