Mount Raoul

Christy Mahon on the summit of Mount Raoul — On the summit of Mount Raoul, 13,803 ft. Castle Peak is the high summit in the distance.

Christy, Joey, and I skied Mount Raoul last weekend, a local summit just west of Castle Peak named in honor of the late Raoul Wille.

Christy Mahon in Montezuma Basin — Heading up towards Montezuma Basin.

Ted Mahon in Montezuma Basin — Nearing the Castle/Conundrum Saddle.

Ted Mahon — After descending the other side of the saddle you’ll need to climb a short couloir to gain Raoul’s East Ridge.

Christy Mahon on Mount Raoul — Booting up to the ridge. The Conundrum Valley is below.

I never met Raoul Wille. When he passed away in 1998 I was still relatively new to Aspen. In the years after his death I did get to know his brothers and friends pretty well, and I heard many-a-tale about Raoul and his escapades. Seventeen years later, stories of Raoul are still being shared, a testament to his influence on Aspen. For those unfamiliar with the man or the mountain, his friends and family put together a website to spread the good word – http://www.mountraoul.org/

So while the chance to meet Raoul may have been missed, the three of us were able to go ski the remote peak that bears his name. We had an incredible day. The 20-mile tour started in Ashcroft and sent us up into Montezuma Basin to the Castle/Conundrum saddle. It’s not until that point that we caught our first glimpse of the peak itself. We crossed over the saddle and skied into Upper Conundrum Creek Basin towards Mount Raoul, where we started the second climb of the day. A small couloir accesses Raoul’s East Ridge, which you can then follow to the 13,803 foot summit, the 105th tallest mountain in the state.

The summit of Mount Raoul — Topping out.

Mount Raoul's summit. — We were thrilled to finally get out here. It’s our impression that Mount Raoul is seen by many but visited by few.

After taking in views on the beautiful day we skied the highly aesthetic “Sloman Couloir” (named after another Aspen legend, Bob Sloezen, a.k.a. Sloman) that drops down the north face from the summit for about 1,500 vertical feet. Once out of the couloir we headed across the valley to the west side of Conundrum Peak.

Sloman Couloir on Mount Raoul — Joey goes first.

Joey Giampaolo in the Sloman Couloir — After skiing here we headed up the west side of Conundrum Peak, which is the left-facing slope you can see in the distance.

Ted Mahon skiing Mount Raoul — It descends for about 1500 vertical feet.

Near the bottom (where you can see Christy) it splits. — Near the bottom (where you can see Christy) the couloir splits.

Christy Mahon skis Mount Raoul — And eventually you ski out of it.

Ted Mahon below Mount Raoul — We headed across the valley towards Conundrum Peak.

We made our way up the west side of Conundrum to its 14,060 foot summit, where we skied the Conundrum Couloir back down towards Montezuma, Ashcroft, Aspen, and ultimately home. Mount Raoul was instantly added to our list of favorite ski descents. Thank you Raoul for such a rewarding day.

Mount Raoul from across the valley — Taking a moment to look back on Raoul, you can see the couloir that splits the face, there’s a bit of a right dogleg halfway down and you can see the split at the bottom.

Christy Mahon on Conundrum peak — Then it was time for the slog up the back of Conundrum Peak.

Ted Mahon on the summit of Conundrum peak — On the summit ridge of Conundrum Peak. By this point the sun had set on the east facing ski runs and our ski down the Conundrum Couloir was on refrozen snow. Suffice to say, there weren’t many good ski photos from that so I’ll just skip that.

Joey Giampaolo — After that it was corn all the way home. Thank you Raoul!

john doyle

April 19, 2015 at 7:22 PM

Best Blog Post Ever. Ok, I’m biased. “…instantly added to our list of favorite ski descents” says so much coming from you three. Of course I agree whole heartedly. Awesome photos as usual; I especially liked the one with Christy and Joey looking back at the north face. Thanks for putting in the link to mountraoul.org. To my knowledge only 9 people have skied the north face so far: Sloezen, Perl, Pierre, Kirk, me, Sean and now you three. Not the easiest peak to access but so rewarding. Thanks Ted. Let’s ski soon?

ted mahon

Author

April 20, 2015 at 6:42 PM

I meant what I said there, John. We’re it not just a little hard to reach I think it would see a whole lot more traffic because it’s a really cool ski objective. Kind of surprised the number of known skiers is so few. I guess that just confirms what we’re saying here.