Conundrum Peak

Route: Castle and Conundrum
Posted On: 6/17/2017, By: merrion13
Info: See my Castle report. Below are 2 photos of the couloir condition for those interested. 

Route: Castle and Conundrum
Posted On: 6/4/2017, By: theglobalguy
Info: Still lots of snow all the way to the top, but it's getting awful slushy. We left camp at 3:30 am, and by 8:30 am we were sinking in the last 500 feet to the top of the couloir. 

Route: Conundrum Couloir
Posted On: 4/21/2017, By: jas0nleslie
Info: Plenty of snow in Conundrum Couloir, all the way down the basin, as of this date. 

Route: Castle NW Ridge
Posted On: 8/15/2016, By: sdicenso
Info: My friend Regina and I had both previously done Castle,so we went Castle's NW Ridge route to gain the saddle and summit Conundrum from there. From the saddle up to the summit is great. Below there, the snow is melted. This leaves you hiking on very horrible scree. There is also a few spots where we had to do Class 3 moves on the way up and down. I suggest that others just go over Castle first and resummit it on the way back. This route would only be good for a snow climb. Someone's dog also had a rough time going down the route, so maybe would be wise to leave your dog's at home with a sitter. 

Route: From Castle
Posted On: 7/10/2016, By: sky_high
Info: Also refer to Castle condition report. Snow on the trail up to Castle from the 4WD trailhead up to the top of the first hill. You can see it all from the lot. On the descent I found the most stable route to be going up the rock that splits the snowfield. Micropsikes would make this easier, but not strictly necessary. Once you get around the corner at the top it is dry to the summit. For those who like a little class 3 action, I went around the southwest ridge on the way up and it was totally dry and pretty reasonable climbing. Stick to the boulder stuff and avoid the loose scree. The trail is in good shape down Castle all the way to Conundrum. The snow you can see on the south side of Conundrum is only sticking to the wall and not impeding the trail. For those who want to run up the couloirs my personal opinion is not to bother. The snow is still mostly their from the lot up to the saddle, but it is slushy and loose by 10. Better for glissading and not really worth the skiing. An axe will hold in most it, but anything near the top and you'll be punching in to rock. 

Route: Castle Creek Rd
Posted On: 4/26/2016, By: WillRobnett
Info: Gate still closed, 1.7 miles from the lower Castle Creek trailhead. 

Route: from Castle
Posted On: 3/6/2016, By: SnowAlien
Info: Stable, springlike conditions in the lower basin and some unconsolidated snow above 13k. Ascended partially filled North gully on Castle (styrofoam snow and talus) and traversed to Conundrum. Descended from the saddle - stable, but still unconsolidated snow. Skied down from ~13.4k, made for a quick descent. Estimated 5.5k vertical, 16 miles. 

Route: 
Posted On: 10/13/2015, By: tobiasfunke
Info: The Conundrum ridge is entirely snow free on the way up. The final moves where you have to drop and regain 50 feet to reach the true summit has a small amount of snow and ice, but if you‘re careful and move slowly it can be done without traction. The descent through the coulier is snow free and slippery gravel as always. If you‘re doing the combo with Castle, traction is advised since much of the Castle ridge is in the shade and holding enough snow and ice in the steep, critical sections to make progress more dangerous without microspikes. 

Route: Passing through the area
Posted On: 9/27/2015, By: WillRobnett
Info: PEAK fall colors at Castle Creek Trailhead! 

Route: 
Posted On: 7/27/2015, By: AlexeyD
Info: The couloir is in good climbing shape as of Sunday, July 26. Snow coverage is continuous top to bottom, with only minimal rock debris, mostly on the fan near the base. Remnants of the big cornice (now more of a vertical snow wall) still guard most of the top, but there is a reasonable exit (~50 degrees) on climber‘s right. We used crampons, an alpine axe, and a second tool, and found all to be very useful. Snow conditions were definitely on the firm side, with some places accepting only front points and pick placement, and others allowing for the occasional shaft plant and shallow (couple inches) step-kick (for reference, we were in the couloir from about 8:30-9:45). There were several deep runnels in which one could stem if desired for a little relief from the otherwise rather steep and sustained climb (>40 degrees for the entire length of the couloir, and >45 for a good bit of it as well). Other notes: -We saw numerous hikers without any snow gear. Their way to get past the lower headwall was to cross it as low as possible and get onto the talus slope between the two lobes of the snowfield. From that talus "island", they then still had to cross a bit of snow near the top to get onto the standard (NE ridge) Castle trail. That crossing is short, tracked out, and not very steep, but if one were to slip on it in the firm morning snow, they‘d be looking at a ~500 foot ride all the way back down to the base of the snowfield. Just FYI. -The snow slope below the C/C saddle was melted out about 150‘ below the ridge (see second photo). We didn‘t go this way, opting instead to just descend the standard trail after summitting Castle from Conundrum, but it looked loose and unpleasant. We did see a few people go both up and down that way throughout the day, and also some some good-sized rocks dislodged from the scree slope. Needless to say, folks without an ice axe did not go down this way, but went back over Castle instead. -Thanks to LiquidShadow and others for providing the info that encouraged us to attempt this route so late in the season! It was a great climb. 

Route: 
Posted On: 7/12/2015, By: jrs1965
Info: I hit the Conundrum Couloir at 7 AM and it was in fantastic shape. Snow was nice and firm at that time with no slipping. I was able to scurry up the entire col in 25 minutes. Fairly large cornice is still at the top of the col, go right. Looking across the basin the Castle Couloir was looking much thinner. 

Route: 
Posted On: 7/5/2015, By: yingyangsoup89
Info: Snow was super solid. Not much sun exposure so the couloir may be around another week. Get it while it‘s good. The crux is probably close to 50 degrees. It‘s a fun one. 

Route: 
Posted On: 6/20/2015, By: Dan_Suitor
Info: The cornice came down today! We debated doing the Conundrum Couloir but decided it was too risky, so we did Castle’s North Face Couloir. Good thing we did. Sitting on top of Castle, we saw the cornice break lose around 9 am. It was awesome, huge, and fast! The slide encompassed the entire Couloir. Thankfully nobody was there, otherwise death was a very good possibility. There is still a cornice on top, but nothing like the overhang that was there before. 

Route: 
Posted On: 6/19/2015, By: Crestoner
Info: After Castle, we glissaded from the saddle, and then engaged the Conundrum Couloir. Snow varied from nicely "kickable" to hard "front-pointable" during our 0723-0750 ascent. There is a monster cornice at the top of the couloir...easily bypassed to the right as you top out. 

Route: 
Posted On: 6/15/2015, By: bergsteigen
Info: Solid snow in the couloir with giant cornice overhanging. Largest I‘ve seen. Runnel forming in center, debris below. A decent ski once it warmed up a bit to get an edge in. Summit descent in for a short time more. TR up soon