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Capitol Peak has been on my short list since last summer and after a summit of Ellingwood in January it worked out nicely to be my 50th summit.
"Standard" shot from the TH. This mountain demands your attention the entire hike up. I seriously could not stop looking at it.
This shot was taken at roughly 10K just past the point where the Ditch trail rejoins the standard route. We put on our snow shoes and with the exception of maybe one meadow further up the trail did not take them off until we hit the lake many miles later.
Looking back down the valley just before you hit the lake. The majority of the hike up and down through tree line was a mixture of being able to stay afloat for 80% of the time and the other 20% postholing with snowshoes. It was a very tiring stretch for me.
The sun setting on Capitol. This peak is a photographers dream.. How this Colorado gem has stayed hidden from the mainstream is a wonder but I am not complaining.. Probably due to the long approach to even reach it.
Looking up the route to the Daly saddle. In the morning on the way up it was solid kick stepping all the way to the top and went by very quickly. On the way down it was turning to mush and post holing became the name of the game..
Looking back down from the Daly saddle to the valley floor. Near the top of the saddle things were completely melted out and we were able to follow parts of the summer time trail.
This is heading down the other valley after topping out on the daily saddle. We broke out ice axes for the first part shown in the picture.
From K2 looking back down the valley. The snow was still solid on the way up and the storms you see in the background were still around us but not over us. That would change on the way back down.
Classic shot from the top of K2. Getting around K2 was one of the more spicy moves on the hike. We actually went up and over it. From this point on helmets, ice ax and crampons were mandatory.
Looking back at the knife edge. It was interesting doing this with crampons on and with a bit of fresh snow. I think its a bit over rated but it certainly does have exposure if you dwell on it.
From the ridge it was just a matter of traversing and climbing up one snow field after another. You can see my buddy center in this picture.
Looking back at the route and some of the ridge. This section was mush on the way down and even with a 9:50am summit we wished we had been down it much earlier.
Looking over at bells and Pyramid from the summit of Capitol.. Fantasic views
From the summit looking back down in the valley. Pretty good idea of conditions for most of the hike. Last summit register signatures were from January. It was amazing to have this mountain all to ourselves..
Not many pics from the way down. the storm seen in this picture moved in on us and thunder snow was booming all around us. It snowed on us from this point all the way out to truck. this is 8 miles and many hours later. Not sure of the total accumulation but we got 1/4inch in just the time it took us to breakdown camp. My guess would be 3-4 new inches. Amazing mountain and my new favorite 14er!
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
Wow! What an entirely different mood you show from the more common summer shots! Loved image #8! Yes! Capitol definitely holds your attention! Nice work! Thanks for the report! :D
Awesome job on the road less traveled. Pics 10 and 13 are just breath-taking. Hopefully I can make it up there while the surrounding peaks still have snow on them.
My computer, or more likely my connection, went a bit haywire. Hopefully Bill can clear it up with a few deletes. My comments don't need that much reiteration.
Mountain (and the knife edge) actually looks nicer with snow! Congrats!
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How this Colorado gem has stayed hidden from the mainstream is a wonder but I am not complaining.. Probably due to the long approach to even reach it.
