A new experience on Capitol

Maybe next year?

So, after about 3 months, one of my favorite human-beings and closest friends Brian Smith, has returned from Nepal. I have to say that it is a really great feeling to have him back. The plan was to go to South Dakota and do some rock climbing in Custer State Park and check out the old city of Deadwood. When my other climbing patron Nick, decided to flake out I decided to take my Everest-summiting friend up on his offer to go climb a very prestigious fourteener in the Elk Range of Colorado with a group of very skilled and strong climbers named "Capitol Peak". It would be the scariest I have done thus far.

We decided to leave Denver around 2PM (MST) and eat in the highest village/town/city in the U.S. Leadville, Colorado at 10,152 feet. We ate at Rosies Brew Pub and let me tell ya if you go there, try the Philly Cheesesteak! It is HUGE! After that we made the irresponsible choice to go to Vail and hang out with girls 10 or more years younger than us. Well, the scenery was great but the conversation was pretty dull. Good for them that they are wearing 10,000 dollar earings at 22 years old! Anyway, it was a long night and an unexpected stay in the back of the Xterra before the hike from 9500 feet to 11,600 feet.

So after a long drive back across a construction filled Tennessee Pass, and Independence Pass, we arrived near Aspen around 2PM. We met up with a friend of Brians that he met in Nepal named Jim. Jim was a base-camp trekker in Nepal and had met Brian this year somehow. He is a great dude and I plan on doing more climbing with him this year and years to come. The next one with the New Life Climbing Group out of Colorado Springs will be in mid-August on the Third Flatiron near Boulder. I am really looking forward to it.


That's the goal!

We started up the "Ditch Trail" around 3PM. We figured we were still good to make it into camp before nightfall and we did.


Reflections in the Elk Range of a Colorado monarch.

I got a start on the climb after a pretty sleepless night at about 5:30AM. Time for a better mattress I think. Feel free to toss me some suggestions or reviews because I am going to get something new soon.

The hike to the ridge was a great warm-up. Been a while since the last 14er. June was a long time ago if you ask me. The early morning air was great. About 55 degrees, mountain dew, no coffee though. I need to get up earlier I guess.

As far as the other side of the ridge and the traverse to K-2 and the northeast ridge of Capitol, I used crampons and stayed high. The snow was pretty soft but not too deep so no post-holing for me! Some of the others in the group decided to drop down a bit to avoid a fall on the steep snow. They did not have crampons so it was probably a better call.


This would be a look down to Pierre Lakes. A better perspective of the amount of snow still here in the Elk Range. Still inviting to me though! Bring crampons if you plan on doing Capitol this year and stay high near the ridge till you reach K-2. The time you will save is valuable!

I would say it took us about an hour and a half to reach the top of the saddle after the snow-field traverse. I was moving a little slower than my Everest summiting friend Brian. I guess after spending some time at over 18,000 feet, 14,000 is a walk in the park? And after over 70,000 feet in elevation gain over 3 months, what's another five or so thousand?? We reached K-2 at around 8AM or so. We were behind, no question. This was my first indication that I needed to start making some decisions. We still had the Knife Ridge traverse and I had no idea what was to come after that.


This would be the New Life Climbing Group out of Colorado Springs, New Life Church. The man in front was great to have along. His name is Tom Melancon and I look forward to other attempts on 14ers or other mountains maybe outside of the U.S. His two children are shown here and were really fun to have along as well. Thanks for a good time Tom! K-2 is behind us here. The traverse around it was more than I had expected. The exposure starts here. It is impossible to avoid and it seems to last forever. The Elk Range, being known for its very loose rock and scree, held up to its reputation. There were spots that I knew I had better make sure it won't move before putting my weight onto it. Fun but stressful.

I have heard in the past that alot of people trying to bag all 54 tend to save Capitol for last. I had always wanted to bag the more exposed or harder ones first. I can see why some like to save this one. I have done the traverse on the Maroon Bells and was no where near as nervous as I was on this one. Maybe I am getting old too fast?


This is a familiar couple mountains to me. The Maroon Bells, one of Colorados most photographed spots, took me 15 hours to traverse from North to South a couple years ago. My first real taste of exposure and the notorious loosness of the Elk Range was here. Pyramid came before but for some reason did not scare me like the Bells did. And should you take the time to check out the death toll on these monarchs, you may be surprised. Be careful if you plan a trip to them or Capitol for that matter. A light alpine rope for simul-climbing is'nt such a bad idea on these peaks. A helmet is a must!


This would be the notorious Knife Ridge area on Capitols northeast ridge. We actually set a fixed rope here although alot of the group did not use it. I did actually scoot across in the straddled position in some spots but little did I know that the climb after this traverse would be just as stressful and demanding.

Once I got across the Knife Ridge, my friend Brian and Toms daughter and another fine climber named Nick who was along for the trip had all decided not to go for the summit. Out of 13 of us, 4 of us including myself had made a decision to turn back. I had several things going through my mind at the time. The weather was starting to show signs of afternoon storms and I did not want to be on the ridge when it started producing lightning. Considering I maybe slept an hour or two the night before on a lousy 3-quarter length mattress, fatigue became a factor. Last but not least, the exposure and seriousness of the rest of the class 4 climb to the top sealed the deal on my decision that it was'nt going to happen today. If a buddy of yours climbs the highest peak in the world and summits 3 weeks after being diagnosed with HAPE and decides to turn around on a 14er, you start weighing out the consequences.

After talking to several summiters, I knew I had made a good choice as well as the others who had made the same. They told me that the rest of the climb did not get any easier nor did the demand for 110% of your attention and concentration. I saw the slabs below the summit and people taking quite a bit of time to traverse them. I saw clouds building and knew I did not want to be here anymore. She will be here next year and I may come see her again for another romantic journey. For now, it's time to look at getting some peaks in the Sangres!