Capitol Peak 8/25/93
CAPITOL PEAK 14,130'
Mountain........Capitol Peak
Elevation.........14,130
Rank...............30th
Range..............Elk
Trail length......7 miles
Elevation gain..5,200'
Difficulty..........*****
Comments........Toughest!
TRIP REPORT
8/25/93
The fourteener that I had the most trouble with was Capitol Peak.
Part I (1989)
On my first try, I went with a friend (Mitch). We packed in to a spot a few hundred feet below Capitol Lake. It rained. And rained. And hailed. And thundered. We spent a miserable night and got a late start the following morning when there was finally a break in the weather.
We went over the Capitol-Daly saddle and tried to traverse from the saddle toward K2 on ledges, but got into trouble, so we backed up and dropped down a few hundred feet. This just led to more trouble, but what the heck, we scrambled our way up to the base of K2 and sat there for a while watching the clouds. The clouds got bigger and noisier, so we bagged the climb and headed down. Good thing, too, because by the time we were back to the lake, the summit was getting pounded and we were enjoying a light hailstorm. We packed camp and hiked out as the storm chased us down the valley, but it never quite caught us and we had bright sunshine and warm temperatures most of the way.
Part II (1991)
A couple of years later I went back up the Capitol Creek trail solo and camped on a little knoll overlooking Capitol Lake. The next morning I trudged over the Capitol-Daly ridge and descended all the way into the valley on the other side, then headed for the snowfields to the left of K2. I got partway up the snowfields and the altitude started bothering me (I had just flown in from sea level two days before) plus I was alone and didn't have an ice axe, so I bagged it once again and hiked out.
Part III (1992)
The following year I came out with my current climbing partner Carol. We used the same approach to Capitol Lake and camped on the same knoll as 1991. The next day we got an early start and made good time up & over the ridge, down to the valley, and up the snowfields to near the top of K2. Then it got tricky.
We had a little trouble scrambling down K2 to get to the knife edge ridge and I think we lost our nerve at that point. We ventured about a third of the way across the ridge but were pretty shaky and finally we gave up because it was getting a bit late for a summit attempt (once the knife edge is crossed, there is still a considerable amount of steep & loose rock that takes time & care to negotiate). So we headed down, packed camp and hiked out.
Part IV (8/25/93)
The next year I made plans to climb Capitol with Annette, an experienced rock climber from the Denver area. I had met her a few years before while climbing Mt. Eolus in the Needles Mountains.
We chose a different approach - we decided to come in from the Snowmass Creek side and avoid the drop down from the Capitol - Daly ridge. The plan was for me to hike in and set up camp, and then she would arrive later that evening after fulfilling some work obligations.
I got an early start and found my way up West Snowmass Creek to a decent campsite near treeline. I set up, had dinner, and waited for Annette. And waited. It got dark.
I pulled out my flashlight and tried to signal down the valley, but got no response. I kept this up until about 10:30 and finally decided that she hadn't been able to get away from work, so I went to bed with plans to try another solo attempt in the morning.
I got up around 4:30 a.m. and made breakfast and was eating when I heard a soft noise from not too far away. I pricked up my ears and there it was again! I called out 'Annette' and started wandering toward the response until finally we found each other.
Little did I know that she had been detained at work, but drove to the trailhead anyway and started hiking in after dark. The trail up West Snowmass Creek is not well-marked or maintained, so she just started slogging up the creek (and waterfalls) in the dark and ended up bivouacking about 100 feet above my campsite after midnight. She is now my friend for life.
So anyway, I finished breakfast and packed up and we went up the snowfields and over K2 and across the ridge with Annette leading the way and across the face and up some ledges and then we were there on top of my last fourteener. And Annette, bless her heart, had packed away a little champagne bottle to celebrate with, which we did (in moderation, of course, because we still had to get back across the knife edge).
We made it back down to camp, packed up, and trudged out just ahead of some nasty rain (well, it caught us near the bottom) and took off in different directions after splitting a dinner of homemade burritos she had thoughtfully packed in her truck.
Mountain........Capitol Peak
Elevation.........14,130
Rank...............30th
Range..............Elk
Trail length......7 miles
Elevation gain..5,200'
Difficulty..........*****
Comments........Toughest!
TRIP REPORT
8/25/93
The fourteener that I had the most trouble with was Capitol Peak.
Part I (1989)
On my first try, I went with a friend (Mitch). We packed in to a spot a few hundred feet below Capitol Lake. It rained. And rained. And hailed. And thundered. We spent a miserable night and got a late start the following morning when there was finally a break in the weather.
We went over the Capitol-Daly saddle and tried to traverse from the saddle toward K2 on ledges, but got into trouble, so we backed up and dropped down a few hundred feet. This just led to more trouble, but what the heck, we scrambled our way up to the base of K2 and sat there for a while watching the clouds. The clouds got bigger and noisier, so we bagged the climb and headed down. Good thing, too, because by the time we were back to the lake, the summit was getting pounded and we were enjoying a light hailstorm. We packed camp and hiked out as the storm chased us down the valley, but it never quite caught us and we had bright sunshine and warm temperatures most of the way.
Part II (1991)
A couple of years later I went back up the Capitol Creek trail solo and camped on a little knoll overlooking Capitol Lake. The next morning I trudged over the Capitol-Daly ridge and descended all the way into the valley on the other side, then headed for the snowfields to the left of K2. I got partway up the snowfields and the altitude started bothering me (I had just flown in from sea level two days before) plus I was alone and didn't have an ice axe, so I bagged it once again and hiked out.
Part III (1992)
The following year I came out with my current climbing partner Carol. We used the same approach to Capitol Lake and camped on the same knoll as 1991. The next day we got an early start and made good time up & over the ridge, down to the valley, and up the snowfields to near the top of K2. Then it got tricky.
We had a little trouble scrambling down K2 to get to the knife edge ridge and I think we lost our nerve at that point. We ventured about a third of the way across the ridge but were pretty shaky and finally we gave up because it was getting a bit late for a summit attempt (once the knife edge is crossed, there is still a considerable amount of steep & loose rock that takes time & care to negotiate). So we headed down, packed camp and hiked out.
Part IV (8/25/93)
The next year I made plans to climb Capitol with Annette, an experienced rock climber from the Denver area. I had met her a few years before while climbing Mt. Eolus in the Needles Mountains.
We chose a different approach - we decided to come in from the Snowmass Creek side and avoid the drop down from the Capitol - Daly ridge. The plan was for me to hike in and set up camp, and then she would arrive later that evening after fulfilling some work obligations.
I got an early start and found my way up West Snowmass Creek to a decent campsite near treeline. I set up, had dinner, and waited for Annette. And waited. It got dark.
I pulled out my flashlight and tried to signal down the valley, but got no response. I kept this up until about 10:30 and finally decided that she hadn't been able to get away from work, so I went to bed with plans to try another solo attempt in the morning.
I got up around 4:30 a.m. and made breakfast and was eating when I heard a soft noise from not too far away. I pricked up my ears and there it was again! I called out 'Annette' and started wandering toward the response until finally we found each other.
Little did I know that she had been detained at work, but drove to the trailhead anyway and started hiking in after dark. The trail up West Snowmass Creek is not well-marked or maintained, so she just started slogging up the creek (and waterfalls) in the dark and ended up bivouacking about 100 feet above my campsite after midnight. She is now my friend for life.
So anyway, I finished breakfast and packed up and we went up the snowfields and over K2 and across the ridge with Annette leading the way and across the face and up some ledges and then we were there on top of my last fourteener. And Annette, bless her heart, had packed away a little champagne bottle to celebrate with, which we did (in moderation, of course, because we still had to get back across the knife edge).
We made it back down to camp, packed up, and trudged out just ahead of some nasty rain (well, it caught us near the bottom) and took off in different directions after splitting a dinner of homemade burritos she had thoughtfully packed in her truck.
posted by JansStores at 5:15 AM
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