Elk Mountains > Capitol Peak > Climber's LogCapitol Peak Climber's Log
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[ Sign the Climber's Log ]
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| photo61guy | Route Climbed: Northeast Ridge...aka the knife edge Date Climbed: 7/13/2005  | |
| Camped at the lake on the 12th of July and soloed the peak on a perfect 13th. I saw no one on the mountain until the summit when I met 2 others that had come up class 5 west ridge. Great views of Snowmass and the Bells with alot of snow and ice remaining over Pierre Lakes. Quite an exhilarating day. | ||
| Posted Jul 16, 2005 1:03 am | ||
| Larry V | Route Climbed: Capitol Creek approach, northeast ridge Date Climbed: August 1994, August 1998 | |
| In 1994, climbed with Mike, Chip, and Aaron P. Wet hike up to the camp site below the lake, then sunny all day for the actual climb. K2 and the knife-edge was monumental for me -- had to leave my fear of heights behind. Capitol instantly because my favorite climb. I also regard Capitol Peak as the most beautiful 14er in Colorado. In 1998, climbed by the same route again, with Alan this time. Twice is enough, with so many other mountains beckoning, but Capitol Peak remains my favorite. | |
| Posted Jan 9, 2005 9:27 pm | ||
| Mish | Route Climbed: Knife Edge Ridge from Capitol Creek TH Date Climbed: September 11, 2004 | |
| 12 hours RT from trailhead. Long, hard day. The best overall 14er in my mind. | |
| Posted Sep 15, 2004 3:58 pm | ||
| rob_runkle | Route Climbed: Capitol Creek TH Date Climbed: July 25, 2004 | |
| This was the best, for sure!! Solid class 4, with some class 5. | |
| Posted Aug 1, 2004 3:47 pm | ||
| Gareth | Route Climbed: Northeast Ridge Date Climbed: July 28, 2004 | |
| I made it up Capitol Peak, my fourth Fourteener! This was my first attempt at the peak. I kind of feel bad that I made it up when others have made several unsuccessful attempts and still haven’t gained the summit. I was surprised to find that the incredible exposure didn’t bother me. After the climb the afternoon hike out sure was fun carrying a loaded pack! | |
| Posted Aug 1, 2004 7:50 am | ||
| Saintgrizzly | Route Climbed: Standard Date Climbed: September, 1994 | |
| My favorite Colorado mountain! After two aborted attempts with Aaron Johnson--one failing due to heavy snow on the mountain, the other a result of running out of time (but we compensated with a highly successful late afternoon loaf on top of K2)--returned on the above date with Aaron and Mark Anderson for a successful climb. The wonderful approach--through what seems the world's largest aspen grove--with views of Capitol's terrific north face does nothing but whet the appetite and get the adrenaline flowing! Our stint from K2 on was in somewhat chilly but good weather (in fact, snow flurries and gusty wind as we returned across the knife edge, but no need for ropes). A memorable trip highlight occurred on our return to Denver, when, after all the hours being folded in the jeep, I got to watch Aaron try getting out of the vehicle and "walk" to the house. Many thanks for the visual memory, my friend! | |
| Posted Jul 29, 2004 2:16 am | ||
| xskier77 | Route Climbed: Northeast Ridge Date Climbed: July 18, 2004 | |
| Used to West Snowmass Creek approach and it proved to be a difficult approach. Our plan was to bivy on the summit of Capitol but the approach involved alot of bushwacking and off trail hiking that we were spent by the time we almost hit the summit of K2. We found a great bivy site that someone had built up with a nice rock wall around it and very smooth dirt ground. Day two climbed Capitol and was able to walk the entire knife edge. Fun climbing and the rock was surpisingly very solid. Although I did manage to knock loose a huge slab and thank god nobody was below me when the slab went. | |
| Posted Jul 19, 2004 1:17 am | ||
| ctruscot | Route Climbed: The Knife Edge Date Climbed: July 5 and 6, 2004 | |
| Went up Capitol Monday and Tuesday with a guide. That mountain is no walk in the park and I was glad to be with a guide because I sure would not want to run off that mountain nor find the route in a storm. I thought it was hard enough with someone who knew the route and with good weather. But that's me. See trip report | ||
| Posted Jul 11, 2004 8:10 pm | ||
| DaveC | Route Climbed: k2/knife edge Date Climbed: july 01 | |
| Probably the hardest 14er overall. Knife edge was overrated, but the summit block past it, and the K2 downclimb, were noteworthy. Long day, and well worth it. Tight but nice campsite near capitol lake. | |
| Posted May 20, 2004 9:15 pm | ||
| goat14er | Route Climbed: Northeast (Knife) Ridge Date Climbed: July 2002 | |
| What a cool mountain - everything from the approach to the peak from Capitol Creek to the campsites below the mountain near the lake to the climb itself was unforgettable! Definitely going to have to go back and do this one again! | |
| Posted May 12, 2004 3:41 pm | ||
| Ryan Kowalski | Route Climbed: Knife-edge Date Climbed: July 5, 2003 | |
| We decided to do this from the trailhead in a day. Wow, what a long day it was. Left at 3 AM, got back around 4 or 5 PM. A LOOOONNNNGGG day. Knife-edge isn't too bad, but the exposure is still amazing. One of the neatest natural features in CO. | |
| Posted Apr 19, 2004 5:07 pm | ||
| Nelson | Route Climbed: Knife-edge Date Climbed: August 31, 2003 | |
| What an awesome mountain! It was kind to us, and I reached the summit on my first visit. Hopefully not the last. | |
| Posted Sep 4, 2003 4:30 pm | ||
| RyanS | Route Climbed: Knife-edge Date Climbed: August 31, 2003 | |
| Fantastic! We climbed Mount Daly first and were treated to what has to be one of the finest views of Capitol around. We downclimbed Daly's south ridge to Daly Pass, and then took the standard route up to Capitol. From there we descended to the lowpoint on the Clark-Capitol ridge and dropped down into the Pierre Lakes Basin. Out to Snowmass Creek via the rough Bear Creek Trail. Total trip time: 19.25 hours! A trip report is available here | |
| Posted Sep 2, 2003 11:34 am | ||
| Luigi | Route Climbed: Capital Creek Date Climbed: August 24 2003 | |
| Great Mountain, two friends and I summited without a hitch, the knife-edge was awesome, but not that bad. There was only one move on the whole mountain that I thought was a little sketchy and that came after the knife edge.. Next time we'll try and do it in one day. Camped out at the lake on Saturday and summited on sunday | ||
| Posted Aug 27, 2003 2:45 pm | ||
| climbcolorado | Route Climbed: Knife Ridge Date Climbed: 8/10/03 | |
| Great day, great climb, one of the most difficult and exposed mountains in Colorado! Check out the photo of my climbing partner walking the knife edge! | |
| Posted Aug 12, 2003 12:35 am | ||
| mtnhiker13 | Route Climbed: Northeast Ridge-Knife Edge Date Climbed: July 20, 2003 | |
| Wow - what a mountain. I can't get it out of my head. An incredible climb and probably the pinnacle of my climbing season for this year and perhaps many years to come. This one would be tough to beat. Many thanks to my climbing partner and sweetheart Aaron Johnson for getting me up this mountain. I couldn't have done it without you! He was right when he said it is a mountain we should climb together. What a sense of accomplishment we shared. A weekend together we will remember always. We had incredible weather to assist us and a great plan. The wildflowers are wonderful in the area- take lots of film. I will post some pictures as soon as I can get them back and scanned in. | |
| Posted Jul 22, 2003 1:52 pm | ||
| big_g | Route Climbed: Knife Ridge Date Climbed: Jul 5, 2002 | |
| WOW! | |
| Posted Mar 3, 2003 4:27 pm | ||
| zzril | Route Climbed: NE Ridge Date Climbed: July 1992 | |
| One of my all time favorites. Beautiful views on a perfect afternoon. | |
| Posted Nov 22, 2002 12:25 pm | ||
| rmjwinters | Route Climbed: Knife Edge Date Climbed: August 10 | |
| Long day hike, great traverse on the ridge and beautiful views. See trip report for details. | |
| Posted Oct 6, 2002 6:50 pm | ||
| rcorby2 | Route Climbed: NE Ridge direct from Daly Pass Date Climbed: September 28, 2002 | |
| What an amazing approach hike! Climbing partner didn't want to climb so I climbed to Daly Pass by myself and linked up with another party of three. Took the NE ridge direct from Daly Pass. Week early season snow combined with non stop class 4 made movement slow. After 3.5 hours of movement we were just under K2, electricity crackling in the air and resulting thunder clap sent us down. As it turned out, the weather cleared up shortly after that. I'll post a TR in a bit and some video at an external site TBD. I think if we would have followed Roach's primary route we would have made it. | |
| Posted Oct 2, 2002 6:56 am | ||
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