6/12/2021 Route: Castle and Conundrum Posted On: 6/12/2021, By: HikesInGeologicTime Info: Some lingering snow covering the road just above the Pearl Pass Junction (can make for a confusing time staying on route in the dark), then lining the road just below the headwall, but mostly avoidable. Crampons and axe came in handy for ascending the headwall at dawn, but to judge by the sloppiness and sun-cupping on descending it around noon (though not so sloppy as to prevent a fun set of glissades), they probably aren't necessary for a later start. Snow is largely gone from the ridge leading to Castle but does briefly appear in some annoying spots, such as on the trail that would help skirt a Class 3 move on the crux that is rather awkward if you're short. Snow is entirely gone from the stretch between Castle and the saddle, then almost completely avoidable between the saddle and Conundrum. Partner and I wavered on whether to attempt a descent from the saddle. After watching a decently sized group assemble there, each person/pair waiting their turn, then watching those descending painstakingly downclimbing at least to the choke point, we made the painful decision to go back up and over Castle. This turned out, we felt, to be the right call; as we reached the summit with absolutely no pretensions of setting any FKTs, the duo who had begun their descent as we began our re-ascent had only just reached the top of the choke. Would highly recommend sucking it up and going back up Castle. Will try to post pictures when I'm back in Denver if my partner is still awake and willing to share. |
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5/30/2021 Route: Castle and Conundrum Posted On: 5/31/2021, By: jrs1965 Info: Not a huge change from the conditions Eric had posted on the 25th. Although melting fast, we still parked at about 10,300, or about 1/4 mile past the stream crossing. Solid snow on the road after 11,000. Stream was a breeze to cross mid-day on the 29th. By the afternoon of the 30th it had raised a few inches with the warming temps and rain. We had ascended the Conundrum Col and then glissaded back down from the saddle. At 7 AM, we had mostly stayed to the left on the col due to the right being shaded and hard ice. The left was soft enough to kick steps into. Huge cornice at the top of the col. The North Col on Castle still looks to be filled in with a lot of snow. |
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4/10/2021 Route: Conundrum Couloir Posted On: 4/11/2021, By: jmctigue Info: Good freeze over night. Started hiking around 5am and didn't need flotation. Put snowshoes on to get up headwall but probably not necessary. Snow in couloir was firm (about 10am). Could kick steps most of the way (thanks to the three skiers who went up ahead of me) but there was some front-pointing too. Was straightforward getting around the cornice to the right. North Face couloir was looking pretty thin. Crossed over to Castle Peak and descended the north east ridge. The top of the ridge was good fun and a bit snowy. Snow filled the trail down to the headwall and was nice and supportive to walk on. Was able to glissade quite a way down, but the snow was getting very wet by the afternoon. Probably better to travel on skis so you can descend this area earlier in the day. I clocked the route at 17 miles and 4700ft vertical (road still closed in Ashcroft). |
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4/3/2021 Route: Conundrum Couloir Posted On: 4/5/2021, By: JacobW Info: Great snow in the couloir, the east face might even be skiable. |
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10/17/2020 Route: Castle and Conundrum Posted On: 10/17/2020, By: arianna2 Info: Icy with spots where ice is covered with an inch or two of snow. Slow ski for the couple we saw do it.. No snow in the gully to the saddle. Crampons recommended. Trip report soon. |
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9/27/2020 Route: Castle and Conundrum Posted On: 9/27/2020, By: mountainmaestro Info: Traverse from Castle had very little snow and it did not require traction. We reascended Castle (but descended a couloir off the summit, see my Castle Peak CR) rather than taking the scree slope off the saddle. Others took that option and while it “went†they described the experience with swear words. |
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7/27/2020 Route: Conundrum Couloir Posted On: 7/29/2020, By: davidhall401 Info: TH Info: Drove a 3†lifted 4Runner to the upper TH at 12800'. With an experienced driver, low range gearing, aired-down off-roading tires, and a capable vehicle (lifted SUV/small truck or stock Jeep) the road is driveable to the end. There are a couple of spots that will test the vehicles ability to keep all 4 tires on the ground and traction control systems (or lockers) would be greatly helpful in these spots. Conundrum Couloir Info: The couloir still holds snow from the top down to where it opens up above the lake, however, the couloir is NOT ADVISED for skiing for the remainder of the season. The exposure, steepness, massive ridges from melting, rocks throughout the couloir, and extremely variable conditions will test even the most experienced skiers (to give some background, I'm 21, ski around 150 days a year, and spend about 80 of those days at Alta, UT jumping off as many cliffs as we can get good conditions to send). The descent was nerve-wracking, outside of my comfort zone, extremely high consequence, and very regrettable the entire way down. Would not recommend. For those planning to climb the couloir - the snow seemed stable to me, however, a climber I met on the way up told me that the snow was thinning and that the couloir would not be safe to climb for very much longer. |
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7/21/2020 Route: Castle and Conundrum Posted On: 7/23/2020, By: geneseejen Info: Took the standard route up Castle, then down the C/C saddle, up Conundrum, then back to the saddle. Found the descent from the C/C saddle sketchy. Scree portion of descent (for maybe 150 ft vert) to reach the snow was steep and nasty; few handholds or footholds; easy to kick rocks on climbers below (fortunately none there during my descent). There's a well-established snow chute down the middle but regretted taking. It's more like a tunnel that runs maybe 100+ yards (?) before opening. Seem to remember passing over small rocks which I couldn't avoid during my uncontrolled glissade. Stopped and regrouped after the tunnel. BTW I took it around 10:30 am with mushy snow. Might be better off to make your own glissade path (ice axe highly recommended) or consider other options. |
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7/10/2020 Route: Castle and Conundrum Posted On: 7/12/2020, By: cdgibbons Info: As has been reported elsewhere, conditions on the descent from the saddle are pretty messy right now. There's about 150 feet of dirt above the snow, quite steep. Once on the snow, there are exposed rocks in the glissade track, mostly in the bottom half. I descended by an inelegant, slow glissade mostly in self-arrest position. For what it's worth, I thought the best option was in the center of the slope to the highest point of snow, but I saw others try other lines. You can preview this descent from about halfway down Conundrum's summit ridge. It's hard to see much from the saddle itself. |
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7/5/2020 Route: Castle and Conundrum Posted On: 7/7/2020, By: andrew85 Info: Full summer conditions on the ridge between Castle and Conundrum. When returning, it's a loose downclimb to enter the snow off of the northwest ridge and what's there is beginning to be rocky. I'd recommend facing inward and downclimbing it as there are enough rocks beginning to poke through the snow to potentially scratch you up. As stated in the Castle conditions report, the lower headwall is in fully and you can glissade down safely. |
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7/3/2020 Route: Conundrum Couloir Posted On: 7/4/2020, By: mountainmanfrank Info: Had an amazing trip up the Couloir on 7-3. Snow was in great shape. We started at the bottom of the snowfield at 11:30am (after reading suggestions to wait until the snow softened from previous folks). We wore crampons (100% necessary) and each had only one ice axe. This is totally doable if you are confident in your cramponing skills. Others we talked to went with the double tool approach, which would be preferred (if you own them, take them). Othet notes- We parked at the large creek crossing and walked about 4 miles to the snowfield. Easy road walk. After the Couloir we took the ridge over to Castle's summit, then back down to the saddle for the infamous glissade. Others mention same things we experienced...top is very steep and difficult to keep control, rocks present, bottom portion is quite nice. |
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6/22/2020 Route: Castle and Conundrum Posted On: 6/23/2020, By: Amarposon Info: Hey all! Conditions on Castle and Conundrum are amazing right now- some navigable snow but spikes were very helpful. Just like the other mountains in the range, some of the rock is loose but considering everything the rock is in good shape! The glissade is perfect but I wanted to give people a heads up: The other day I lent a friend an older Elderid Excalibur Climbing Axe to take with her on Castle/ Conundrum for the glissade down. She summited Monday, 6/22/2020 and long story short, she made it to the bottom safely (yay!) but minus one axe. The Ice Axe got lodged in the first 1/3 of the glissade going over the steepest portion from the saddle and it sounds like they unfortunately parted ways. If anyone does the hike any time soon and happens to find my axe/ pick it up I would be so grateful to get it back! If I never see it again it's not the end of the world, but I figured it couldn't hurt to post here and see what happens. ALSO, let this be a forewarning, there is an axe stuck in the snow, so keep an eye out and be careful on that first 1/3 of the glissade so you don't hit it and hurt yourself! |
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6/21/2020 Route: Castle and Conundrum Posted On: 6/22/2020, By: JakeByk Info: A lot easier than it looks from Castle Peak. I recommend having an axe for the descent if you drop down the glissade off the saddle. The coulie is still in as well, and the cornice isn't ~too big~. |
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6/17/2020 Route: Conundrum Couloir Posted On: 6/17/2020, By: dmccool Info: Couloir is in great shape. Cornice is present, but easy to avoid to climber's right. We arrived at the base of the Couloir around 7:00am, which was about an hour too early. The upper half of the route was shaded/frozen and made for tough steps. We waited for about 45 minutes on the rocks mid-way up for the sun to hit the upper portion. The choke/constriction took a long time to get sun and is arguably the steepest portion of the route. Highly recommend giving the line a little time to soften up in the morn. |
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6/14/2020 Route: Conundrum Couloir Posted On: 6/14/2020, By: emily_m Info: Couloir was in great climbing conditions today even after some recent storms. I would expect it to be in for a while still. The snow was getting quite soft in late morning, and the wind was throwing some small icy snow chunks down the couloir when it really picked up. I didn't see or hear any rocks coming down, and personally didn't think the conditions were right to be more concerned than a normal level of caution. The snow on the head wall was solid as well, though the top was getting a little slushy by 10. |
