An unpopular but interesting snow climb with an overnight stay at the Tagert Hut
This time of year its only about a one hour backpack to the Tagert Hut which is located along the Pearl Pass Road. With solar power, a stove for cooking, a woodstove for heat, and a sink to wash dishes, this place seemed luxurious! Adam and Pete took advantage of the sled stored in the outhouse for some afternoon fun on the slope behind the cabin.
The outhouse was connected to the hut via a nice boardwalk so we didn't have to walk in the snow! A woodpecker spent many hours eating bugs out of the log that functions as the vent.
Pete starting up Castle Peak's East Face at sunrise. The infamous dust layer that blew in from the desert this past winter is very obvious. Its ugly, the skiers hate it, and it is causing the snow to melt more rapidly, but conditions are great for snow climbing!
Adam, Jim & Kurt take a breather high on Castle Peak's East Face.
Pete topping out after the snow climb of Castle Peak's East Face. From here the summit is just a short jaunt up the ridge.
Malemute Peak as seen from the descent into Montezuma Basin. We traversed snow to reach the ridge on the left side and followed the ridge to the summit.
We traversed high above Montezuma Basin to reach the west ridge of Malemute Peak.
Malemute's west ridge is a short, fun, 3rd class romp.
Castle Peak's East Face as seen from the summit of Malemute Peak. From this vantage point it looks deceptively steep and difficult. We found it to be an easy snow climb, but Lou Dawson says that it is rarely climbed because its almost never in condition. I guess we lucked out!
Pearl Mountain and "West Pearl Mountain" from Malemute Peak. Dwight, Jamie & I climbed these two relatively easy 13ers less than a week ago.
The most popular way of descending Malemute Peak seems to be to retrace your steps down the west ridge. However, we spotted a steep couloir almost directly under the summit that provided a quick descent on soft snow and then friendly scree back to the road in Montezuma Basin.