TRIP REPORT: Castle Peak, CO by Northeast Ridge Route 7/13/97
Wet weather and busy schedule at work (in addition to my SO starting a new job) combined to make this year's 14er climbing limited to two attempts (and 1.5 successes). After last year's fun climb of Snowmass Mountain, I definitely wanted to make a return trip to the Elk Range. We debated about attempting Pyramid Peak, but me and my SO decided Castle Peak would be a better choice for our first 14er of the season.
Castle Peak is the high point of the Elk Range. While not as visually appealing as Maroon Bells and the other Elk Range 14ers, it is quite a bit easier to climb (or so I've heard).
Me and my SO arrived at the end of the paved section on Castle Creek Road just as it was getting dark on Saturday night (7/12). Between the long drive and getting more than my fill of Aspen tackiness, I was tired. We decided to just sleep in the car at a small parking lot where others were doing the same.
We got up at first light and after gathering together our stuff, we headed up a dirt road (NF 102) paralleling Castle Creek. We decided to park about a mile below where Roach says to park as the road was becoming a little too rough for the Mazda (it's no problem for any vehicle with a decent amount of clearance). After hiking about a mile, the road crosses Castle Creek and becomes a definite 4wd road.
A large part of the approach to this climb is hiking along this 4wd road. The scenery varies from beautiful to rather dull. There is a spectacular set of falls around 11,000 feet and then the road continues up past the Montezuma Mine and into Montezuma Basin. Some people with 4x4's were driving up to around 12,000 feet just below the Montezuma Mine where a large snow field blocked them from driving any further. We continued to hike until the road that would not end finally ended at 12,800 feet.
From here the climb starts to get more interesting. With Castle Peak looming in front of us, we entered the first of two large snow bowls. There was still quite a bit of snow, but the slope was pretty gentle and the snow was soft enough to climb through easily. Upon reaching the top of the first snow bowl we still had not decided whether to do the Northwest or Northeast Ridge route. The Northwest ridge route requires traversing the second snow bowl which is considerably steeper than the first. Since we didn't have ice axes, we decided to do the Northeast ridge.
To get to the Northeast ridge, we hiked up a decent climbers trail with short switchbacks that crossed a loose, gravelly slope. Upon reaching the ridge, great views of the Elk Range on one side and the more distant Sawatch on the other side opened up. The ridge looks a lot tougher than it is. There a number of places where you have to use your hands, but exposure is limited.
We reached the summit before noon and enjoyed great views of nearby Elk Range 14ers. Snowmass was particularly impressive as it still had a lot of snow in the namesake snowmass. There were less people at the summit (8-10) than I expected for such nice weather. We spent about a half hour at the summit before heading back.
The hike down was uneventful with a little butt-sliding in the first snow bowl. The weather continued to hold and we reached the car around 3-4 PM. All in all, most of the fun and the great scenery on this climb are in the last 1-2 miles. It would generally rank low among the 11 14er climbs I've done so far, but still very worthwhile. A good 4x4 can make this a very short climb.
-Tom
Stats:
RTD - Castle Peak by Northeast Ridge Route: 12 miles
Elevation gain - Castle Peak by Northeast Ridge Route: 4600 ft.