Capitol Peak Summit

At the true summit of Capitol Peak. The true summit was pretty wild--there was a fairly steeply angled ledge, and then the ledge reared up to high-angle mud. The true summit was about 12-15 feet higher than the ledge system, and the ascent possibilities are few--if one is feeling particularly bold, the west ridge would probably go, but with tremendous exposure--it's a mud knife-edge with about 500 feet of air on either side. While i didn't actually stand on the true summit, i worked a crack on the south side far enough to get a hand on the true summit. Some may count this as a summit, some may say i needed to actually be sitting or standing on the highest point... i don't really care. i enjoyed climbing the bulk of the mountain and had a good time. The descent from my mud-bouldering problem was a little bit hairy, though. There was doubt as to if i would be able to stop myself if i slipped, so i instructed my friend to hit me as hard as he could if i started to fall, lest i go off of the 250 foot cliff behind us. i was wearing rubber tire sandals made in the mountains of southern Peru (for no reason at all, but it was fun), and on the descent one of the sandals flipped vertically in the crack, making it difficult for me to release the jam and find a new placement. i did make it down alive though. January 4, 2007. Copyright sam beer.