Castor

July 2020

Castor is probably one of the easiest 4000 meter peaks in the alps. We had climbed Pullox the day before and after two nighs in the Rossi y Volante bivouac we should be well acclimatized. Adding into the equation the excellent weather I was pretty confident that we would reach the top.

We headed out around 6am just after sunrise. We climbed down from our bivouac and hiked the long stretch of flat glacier to the foot of Castor. I was carrying a backpack for backpacking instead of alpining so the going a bit awkward, but as there would not be any rock climbing I figured it should work out just fine.

Once we got to the foot of Caster we already saw a couple of groups making their ascend. It would be a long straightforward climb over the gradual snow slope all the way till right under the top. There we could see a small stretch of steep snow taking us to the ridge. It seemed like 200 meters over the narrow ridge would bring us to the top itself.

Half way the climb we encountered some crevasses. Eline even fell through the snow with one leg. It wasn’t particularly difficult but we had to be a little careful at this point. The crevices were a nice diversion. As the climb had been so straightforward till that point that it was almost getting boring.

Once we got closer to the ridge the crevices got smaller and the terrain less steep. However the closer we got till the final steep ascend to the ridge, the steeper and icier this section seemed. Once there it turned out to be a slope of about 50 meters up at an angle of probably 60 degrees. Right under the steep slope lay a moderate crevice.  As the route had become icy it was actually quite tricky to climb up. We really needed to put our crampons and ice axe to work in order to penetrate the hard ice.

Reaching the ridge was an amazing feeling. I placed my ice axe for the last time and looked over the ridge. The sun was shining on the other side and I had an amazing view to both sides from the razor sharp ridge. I secured Eline for her last few meters. It was her first ice climb ever. And to be honest it was quite impressive that she did it without much difficulty. Once on top she took a moment to recover, she was a bit nervous about the tiny ridge we had to follow to the top.

After a minute or two she went on anyway. The ridge looked very difficult, but was in fact really quite easy to follow. There was a track right next to the ridge allowing easy going and even a sort of hand rail.

Short after we reached the top of Caster. Due to the amazing whether we had great views all around. Caster isn’t much higher than Pullox, but those few extra meters do make a big difference for the view. We could see considerably more than what we had seen from Pullox.

We descended via the eastern side. This side was easier than the west side over which we had come. Easier than I had expected actually, there were no steep or narrow sections and not a single stretch of rock. The route was however way more scenic than the western side. Much of the descend followed a long semi sharp ridge with good views to both sides. It was an amazing feeling to walk down via such an easy and scenic route. This way we could really reminisce our successful climbs. I was very happy that Eline’s first climbing trip was such a success.

Once down we had lunch at the Quintino Sella hut. Great food and even greater views. The views over the Lyskam glaciers made this hut an attraction in itself. We continued further down along a small trail and pitched our tent on the first grassy meadow we could find.

The meadow was right next to a small lake. It was nice romantic last campsite with a view of Saint Jacques where we would find our car the next morning.