July 3, 2013, Tatoosh

Trying for a quick trip to be back at the car before noon, I skied the Castle/Pinnacle Peak area.  I knew it was not going to be ideal, but I was desperate.  I accessed the saddle east of the Castle breaking south from the summer trail at about 5100ft.  Limited continuous snow made it difficult to avoid bushwhacking once above the summer trail, but a more knowledgeable individual may have better luck picking a good line. 

  North facing slopes from 6200ft+ to about 5700ft skied well, soft but prominent sun cups and not grabby.  Below that was not as enjoyable.  Quite large, sometimes quite hard cups with limited turning space along the descent route I chose. 

  Overall fun, but will be melted out below the tree line soon.