Hello and welcome to another timeless report by Krullin_14ers. Today I will be writing about our magically epic journey up Capitol Peak.

It all began the night before; a Friday I recall with a wonderful sunset to compliment the flatirons. I had been talking with the boys for some time now about getting this trip done. I went up once before with Austin Porzak via the Moon Lake Approach in March, but turned around on the Knife Edge. Needless to say, some revenge was in store! I watched countless Knife Edge videos and studied the route immensely, trying to fill my brain with as much intel about the trip as possible. My biggest fear was having to turn around again. We all know it is a whole 'nother game when you are staring the beast straight in the eye. In March we came in via the Moon Lake Approach, so Capitol Creek would be a whole different experience. Not to mention we were on skis at the time. Reports of a dusting of snow had us worried. We did not bring any technical equipment, and decided it would be a game time decision if we were to turn back.

Saturday morning, I rallied the troops at my house for a final gear check and rental of a bear canister. I had done much research on the weather prompting us to not bring a tent, and enjoy some stars. This would save us some weight, and add on to the experience. (any why I can say I have a cold now) We set off for Aspen hoping to arrive around 3, but as we all know, i70 decided differently for us. We arrived at 5, and got moving at 5:15

The view of Capitol from the trailhead is one to remember. There is not really another view like it. She is so intimidating and far away. Her sheer beauty reminds you of a solitary place where you are completely at the mercy of the mountains. At 17 miles RT, it is one of the longest 14ers.

Immediately after we set off, a couple of cows decided to escort us for quite sometime. I remember reading that they can be an annoyance, but had no idea they were this bad! One of them had the cry of a dying war lord. I mean this thing would not shut up. Constant screeches and moans for no apparent reason. These puppies ended up leading our walk until a fallen tree. They did make good pace, Ill give em that, they were not slow.

Eventually we lost the bloody cows and were free to roam the lands as we pleased. The trail is actually quite pretty as much of the aspens are beginning to change. I was in these parts hiking Castle and Conundrum exactly a year ago and the leaves were gorgeous. I love aspen this time of year - you literally can't beat it.

AHHH, finally we have made some progress toward our goal. She still seemed so far away but every sight of her drew me closer. Every time I got a glance, my palms began to sweat, and I grew more nervous in anticipation.

6.5 miles later, we made it to camp. The hike in is very easy, I would even call it a walk for the most part. It is very pretty and mildly hilly. Right before camp, around mile 5 it begins to get steep but does not last for long. Just make sure you have some nice shoes because it can be LONG. We got to camp at about 7:45. The sun had just gone down and we were ready for some instant spaghetti. Zach had the curry, Maxwell had the alfredo. I warned Zach about the repercussions of Curry...but he didn't seem to care. We all chowed down as if it were the last supper and prepared for a nice cold night. I never sleep well when camping, and this night was no exception. Zach's high tech sleeping pad sounded like a baby crying everytime he shuffled. The neighbor's dog barking every 10 minutes. Maxwell's hammock blocked my view of the big dipper. I had no pillow. It was way to cold for no tent. Combine all that into one, and what do you get? A sick boy writing you this report now.

Anyway, after a seemingly average night, we awoke at 4:50 to begin the second phase of the hike. It wasn't until 5:15 we got to moving though, thanks to Maxwell's very slow water filtration process He has this pouch you fill with water, screw on a top and squirt into your bottle. Time consuming yes, but life saving, even more yes.

Right after Captiol lake be prepared to begin the grueling elevation gain to the summit. Immediately you rise as you make your way to the Daly saddle. It took us about 40 minutes to get here from the lake. At this point there was much confusion of where to go, and I would like to clear it up for you.

When standing on top of the Daly saddle, you have 2 options. (1) continue lookers right and remain above a steep band of cliffs. This does not mean continue on the ridgeline that is on the right, but the one that is the same elevation as you are standing atop the pop out on the Daly saddle. Option (2) is to descent into the Moon Lake approach which is straight ahead of you when you ready the Daly saddle. This option does require you to loose quite a bit of elevation and then make it back. BUT this is the only way to avoid exposure, class ¾ climbing and a painfully long traverse. We sat there and contemplated this for some time. 3 fools questioned our route finding decisions, constantly yelling "do you see a cairn". They didn't make it to the summit. Choose your route wisely here, as you can get stuck on a sticky path. We ended up staying above the cliff band and it took a long time to traverse. If I could do it over again, I would descend into the Moon Lake approach and walk up to K2.

Above the cliff band mentioned earlier

A better look at the cliff band to your left. It is pretty steep and requires some intense maneuvering at times. If you are quick on your feet and good with heights, this is a fast route.

Finally, a nice look at Capitol!

The final pitch to the summit just before k2. This part is the last bit of air your will breath before the hike gets real. Oh yeah, its coming. All that nasty exposure is coming.

There is one technical move to get to the top of k2, and with snow it can be quite intimidating. Once on top though, the views are incredible!

At last, we are here and ready to go. Getting down k2 with a dusting of snow proved quite difficult. A false move here and it will cost you your life. Due to the snow, you could not go around k2, you had to go directly down a rock rib. This face seldom sees snow, allowing for cool rock and the formation of ice crystals. Slow and safe maneuvering put us at the mouth of the knife edge. Oh how good it felt to be this far, and back for some Capitol revenge!

We promptly began the journey of sweaty palms and shaky boots as we gleamed at the 1000-foot exposure below. Fortunately, the rock is SUPER solid and provides great hand holds and grip. (My palms are sweating just writing about it)

After the knife edge, the climb actually gets a little tricky. Cairns are placed everywhere, and I mean everywhere so it makes it quite difficult to choose the proper route. Go slow from here up and make sure you are always looking for two cairns, making for a clear path.

Just below the summit, be sure and go around to your left of the summit. You do not want to hike directly up the face of Capitol. You want to go around to your left and summit via the ridge. We made the mistake of sending it right up the final pitch. This was probably the scariest thing I've done in my life. There was no turning back, we had committed to this send-fest and if we did not pop out in a good place, there would be dire consequences. Thankfully, we did reach the summit this way, but please don't try it. You can witness our terrors in the video I have uploaded below.

So finally, after hours of cairn finding, palm sweating and re-routing, we made it to the summit!!!
Oh what a joy to have this one under our belts! I am so happy we got this done. My favorite 14er thus far, such a fun and character building climb.

On the summit all we could think about was getting down. It wasn't as bad as we thought. We took it slow and made it back safely. We took the normal route down instead of sending it down the direct face, proving to be much easier. The only rough part was getting back on to k2. The route we used earlier was deemed un-assessable, prompting us to take a snow route to the top of k2. SUPER SKETCHY. Lets just not talk about that, my palms are already sweaty AF.

We decided it would be best to descend into the Moon Lake approach for times sake. From here, you simply wrap around to your left and rise some elevation to put you back at the Daly saddle. We dropped back into the lake and headed out.

It is incredibly rewarding to have this one under my belt. I know how much this mountain means to so many people. This marks my 32nd 14er and nothing compares. I've hiked them and skied them, but nothing is like the sheer beauty and intimidation of Capitol. I'll never look at Capitol like I did before I climber her. I've got so much respect for this mountain and the solitude that comes with it. I hope this report helps aid you in your climb of the beast too! Thanks for reading. One love!

Alex



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A detailed video of the climb from K2 to Captiol, including the Knife Edge. Please watch in HD