Castle Peak is one of the more popular mountains in the Tatoosh Range. With its easy access from Narada falls it is possibly the most skied peak in Mount Rainier National Park. Within 30 minutes of being at the Narada Falls Parking Lot you can be skinning up the north side. Being north facing the whole area holds snow much longer than most places within the Paradise area. Being mid December we made our way out there after a storm dropped over a foot of snow in the park.

Breaking Trail Towards Castle Peak

Trail breaking was brutal as we laid in the skin track up the open slopes above the parking Narada Falls Parking lot. After climbing 700 feet we were skinning along the Stevens Canyon Road  which was buried under 2 feet of new snow. After skinning on the flat road for what felt like a mile in shin deep snow we made our way into the Tatoosh Range.

Making our way up the contours of the slopes we switched breaking trail every few minutes. With the snow being so deep it was a slow process heading up to Castle Peak.

Before long another group caught up to us and helped out with the trail breaking duties. The clouds would come in and out but it was a stunningly beautiful day with the trees caked with snow.

Arriving into the Alpine

Soon we were within the Alpine terrain with the sun shining through the clouds. As we made our way out of the trees the skinning became much easier. Although the snow was still deep it was half the depth of the trees below.

The closer we got to Castle Peak col the more excited we got. It didn’t matter what aspect we chose, every direction and as far as the eyes could see it was deep.

As we traversed up to Castles saddle its southern face grabbed our attention with steep open slopes glowing in the afternoon sun it . It was begging for tracks and looked as if it was still holding great snow.

Skiing Down the South Face of Castle Peak

After a few steep switchbacks we were standing on the summit looking at other endless possibilities. Dense clouds were obstructing our view of Mount Rainier as we got our gear together. Knowing the snow was good below us we decided to drop the first thousand feet before the terrain rolled over into Butler Creek.

Dan dropped in first with the sun lighting up the powder he kicked up with every turn. We had scored on both the conditions and the lighting for our first run of the day.

After a few seconds of collecting himself Scott dropped in as clouds swept upon the summit. Riding down to Dan who is in the middle of the photo below.

After the group was back together we skinned back up to Castle Peak Col for our final run down the north side. Heading up to the ridge we couldn’t help but smile as we looked over at our tracks on the blank canvas.

Heading Down the North Side of Castle Peak Col

After transitioning it was time to ride back down to the Stevens Canyon Road. Since we had skinned up the face we knew it would be the best snow of the day. After a few minutes of soaking in the view it was time to riding dropping in one at a time.

Before long we were back in the trees and deep wind deposited blower pow. Every turn would cause us to sink to our thighs and each rooster tail would explode in our face. We rode down the steep roller terrain guiding one another through potential terrain traps. Near the bottom we were following some old tracks all the way down to the road. Within 30 minutes we would be back at our car.

We skinned back on the road chatting about our plans for the season and possible objectives. Before long we were above the Narada Parking lot and ripping our final turns down to the car. Once there we packed our gear i the car and were off back home after a great day in the Tatoosh Range on Castle Peak.

Thank you for reading this trip on Castle Peak. If you want to see more ski tours within Mount Rainier Backcountry check out this link.