I made my first attempt of Castle Mountain in July 1995 but was forced back due to rain and a late start. 1995 was a poor year for weather and after waiting several days for better weather, I took a chance on a mostly cloudy day.

Fortunately I had much better weather on my second attempt in July 1997. From the Castle Mountain campground, I made my way to the Rockbound Lake trail and followed it for over two hours (8.4km) passing Tower Lake and Eisenhower Tower along the way. As Rockbound lake comes into view, the steep walls of the Castle Mountain massif provide a suitable name for the lake. The summit is the high point to the far left in the photo. Technically, this summit is not the true high point -- the true summit lies some 3 km NW but is rarely visited.

I made my way to the right along the lake shore to reach a small runoff stream. From there I ascended a gully east of the lake leading to a rock band. A beaten path leads you through a break in the rockband. This section is really just strenuous hiking with a few handholds needed through the break. In the photo to the right, this ascent gully begins from the lake shore between the two stands of trees.

I made my way across the knoll following a faint foot path leading to a hump with a visible trail making its way to the top. One can either use the trail to ascend the hump or circle around to the left along the exposed foot. I attempted the circle route but the exposure was just a little too unsettling for me (I definitely would not recommend it in wet weather) so I regained the normal route to reach the top of the hump.

At this point, you must make the decision to either tackle Helena Ridge (2862m/9387') to your right and traverse the massif along the upper ridge or descend down the hill to the grassy terrace. Helena Ridge was my goal on my first attempt in July 1995 but part way up, a long, heavy cold rain forced me back down. You will need to ascend a talus slope angling towards the gully at the far right in the photo. From there, slog up the scree slope and make your way to the backside to ascend through the rockbands.

Looking across the lake below, you can see Television Peak (2970m/9741'), the slopes below which one must reach to tackle the summit to the left (not shown in photo).

My goal on the second attempt was the summit so I searched for a descent route to the grassy terrace below. There are a few ways down to the grassy terrace, others no doubt more challenging than others. The easiest way is not obvious on the descent so I descended a more difficult section with frequent hand holds. From here, hike along the grassy terrace until it almost peters out. About 15 minutes of walking along this terrace I decided to take the high route closer to the walls (a faint but discernible trail is evident) to reach the gully. In hindsight, keeping near the grass may have been a better option. The high route involves more scrambling and some boulder hopping. A tricky section around a small but steep drainage channel adds some excitement. You will then reach a fair sized gully to scramble up to the upper bench. You may want to make a mental note of land features to recognize this gully on return.

From there, a nice closeup of Stuart Knob ((2850m/9348') from the upper bench provides another reason to stop for a rest break. You would need to circle around to the left to reach the easy slopes to the top. I did not attempt it due to time constraints.

From the upper bench, find the best line to the summit over mainly hiking terrain. I came across a reddish scree slope to reach terrain above this upper bench. Scratches of trail and a bit of route finding will provide clues as to the best route to follow. Essentially you will need to find a route far enough to the right of the steep walls above Rockbound Lake, yet not too far that you run into cliff bands below Stuart Knob on your right.

As you reach the final summit mass, a brief stint ot scrambling is needed to reach the top. A summit register can be found in the cairn marking the top.

From the summit, you can see the top of Eisenhower Tower (2751m/9,026'), which is passed on the opposite side on the way to Rockbound Lake. Castle Mountain was aptly named by James Hector in 1858 given its suggestive appearance. However, almost a century later, Castle Mountain was changed to Eisenhower to commemorate the post war visit of US president Dwight Eisenhower. With public pressure though, the original name was restored in 1983 but this isolated pinnacle was given the name of Eisenhower Tower.

Looking back across the massif from the summit, Stuart Knob (foreground) and Television Peak (background) provide a backdrop for the upper bench ascended earlier.

Farther to the right is Helena Ridge, providing a better perpective of the gully one must tackle to reach this higher point along the Castle Mountain massif.

Retrace your ascent route to Rockbound Lake and back to the trail head. I did not have time to attempt Stuart Knob, TV peak or Helena Ridge. The descent from the summit to Rockbound Lake took me just over 2 hours.

As you reach the knoll above Rockbound Lake, you get a view of Tower Lake and Eisenhower tower passed earlier in the day. Just beyond Tower lake, you must ascend switchbacks up a steep rock wall (the trees in the photo sit atop this wall) before reaching Rockbound Lake.

In all, with rest stops and lunch, the round trip time was just under 12 hours, a long day on the trail.

On July 27, 2000 I returned to Castle Mountain and summitted Helena Ridge (2862m/9387').

Back to my scrambles/hiking history.