Rock_Rat

Eleven years later a comment...I've been searching all over trying to see if anyone has put up a North Face route on The Castle via the direct ice flows. Like you, when we first saw the ice, we knew we had to come back and get it done. I just came across your post. Your yellow lines were exactly what I was looking at and even further to the left with a more direct approach. Unfortunately, it was far too exposed with little to no chance of protecting the route. We took the first pitch, WI3 up to the first clump of trees just east above the daggers. The second pitch, WI4 was further to your right where I found a nice bulge in the ice. The direct line was too thin. I traversed across that section "sewing" the route up with a combination of 4 stubbies and 13's until the fat bulge where I was able to place a nice 16. Surprisingly enough, we intersected your route at the top after climbing through an off-width chimney with a nice spire we could run a cordelette around. When I made it to the rock wall, I tried to go left to gain the summit. I placed one KB but couldn't commit to the exposed face without additional pro. We were already on a very long run-out. Instead, we decided to go west through a second rock section and more than likely intersected your route at that pitch on up to the summit ridge. Great climb!

Good post. Hoping to get over to Chair Peak possibly during Christmas week.