Route Climbed: North Couloir Date Climbed: September 2, 1984
Another wonderful long day in the mountains in the years before owing a 4X4. Starting near the paved road in Castle Creek valley, we ploded up the road, being passed by many vehicles. Being Sept. we had left our ice axes at home, but wished we had them above the 4X4 parking area. No axe ruled out the Conundrum saddle route and we climbed too high for the NE Ridge (these were the days before multiple guidebooks and comprehensive route descriptions), so we pushed up the couloir. While there was some loose rock, we were only a party of two and saw no others on this route. We summited in midafternoon, but the weather was warm and perfect and we made it back to our car before dark set in. I now start earlier in the morning tho'-hah.
Route Climbed: Castle Creek TH - Snow Slopes Date Climbed: September 18, 2004
A fun snow / ice climb to the saddle between Conundrum and Castle. Had to do the last 200 feet or so to the saddle on the loose scree. Not fun! Ascended Conundrum, made the traverse to Castle, and then descended the north ridge. A nice tour.
Route Climbed: Northeast Ridge Date Climbed: August 8th, 2004
My first experience in the Elks. Definitely an interesting climb and a different experience. We had absolutely perfect weather and I got to do a reasonably decent glissade down from the saddle between Castle and Conundrum.
For what it's worth, if the snow below the saddle is melted out seriously consider going back over Castle. The descent down the scree to get to the snow is dangerous and loose (people have gotten scared or hurt doing this).
Be careful descending Castle to the saddle as well. There are a couple loose spots and generally speaking it's better to stay left.
Route Climbed: Northeast Ridge Date Climbed: July 30, 2004
This one was a memorable ascent. We were snowed on as we made our way up to the ridge. A short time later we were turned around up on the ridge by a hair-standing-on-end lightning scare. We quickly retreated all the way back down to the snow and sat far away from our ice axes. After a while the clouds cleared and we ascended the scree all over again. We gained the summit with perfect weather. On the way down a guy in another party broke his leg (sliding down the snow with a trash bag on his butt!) and we stayed with him to keep him warm before assisting Aspen Mountain Rescue when they arrived. The guy had to be taken out in a helicopter. As we had hiked from our camp a mile up from the trailhead and it was late, we gladly accepted a ride down with the Aspen Mountain Rescue—hey we earned it!
Route Climbed: Northwest Ridge Date Climbed: June 12, 2004
Started on my first ascent of Castle Peak with perfect skies. By the time we got into the bowl, we had snowstorms and very high wind. We had to descend early but it was a beautiful mountain. Watch the weather! I'll be back to climb her someday!
Route Climbed: Northeast Ridge Date Climbed: September 2, 2002
Solo with about (100) of my closest friends!! I should have known that this route would be crowded on a holliday weekend. People were ditching there trucks allong Montezuma Road and hiking the rest of the way to the trail head. I started picking up people and soon had (8) or (9) people in the back. Just before we got to the lot I herd knocking on the back window and people yelling to stop. I guess the last dunse that I picked up fell out of the back and for what ever reason was holding on to the bumper for dear life. I laugh every time I see the little dent in the tail gate!! I had planned to summit and drop down the other side to the Konundrum Hot Springs, but had to turn back after I had already lost about 600 verticle feet. Dawson's Guide will lead you to believe that there is a trail to the hot springs fron the summit. NOT TRUE!! I called it quits after setting foot on a boulder the size of a refridgerator and surfing it through the talus for about 10 feet! This route may be an option in the winter, but a real hazard in the summer.
Route Climbed: Northeast Ridge Date Climbed: September 20, 2003
Erin and I spent a beautiful autumn day in the Elks, bagging our tallest remaining 14er. The snow starts right around the 12,800' parking lot, and you could need crampons if things are icy in the morning. A TR is available here.
Route Climbed: Northeast Ridge Date Climbed: August 3, 2003
Well it almost feels like cheating to drive up so far but hey - take advantage of the road if it's there.
As a result we had a refreshingly short hike of 1 hour and 20 minutes to summit. We descended down the northwest ridge. There is still quite a bit of snow but we couldn't take advantage of a glissade due to all of the rocks on the snow. An ice axe is definitely still needed going down. I had to self arrest twice to keep from going completely out of control.
Route Climbed: Montezuma Basin Date Climbed: July 22, 2003
Drove to 12,800 ft. and camped. Next morning climbed to the ridge with an ice axe, then climbed Castle and Conundrum on an easy ridge, 3 hours jeep to jeep.
Route Climbed: Northwest Ridge Date Climbed: July 10, 2003
Whew! By far the toughest of the 9 fourteeners I've climbed! A lot more exposure than I thought skirting the towers along the ridge. Froze with fear at the top on the way down...Yikes! I guess I'm a big chicken though, it seems like others don't think it's a big deal at all! It's okay, Bryan was my hero! He kept me from going off a cliff and led me down safe and sound!
Route Climbed: Northwest ridge Date Climbed: 7/10/03
It gets a little scary once you gain the saddle around 13,300'. You can either go over or around the rock towers on the ridge. We chose to go around and this made for slow travel in the scree, but did avoid the exposure of going over the towers. The fun part is the last 20 vertical feet. You can either work your way up between 2 rocks or traverse the ledge that leads to the trail to the summit. I did the traverse and only about 2/3 of my size 12 boot fit on the ledge. Lots of exposure here. After that, it was an easy two minutes to the summit. Castle is the easiest of the Elks, but still a little scary.
ColoradoScott - Feb 2, 2005 12:08 pm
Route Climbed: North Couloir Date Climbed: September 2, 1984Another wonderful long day in the mountains in the years before owing a 4X4. Starting near the paved road in Castle Creek valley, we ploded up the road, being passed by many vehicles. Being Sept. we had left our ice axes at home, but wished we had them above the 4X4 parking area. No axe ruled out the Conundrum saddle route and we climbed too high for the NE Ridge (these were the days before multiple guidebooks and comprehensive route descriptions), so we pushed up the couloir. While there was some loose rock, we were only a party of two and saw no others on this route. We summited in midafternoon, but the weather was warm and perfect and we made it back to our car before dark set in. I now start earlier in the morning tho'-hah.
Rick F - Dec 4, 2004 5:23 pm
Route Climbed: North Coulior Date Climbed: June 14 2004 and many other timesHad Castle to myself ! great day .
Larry V - Oct 20, 2004 10:28 pm
Route Climbed: Castle Creek, north slope to west ridge Date Climbed: July 1997Great hike and snow climb. Astounding views. Lost my water bottle when it slid 500 ft down the snow.
Ed F - Sep 20, 2004 8:17 am
Route Climbed: Castle Creek TH - Snow Slopes Date Climbed: September 18, 2004A fun snow / ice climb to the saddle between Conundrum and Castle. Had to do the last 200 feet or so to the saddle on the loose scree. Not fun! Ascended Conundrum, made the traverse to Castle, and then descended the north ridge. A nice tour.
thebeave7 - Sep 10, 2004 3:22 am
Route Climbed: Direct Ridgeline Date Climbed: August 1st, 2004A fun rock scramble up the ridgeline from the parking lot below. A bit of exposure, and avoided most of the loose scree in the cirque.
Eric J Lee
jrf - Aug 17, 2004 10:44 am
Route Climbed: Northeast Ridge Date Climbed: August 8th, 2004My first experience in the Elks. Definitely an interesting climb and a different experience. We had absolutely perfect weather and I got to do a reasonably decent glissade down from the saddle between Castle and Conundrum.
For what it's worth, if the snow below the saddle is melted out seriously consider going back over Castle. The descent down the scree to get to the snow is dangerous and loose (people have gotten scared or hurt doing this).
Be careful descending Castle to the saddle as well. There are a couple loose spots and generally speaking it's better to stay left.
Saintgrizzly - Aug 10, 2004 1:14 pm
Route Climbed: Standard Date Climbed: Summer, 199?Climbed with Aaron Johnson. Probably the easiest of the Elks, but still worth it for the view!
Gareth - Aug 1, 2004 8:16 am
Route Climbed: Northeast Ridge Date Climbed: July 30, 2004This one was a memorable ascent. We were snowed on as we made our way up to the ridge. A short time later we were turned around up on the ridge by a hair-standing-on-end lightning scare. We quickly retreated all the way back down to the snow and sat far away from our ice axes. After a while the clouds cleared and we ascended the scree all over again. We gained the summit with perfect weather. On the way down a guy in another party broke his leg (sliding down the snow with a trash bag on his butt!) and we stayed with him to keep him warm before assisting Aspen Mountain Rescue when they arrived. The guy had to be taken out in a helicopter. As we had hiked from our camp a mile up from the trailhead and it was late, we gladly accepted a ride down with the Aspen Mountain Rescue—hey we earned it!
mtwashingtonmonroe - Jun 16, 2004 1:10 pm
Route Climbed: Northwest Ridge Date Climbed: June 12, 2004Started on my first ascent of Castle Peak with perfect skies. By the time we got into the bowl, we had snowstorms and very high wind. We had to descend early but it was a beautiful mountain. Watch the weather! I'll be back to climb her someday!
f360driver - Apr 14, 2004 6:35 pm
Route Climbed: Montezuma Basin Date Climbed: 7/09/03Good climb. Rotten rock.
coloradoiceclimber - Apr 10, 2004 9:58 pm
Route Climbed: Northeast Ridge Date Climbed: September 2, 2002Solo with about (100) of my closest friends!! I should have known that this route would be crowded on a holliday weekend. People were ditching there trucks allong Montezuma Road and hiking the rest of the way to the trail head. I started picking up people and soon had (8) or (9) people in the back. Just before we got to the lot I herd knocking on the back window and people yelling to stop. I guess the last dunse that I picked up fell out of the back and for what ever reason was holding on to the bumper for dear life. I laugh every time I see the little dent in the tail gate!! I had planned to summit and drop down the other side to the Konundrum Hot Springs, but had to turn back after I had already lost about 600 verticle feet. Dawson's Guide will lead you to believe that there is a trail to the hot springs fron the summit. NOT TRUE!! I called it quits after setting foot on a boulder the size of a refridgerator and surfing it through the talus for about 10 feet! This route may be an option in the winter, but a real hazard in the summer.
xskier77 - Feb 2, 2004 12:48 am
Route Climbed: Northeast Ridge Date Climbed: August 16, 20032nd Elk 14er and another good intruction to the range. Relatively easy but some fun scrambling toward the summit.
hhsilleck - Jan 10, 2004 6:49 pm
Route Climbed: Northeast ridge Date Climbed: September 2003Up northeast, down northwest. Northwest is steep to the shoulder, but not too bad.
JonBradford - Dec 13, 2003 8:00 pm
Route Climbed: North East Ridge Date Climbed: September 2000Climbed with my friend Dave Sincere.
This post is dedicated to my poor dead friend. May your spirit float amngst the summits.
Jon
RyanS - Sep 23, 2003 5:07 pm
Route Climbed: Northeast Ridge Date Climbed: September 20, 2003Erin and I spent a beautiful autumn day in the Elks, bagging our tallest remaining 14er. The snow starts right around the 12,800' parking lot, and you could need crampons if things are icy in the morning. A TR is available here.
mtnhiker13 - Aug 4, 2003 6:20 pm
Route Climbed: Northeast Ridge Date Climbed: August 3, 2003Well it almost feels like cheating to drive up so far but hey - take advantage of the road if it's there.
As a result we had a refreshingly short hike of 1 hour and 20 minutes to summit. We descended down the northwest ridge. There is still quite a bit of snow but we couldn't take advantage of a glissade due to all of the rocks on the snow. An ice axe is definitely still needed going down. I had to self arrest twice to keep from going completely out of control.
A fun climb and great views of the Elk Range.
bernardhohman - Jul 29, 2003 12:48 am
Route Climbed: Castle Couloir Date Climbed: June 7. 2003Great snow and nice high camp via the 4X4 road. Beautiful Colorado sparkler day of sun and blue sky.
Matt Mahoney - Jul 27, 2003 11:05 pm
Route Climbed: Montezuma Basin Date Climbed: July 22, 2003Drove to 12,800 ft. and camped. Next morning climbed to the ridge with an ice axe, then climbed Castle and Conundrum on an easy ridge, 3 hours jeep to jeep.
Speedy - Jul 22, 2003 12:25 am
Route Climbed: Northwest Ridge Date Climbed: July 10, 2003Whew! By far the toughest of the 9 fourteeners I've climbed! A lot more exposure than I thought skirting the towers along the ridge. Froze with fear at the top on the way down...Yikes! I guess I'm a big chicken though, it seems like others don't think it's a big deal at all! It's okay, Bryan was my hero! He kept me from going off a cliff and led me down safe and sound!
Bryan W - Jul 15, 2003 12:58 pm
Route Climbed: Northwest ridge Date Climbed: 7/10/03It gets a little scary once you gain the saddle around 13,300'. You can either go over or around the rock towers on the ridge. We chose to go around and this made for slow travel in the scree, but did avoid the exposure of going over the towers. The fun part is the last 20 vertical feet. You can either work your way up between 2 rocks or traverse the ledge that leads to the trail to the summit. I did the traverse and only about 2/3 of my size 12 boot fit on the ledge. Lots of exposure here. After that, it was an easy two minutes to the summit. Castle is the easiest of the Elks, but still a little scary.