Castle Mountain
Dates: March 27-28, 2026
Elevation: 12,615.1 feet
County: Carbon
Sweat Score: 8
Pucker Score: 4
March 27: On our trip to Castle Mountain the plan was to split into two teams. Scott and Will would ski the North Couloir of Whitetail Peak, while Tim, Ethan and Bowen would ski Castle Mountain. After a ~15 mile approach we found Whitetail to be in awful conditions. Bulletproof crust covered the steepest sections. The decision was made to save Whitetail Peak for another day as the 50 degree upper section had dealt highly skilled parties serious injury in the past. Camp was made at the base of Whitetail Peak’s North Couloir. In late March we were far above any running water and so parties looking to make a similar trip should be sure to bring enough fuel to melt water.
Camp beneath Whitetail Peak
Will making the ascent from camp to the bottom of the couloir
March 28: On the day of our climb to the summit of Castle Mountain, the team inched up icy and long sections of sidehilling to reach the saddle between Castle Mountain’s southern ridge and Medicine Mountain. At the saddle winds felt to be 40+ MPH because of the terrain’s Venturi effect. At 11.5k feet, this raised concern for continuing on to the remaining and theoretically most difficult part of the ascent. Luckily once below the saddle on Castle Mountain’s southern face the wind died down and the remaining team members were able to summit. The large plateau-like profile of the summit made finding the true summit a bit of a wondering mess that can be seen on Bowen’s Strava for that day.
Approaching the saddle between Castle Mountain’s southern ridge and Medicine Mountain
Medicine Mountain from just beneath the summit of Castle Mountain
