Planned to do Castle, but from the pass Andesite had way more snow and way less people (actually no people at all), plus I'd never been. It was nice and peaceful plus got to teach my girlfriend some self-arrest on the steep slushy snow.
Dropped the east face (scary cornice!) and stayed in Castle Valley. Took the trail by storm on ski's (bobsledding anyone?) and made it to the car in 5 minutes flat after tagging and dropping Castle and Basin. Helluva day.
I took the Hole in the Ground Trail to get to the summit. On the way back, I explored some of the rock outcroppings at the south edge of the ridge. I put up a page for the Hole in the Ground Trail.
First time on snowshoes Date Climbed: Jan 20, 2008
Tried out my snowshoes that I got for xmas for the first time. It went great, I made it to the summit in about 1 hour from the trailhead. Lots of people on the trail. I had the summit to myself except for two snowmobilers who arrived just as I left.
Climbed Castle, Basin, and Andesite with Bob. This is a very short diversion from Castle Pass, but there's an outstanding view of Castle Peak from the summit.