dandrew - Aug 4, 2013 2:09 pm Date Climbed: Aug 2, 2013
A late start would have been better
Backpacked in through the rain on Aug. 1st. Started the climb at about 5:30 a.m. on the 2nd. Clouds soon rolled in. Made it to K2 and waited a while before deciding to turn back, not wanting to to do final approach in fog and damp rock. With our luck, of course, the skies began to clear about a half hour after beginning descent. Turned into a nice day after that. Will have to go back.
Woodie Hopper - Aug 3, 2013 9:17 pm Date Climbed: Aug 3, 2013
Capitol Creek, trail run
Solo. Was able to run most of the way to and from Capitol Lake, climbed before going in to work at Aspen Valley Hospital. I was surprised there were so many people on the route today. K2 was fun: classic view of Capitol. I thought the "Knife Edge" was not very intimidating, but I'd never try it if it were wet. Route finding afterwards was tricky at times.
solo dayhike from Capitol Creek which was a beautiful trailhead. One of the most scenic approaches with the peak. The cows were a nuisance and unexpected!! Gorgeous area, minus the cows. I'm afraid of cows. Scrambling was great and keeps you on your toes. Scenic knife edge. Had the whole peak to myself!
milan - Oct 21, 2012 5:56 pm Date Climbed: Aug 26, 2012
Exposed
I climbed this mountain the day before I left Colorado, it was probably the best way to say good bye to the Rockies.
I like it on top - Aug 27, 2012 1:58 pm Date Climbed: Aug 26, 2012
Standard Route
A great night at Capitol Lake, leading to a fun and successful summit. Great weather for a climb.
PhenomenalWoman - Aug 18, 2012 5:55 pm Date Climbed: Aug 3, 2012
Almost Doesn't Count
A late start and fatigue hampered efforts to reach the summit before the afternoon storms rolled in, leaving us 50 feet from success. The boulder field was excrutiating and I took a tumble on the way back to camp that gashed my hip, bruised my knee, and left my entire foot below the ankle purple....that said - I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS PEAK! Without a doubt the most fun I've had on any mountain. The Knife Edge was incredible and I can't wait to go back and try for the summit again.
er185005 - Aug 9, 2012 10:10 pm Date Climbed: Aug 5, 2012
Hi! It was us you talked with just before getting back to the TH on Saturday. Sorry you guys had to turn around. Good luck on another try!
cftbq - Aug 5, 2012 11:53 pm Date Climbed: Aug 3, 2012
the last hard one
Standard route. Long day. A long-anticipated accomplishment. Fourteener #51.
Eleutheros - Aug 4, 2012 8:49 pm Date Climbed: Aug 3, 2012
50 feet below the summit. Then... lightning.
A very poor night's sleep and sick climbing partner led to a late start and slow going. The ridge scrambling was some of the best in CO! So much fun. A stone's throw from the summit we turned back when dark clouds, lightning and rain threatened the summit. I kicked myself the whole way back to the car as the weather cleared... In conclusion, Capitol Peak is worth another climb. I'll be back! Next time I'll stick to the class 4 ridge route instead of dropping into that long, monotonous boulder field.
Rocky Alps - Jul 19, 2012 12:04 pm Date Climbed: Jun 29, 2012
Capitol Creek Ditch Trail
A later than planned start (friends got caught behind a fire between Grand Junction and Rifle that jumped the freeway and closed I-70, causing them to not make it to their campsite near Carbondale until after midnight the previous night), not having time to acclimatize beforehand, some monster blisters that gave me bloody heels, and a rainstorm all complicated our Capitol day hike plans. As a result, we only made it to K2. My first bout with altitude sickness threw me off my game, and I decided that tackling the knife edge with a headache and dizziness probably wasn't a good idea. The views were phenomenal all throughout the hike, though. I definitely want to get back and try this one again. See "Pushing My Limits" trip report for details.
Kiefer - Jul 19, 2012 1:47 am Date Climbed: Jul 17, 2012
"Cleaver Buttress"
I VASTLY under-estimated the difficulty of this arete/buttress located on Capitol's eastern side...approached from Pierre Lakes Basin. We (ripper333 and I) concluded a rating of 5.8
Some spots were insanely exposed, the ridge direct is not possible unless you're a proficient 5.11-5.12 climber. We even had to rap a small section.
An INTENSE climb. Made the standard "Knife Ridge" a virtual sidewalk.
Matt Lemke - Jul 11, 2012 10:56 pm Date Climbed: Jul 8, 2012
Standard ridge
Very fun scramble. Knife edge no where near as bad as I was led to believe. Solid scramble. Did with Josh
Josh Lewis - Jul 11, 2012 3:34 am Date Climbed: Jul 1, 2012
Great Scramble
Definitely one of the better scrambles of Colorado. The knife edge was easy going. The mountain itself is good to look at from Capitol Lake. I would recommend this peak to a friend traveling in the area.
blueshade - Jun 18, 2012 2:26 pm Date Climbed: May 11, 2012
Awesome Scramble
2nd attempt at Capitol due to a new snowfall late season last year.
Solo, long dayhike, about 18 hours door to door from GJ.
Didn't want to descend into the basin on the other side of the saddle, so figured what the hell? Climbed the ridge proper from the saddle for some great scrambling and some nice knife edge and exposure.
Capitol's NE ridge looked intimidating from K2 (as did the ridge to K2 itself, but none of it is as steep as it looks) and so avoided the ridge following cairned routes to the left. Turned out to be tedious and, in my opinion, unnecessary. Followed the ridge direct down almost the entire way, except for a small bypass on the steepest part a couple hundred feet below Capitol.
The upper reaches of Capitol is a scrambling fest where you can "choose your own adventure" and make it as easy or hard as you want.
Highly recommended but not for the faint of heart. New respect for CO peaks after a trip to the Sierras last year.
noahs213 - Jan 12, 2012 1:57 am Date Climbed: Jan 9, 2012
Winter Ascent
It ain't easy in winter. Whole different ball game. North Face looks really sweet with snow....inviting....
xpda - Oct 29, 2011 12:56 pm Date Climbed: Aug 29, 1997
Capitol
Solo
Ted Eliason - Oct 13, 2011 3:02 pm Date Climbed: Sep 10, 2007
dandrew - Aug 4, 2013 2:09 pm Date Climbed: Aug 2, 2013
A late start would have been betterBackpacked in through the rain on Aug. 1st. Started the climb at about 5:30 a.m. on the 2nd. Clouds soon rolled in. Made it to K2 and waited a while before deciding to turn back, not wanting to to do final approach in fog and damp rock. With our luck, of course, the skies began to clear about a half hour after beginning descent. Turned into a nice day after that. Will have to go back.
Woodie Hopper - Aug 3, 2013 9:17 pm Date Climbed: Aug 3, 2013
Capitol Creek, trail runSolo. Was able to run most of the way to and from Capitol Lake, climbed before going in to work at Aspen Valley Hospital. I was surprised there were so many people on the route today. K2 was fun: classic view of Capitol. I thought the "Knife Edge" was not very intimidating, but I'd never try it if it were wet. Route finding afterwards was tricky at times.
CO classic for sure!
Daria - Jul 29, 2013 4:41 pm Date Climbed: Jul 23, 2013
Scenic, fun outingsolo dayhike from Capitol Creek which was a beautiful trailhead. One of the most scenic approaches with the peak. The cows were a nuisance and unexpected!! Gorgeous area, minus the cows. I'm afraid of cows. Scrambling was great and keeps you on your toes. Scenic knife edge. Had the whole peak to myself!
Hyadventure - Jul 11, 2013 4:26 pm Date Climbed: Jul 3, 2013
Big A$$ Day HikeUsed the Capitol Creek Ditch Trail. Loved the knife edge, hated the loose face below the summit..
astroclimber - Jul 6, 2013 9:37 pm Date Climbed: Jul 15, 2010
Great teamGreat team of climbers
milan - Oct 21, 2012 5:56 pm Date Climbed: Aug 26, 2012
ExposedI climbed this mountain the day before I left Colorado, it was probably the best way to say good bye to the Rockies.
I like it on top - Aug 27, 2012 1:58 pm Date Climbed: Aug 26, 2012
Standard RouteA great night at Capitol Lake, leading to a fun and successful summit. Great weather for a climb.
PhenomenalWoman - Aug 18, 2012 5:55 pm Date Climbed: Aug 3, 2012
Almost Doesn't CountA late start and fatigue hampered efforts to reach the summit before the afternoon storms rolled in, leaving us 50 feet from success. The boulder field was excrutiating and I took a tumble on the way back to camp that gashed my hip, bruised my knee, and left my entire foot below the ankle purple....that said - I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS PEAK! Without a doubt the most fun I've had on any mountain. The Knife Edge was incredible and I can't wait to go back and try for the summit again.
er185005 - Aug 9, 2012 10:10 pm Date Climbed: Aug 5, 2012
#5Great solo climb up standard route.
cftbq - Aug 6, 2012 8:57 am
Re: 50 feet below the summit. Then... lightning.Hi! It was us you talked with just before getting back to the TH on Saturday. Sorry you guys had to turn around. Good luck on another try!
cftbq - Aug 5, 2012 11:53 pm Date Climbed: Aug 3, 2012
the last hard oneStandard route. Long day. A long-anticipated accomplishment. Fourteener #51.
Eleutheros - Aug 4, 2012 8:49 pm Date Climbed: Aug 3, 2012
50 feet below the summit. Then... lightning.A very poor night's sleep and sick climbing partner led to a late start and slow going. The ridge scrambling was some of the best in CO! So much fun. A stone's throw from the summit we turned back when dark clouds, lightning and rain threatened the summit. I kicked myself the whole way back to the car as the weather cleared... In conclusion, Capitol Peak is worth another climb. I'll be back! Next time I'll stick to the class 4 ridge route instead of dropping into that long, monotonous boulder field.
Rocky Alps - Jul 19, 2012 12:04 pm Date Climbed: Jun 29, 2012
Capitol Creek Ditch TrailA later than planned start (friends got caught behind a fire between Grand Junction and Rifle that jumped the freeway and closed I-70, causing them to not make it to their campsite near Carbondale until after midnight the previous night), not having time to acclimatize beforehand, some monster blisters that gave me bloody heels, and a rainstorm all complicated our Capitol day hike plans. As a result, we only made it to K2. My first bout with altitude sickness threw me off my game, and I decided that tackling the knife edge with a headache and dizziness probably wasn't a good idea. The views were phenomenal all throughout the hike, though. I definitely want to get back and try this one again. See "Pushing My Limits" trip report for details.
Kiefer - Jul 19, 2012 1:47 am Date Climbed: Jul 17, 2012
"Cleaver Buttress"I VASTLY under-estimated the difficulty of this arete/buttress located on Capitol's eastern side...approached from Pierre Lakes Basin. We (ripper333 and I) concluded a rating of 5.8
Some spots were insanely exposed, the ridge direct is not possible unless you're a proficient 5.11-5.12 climber. We even had to rap a small section.
An INTENSE climb. Made the standard "Knife Ridge" a virtual sidewalk.
Matt Lemke - Jul 11, 2012 10:56 pm Date Climbed: Jul 8, 2012
Standard ridgeVery fun scramble. Knife edge no where near as bad as I was led to believe. Solid scramble. Did with Josh
Josh Lewis - Jul 11, 2012 3:34 am Date Climbed: Jul 1, 2012
Great ScrambleDefinitely one of the better scrambles of Colorado. The knife edge was easy going. The mountain itself is good to look at from Capitol Lake. I would recommend this peak to a friend traveling in the area.
blueshade - Jun 18, 2012 2:26 pm Date Climbed: May 11, 2012
Awesome Scramble2nd attempt at Capitol due to a new snowfall late season last year.
Solo, long dayhike, about 18 hours door to door from GJ.
Didn't want to descend into the basin on the other side of the saddle, so figured what the hell? Climbed the ridge proper from the saddle for some great scrambling and some nice knife edge and exposure.
Capitol's NE ridge looked intimidating from K2 (as did the ridge to K2 itself, but none of it is as steep as it looks) and so avoided the ridge following cairned routes to the left. Turned out to be tedious and, in my opinion, unnecessary. Followed the ridge direct down almost the entire way, except for a small bypass on the steepest part a couple hundred feet below Capitol.
The upper reaches of Capitol is a scrambling fest where you can "choose your own adventure" and make it as easy or hard as you want.
Highly recommended but not for the faint of heart. New respect for CO peaks after a trip to the Sierras last year.
noahs213 - Jan 12, 2012 1:57 am Date Climbed: Jan 9, 2012
Winter AscentIt ain't easy in winter. Whole different ball game. North Face looks really sweet with snow....inviting....
xpda - Oct 29, 2011 12:56 pm Date Climbed: Aug 29, 1997
CapitolSolo
Ted Eliason - Oct 13, 2011 3:02 pm Date Climbed: Sep 10, 2007
18 hr RTA long day, but good early fall weather.