I drove from Ridgway to Aspen this morning, and made a loop around Aspen looking for fast food, which I could not find. I gave up and drove up the Castle Creek Road in the rain, with the idea of finding a high campsite. I passed several numbered sites low on the 4X4 road, but after those I could not find any good spots until I was near treeline. It was about 14:00 when I came up with the crazy idea of trying for Castle right now! I drove up the road above treeline until I found a nice switchback to park in, and got my gear together in a hurry. I was at about 11,800'. I had not eaten much that day, only a couple pieces of complimentary toast at the motel and a Clif Bar when I couldn't find fast food in Aspen.

It was very cloudy in Montezuma Basin, so that I could not see anything of Castle Peak. There was a slight drizzle when I left the Jeep at 14:20. This is nuts, I thought - but with those clouds and light rain hanging around all day, I did not forsee the chance of anything developing into a thunderstorm in the next few hours. I had plenty of daylight left, the route should be easy to follow, I'm parked far up the road and escape from the route would be quick on the permanent snow slopes.

I hiked quickly up the road, which goes as far as 12,700'. I was having trouble this entire trip pacing myself up hills, and would end up charging up the hill then stopping for a moment's rest, then charging again. I made good time but it was not the most efficient way to climb.

I reached the 4X4 parking lot at the tail of the lower basin. The snow climbing was very easy here and shortly I made the head of the lower basin. The upper basin was steeper, and I could see the exit point of the basin near the saddle between Castle and Conundrum Peaks. The top 50' or so of the head of the upper basin was melted out, leaving loose, steep scree and dirt. I didn't know how steep and difficult that part would be until I was upon it.

Foto ©2001 by John C. Maki

I clawed my way to the saddle, and stopped to catch my breath. Two climbers I had seen earlier on the ridge were now descending to the saddle from Conundrum. They rested a while before heading down into the basin on the other side of the saddle. I walked up the ridge, which near the saddle had rampart-like rocks sticking up above the ridge line, giving the mountain its castle-like appearance. The ridge steepened to the summit, which I reached at 16:30. The wind had become strong along the ridge, and the foggy look of the basin was gone, replaced by clouds racing past the peak against a blue background. It looked like time lapse photography.

Foto ©2001 by John C. Maki

Of course nobody was on the summit. I snapped a couple pictures and headed back down immediately. I had good weather still, but with the wind speed I didn't want to take the chance of getting caught in something nasty carried on the wind. I left the ridge at an earlier point then on my ascent, to reach the top of the snow slope in a place in the bowl which looked better for glissading.

I put my snow pants and gloves on for the ride down, and inched my way onto the snow. This looked like an easier passage from the snow than the beaten path, but next time I climb Castle I'll go earlier in the season to avoid this problem. I started my glissade on the steep slope, checking my speed with the pick of my ice axe, in sort of a forward facing self-arrest position. The snow cover was thin and the pick struck rocks many times, once getting yanked out of my hand. I had it on a leash attached to the waist belt of my pack, so I was able to recover the axe and slow myself down. The snow was soft, just like when we practiced self-arrest with the CMC on St Mary's Glacier. I reached the end of the upper basin and hiked over to the top of the lower basin. This snow was deeper and not as steep, so I had an enjoyable controlled slide down.

Foto ©2001 by John C. Maki

I hiked quickly down the 4X4 road to where I had the Jeep. I was still making good time, but I wanted to finish by 5:40 so I would have an even 3:20 hours for the round trip. It's this thing I do, speeding up the last few hundred yards to reach a summit or starting point just a little early. This time I started jogging down the road, in my Makalus. If anyone were around they would have thought I looked pretty funny lurching down the road in those heavy boots. Still, it felt good and I made the Jeep at 17:35, ahead of "schedule". 2:10 hours to reach the summit, 1:05 hours to descend, 2465' of elevation gain. Not bad, I thought - I had never climbed two 14ers less than a few days apart, and it seemed to get easier as I continued climbing. The stiffness left my legs and my energy returned after hiking a mile or so. I drove down the 4X4 road, pointed the way to Montezuma Basin to a Texan in a Cadillac SUV. Drove through Aspen, stopping for some Belgian beer at a liquor store, and drove over Independence Pass to find the trailhead for Mount Antero.