8/11/2023 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 8/11/2023, By: grantdoug Info: Its easy to climb the entire route without getting on snow. As for those downclimbing the headwall from Conundrum without roping up, the rock is bare and someone was killed doing it last week. The safe way is to use Castle on your way down. |
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8/5/2023 Route: Castle and Conundrum Posted On: 8/6/2023, By: blonde_dinosaur Info: Like other report, head wall is holding snow. If you stay climbers left, you only have to cross a small section. I didnt use traction. If you stay ridge direct on the way to Castle, there is some fun class 3 scrambling on pretty good rock. Like the last report said, IMO glissade is out. You have to downclimb some pretty sketchy stuff to get to the snow, and there are rocks peeking through. The descent from Castle to connundrum sucks and is very loose, but the ascent up connundrum is great. On the way down, you can choose to traverse the boulders on the head wall to the snow to glissade. I would bring an ice axe for that though because the slope is pretty steep. |
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8/5/2023 Route: Castle and Conundrum Posted On: 8/5/2023, By: MidsizeAl Info: As in last report, headwall still holding some snow. Traction was helpful. Pitch below the saddle has almost no snow left. We watched someone trigger a small rockslide attempting to descend this way. Highly suggest reascending Castle until the snow returns. Ive included a pic of Conundrum Couloir, which is still in pretty good shape from the looks of it. |
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7/30/2023 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 7/31/2023, By: ctv5031 Info: Ascended Castle and Conundrum via Northeast Ridge and traverse. Still must cross some snow on lower headwall where traction would be helpful but not needed. Chose not to descend saddle and instead climb back up Castle but saw some attempting the descent with no snow equipment. |
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7/22/2023 Route: Castle and Conundrum Posted On: 7/27/2023, By: Jonathan Deffenbaugh Info: Summer trail conditions on the ridge traverse. For the saddle descent there some choke points to be aware of if youre glissading so watch for the big rocks near the top otherwise smooth sailing |
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7/22/2023 Route: Castle and Conundrum Posted On: 7/27/2023, By: Jonathan Deffenbaugh Info: Summer trail conditions on the ridge traverse. For the saddle descent there some choke points to be aware of if youre glissading so watch for the big rocks near the top otherwise smooth sailing |
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7/22/2023 Route: Castle and Conundrum Posted On: 7/23/2023, By: RussellB Info: Still summer conditions, obviously. Initially I had wanted spikes for the lower headwall snow field, but it is short enough that spikes are not necessary with careful footing. If you're risk averse and don't mind the weight, just bring some traction. It is also possible to mostly avoid the snownfield by taking a steeper line to the left. The big question all day was, "Are you going to glissade from the saddle?" The entrance looked steep and loose. Those that did do the glissade took ample time to get through the dirt and rocks to reach the top of the glissade track. The snow is only melting, which will increase the length of the down climb/butt scoot in the coming weeks. Several people safely did the glissade, but I saw at least one person lose control of thier speed, and another who walked on the ice partially covering the lake (?!). Both people did not get hurt, but I mention these as a small safety PSA - only attempt the glissade if you have the proper equipment and skills. Sure, it's a faster descent, and more fun, but it's significantly more risky. If you're even slightly unsure, just go back over Castle, it's only like 400 feet of extra vert. Taking on unnecessary risk puts a burden on everyone out there and the SAR team that might have to rescue you. Rant over. Be safe, and have fun out there! |
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7/16/2023 Route: Castle and Conundrum Posted On: 7/16/2023, By: donovanrice Info: I made it to 11050 in my Toyota Sequoia, first switchback after the driveable bridge. Ice axe and microspikes made for easier ascent and decent. Snow from first headwall until you turn left to ridge. Glissading down the coulior was epic, but definitely rag-dolled a bit. Wouldn't attempt without axe. Not sure how much longer it'll be in play |
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7/8/2023 Route: Castle and Conundrum Posted On: 7/10/2023, By: seanhouseworth Info: Snow fields start to block the road ~11,800ft. The few snow fields while hiking up the road are easy to navigate, but would recommend either poles or axe for safety. Headwall can be done via snow or rock. Ridges are summer conditions. Snow is full in the saddle but melting fast. Saw one guy enter Conundrum Couloir at 9am; he said snow was still good and he exited at 10am. |
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6/30/2023 Route: Castle and Conundrum Posted On: 7/3/2023, By: HindenLoward Info: Road was in good shape with only 3-4 sections of snow patches covering the road. Early in the morning we were glad to have our micro-spikes as the ice made it easy to slide and not stop. Once you get to the basin off the road the next ~1-2 mile stretch was an unmarked climb up a snow wall. I did not have an ice axe but the micro-spikes worked well. Once up on the ridge and into the final basin, the walking trail is well marked off to the left and up the mountain to Castle peak. No snow from there on, one or two sketchy sections with really lose rock. Hard and fun 14er. We decided to walk down instead of slide, we did not have pants or a pix axe to self arrest if need be, but we were jealous of everyone else that did. One note, I never wish I had brought gloves for a 14er more than I did for this one, It would have been helpful with the sharp and lose rock near the top, and to help get down in the snow. |
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6/25/2023 Route: Castle and Conundrum Posted On: 6/26/2023, By: happyallyy Info: Castle & Conundrum Peak 6/25/23 Start Time: 4:00am from ~11,100' Summit of Castle: 7:04am Summit of Conundrum: 7:55am Bottom of Glissade: 8:45am Back to car: 10:43am Stats: 7.09 miles, 3,892' elevation gain (according to Strava) Gear used: Ice axe, hiking poles, and microspikes Climbed on 6/25/23. We drove up the road in a stock 4Runner with upgraded all terrain tires and we were able to find a nice pull-off to park at around 11k, though the road is clear of snow until about 11,700'. I think to get up there you would need higher clearance than we had. The river crossing was high, but we had no issues making it through (see pictures). As others have stated, the road is mostly clear of snow then you start having patches lingering on the road more consistently around 11,900'. We didn't have any issues with postholing thanks to an early start. There are decent foot holes to help you navigate across snowfields on the road and we didn't have any issues with route finding in the dark. When you get to the headwall, we opted to take the route to the left. At the top of the headwall, the trail to gain Castle's ridge is snow-free. You are walking on rocks for the remainder of the ridge to Conundrum. The glissade was terrifying but also awesome, an ice axe is definitely necessary. |
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6/24/2023 Route: Castle and Conundrum Posted On: 6/24/2023, By: Briere Info: Ascending; the snow was hard and I didnt use crampons until going up the head wall. It seemed like most people, including myself, took the right route. Once past that section crampons werent needed. Ridge line and and route to Conundrum was free of snow. Glissading down felt great too as the snow was softening up but still no post holing. |
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6/24/2023 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 6/24/2023, By: meg8709 Info: The road is good to go. We made to a nice spot around 11,400. There is a small snow field around 10,700 that is passable with care. Most of the route above ~11,800 is still snow covered until you reach the split up castles ridge. Spikes are a must and Id recommend an ice axe as well. |
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6/18/2023 Route: Castle and Conundrum Posted On: 6/19/2023, By: andlours Info: Road is impassable due to large snow drifts starting at ~10,700ft. Continuous snow starts at roughly 12,000ft and makes finding the mining road difficult. The majority of the ridge had roughly 3 - 6 in of light, dusty snow covering it. This definitely helped mitigate the loose rock frustration but made the difficult class 2 portions of the ridge more challenging. I didnt use crampons but wore microspikes and found an ice axe to be extremely helpful. |
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6/12/2023 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 6/16/2023, By: schaffs Info: Ridgeline completely free of snow, but road/trail was largely covered (or completely covered) from last water crossing, up past parking lot. Side-stepping required a large portion of the trek |
