The day begins badly when we discover diesel all over the ground around our truck, apparently a botched siphoning job. Our friends Renee and Dan share our bewilderment for a bit and convince us to forget it for now and head for Castle peak. It’s a good decision. The threatened snow doesn’t come but the skies put on a good show, and there is no wind on the summit, a rarity. It is icy up there, but I find better snow in the trees on a run down the west face. Crossing paths back on the ridge, I finish with a run on Andesite peak. It tempts down the wrong of the long southern ridge, which luckily has a snowmobile trail for me to take back to our starting point where my snowshoeing companions are just arriving. The day has treated us well, now hopefully our diesel mess won’t haunt us too badly.

Snowshoers and Andesite peak

Snowshoeing up Castle

Castle vista

Ann on Castle

Dan, Ann, and Renee on Castle