Castle Peak Trip Report 07/07/2012

Peak(s):	Castle Peak - 14,274 feet
Date Posted:	07/07/2012
Date Climbed:	07/07/2012
Author:	CO Native

A quick trip up Castle Peak
I did a quick climb up Castle Peak today. My friend Aaron wanted to do some 4 wheeling so we drove all the way up the four wheel drive road on Castle Peak. This didn't leave a whole lot of hiking but with the weather that came in a short hike was perfect for the day. The creek crossings are easy even with all the rain they aren't flowing very strong. There is very little snow left up Montezuma Basin. We didn't need crampons or ice axes to do the Northeast Ridge route. The Northwest Ridge route looks terrible right now as the snow ends a couple hundred feet short of the saddle. Due to that and a fog that prevented us from being able to watch the weather we bailed out on adding Conundrum and just descended back down the Northeast ridge. It only took us 1.5 hours to hike from the end of the road to the summit and back. For those going after Conundrum the couloir still has continuous snow to the top. That looks like it would have been a fun route if we'd come prepared for it. Full Trip Report Here

A quick trip up Castle Peak

I did a quick climb up Castle Peak today. My friend Aaron wanted to do some 4 wheeling so we drove all the way up the four wheel drive road on Castle Peak. This didn't leave a whole lot of hiking but with the weather that came in a short hike was perfect for the day.

The creek crossings are easy even with all the rain they aren't flowing very strong.

There is very little snow left up Montezuma Basin. We didn't need crampons or ice axes to do the Northeast Ridge route. The Northwest Ridge route looks terrible right now as the snow ends a couple hundred feet short of the saddle. Due to that and a fog that prevented us from being able to watch the weather we bailed out on adding Conundrum and just descended back down the Northeast ridge. It only took us 1.5 hours to hike from the end of the road to the summit and back.

For those going after Conundrum the couloir still has continuous snow to the top. That looks like it would have been a fun route if we'd come prepared for it.

Full Trip Report Here

Comments or Questions

MtnHub	CO? 7/8/2012 2:19am Loved that first shot with the clouds and mists! Beautiful! Your ridge climbs with the clouds reminded me more of ME & NH (Katahdin and Mt. Washington) than it did CO. Nice job! Thanks for sharing!
crazymarmot	Weather 7/8/2012 5:51am Great pictures! Love the views of the weather rolling in.
BostonBD	Excellent photos 7/8/2012 4:21pm Great views on a ify day in the mountains. I appreciate all your efforts with the fire as well Josh.
ThuChad	Nice 7/8/2012 4:47pm I'll be there in August. I'm wondering about the road. What were you driving and how are the conditions? I'm going to try to make as far up as I can in a 3/4 ton 4x4 Chevy pickup.
JA_son27	Cool TR! 7/8/2012 7:09pm I love your pictures, thank you!
rickinco123	First photo is amazing! 7/8/2012 10:06pm I can practically feel the weather looking at that. Awesome!
CO Native	@ThuChad 7/10/2012 3:21am We took my friends Toyota Tacoma. I believe it's a 94. It's got a lift and 31 inch tires. Not heavily modified by any means but a good truck. The road isn't terrible but definitely requires some clearance and good navigation. We saw a similar truck to yours parked up near the turn off for pearl pass, as well as a Suzuki SUV that we were a little shocked made it up there. I think after that though the vehicles we saw usually had short wheel bases. The switch backs will be tough in a long truck.

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