Capital Peak Difficulty

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patternmike
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Capital Peak Difficulty

Post by patternmike »

I see that Capital Peak is rated as one of the most difficult of the 14ers. Is this mainly because of the exsposure? I was wondering how physically challenging this mountain is. The elevation gain, grade and milage does not seem like it would be one of the more physiaclly challenging.
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Dave B
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Re: Capital Peak Difficulty

Post by Dave B »

I thought the knife edge was the easier of the difficulties on Capitol.

Traversing the exposed summit block on loose rock was the more objective hazard in my opinion.

Despite the appearance of a "short" climb it is sustained, exposed 4th class from the start of K2 to the summit, it can be mentally exhausting.

*edited to correct spelling - d'oh - :oops:
Last edited by Dave B on Tue Apr 26, 2011 8:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
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crossfitter
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Re: Capital Peak Difficulty

Post by crossfitter »

If you take the ridge direct variant, Capitol is, in my opinion, by far the most mentally demanding. The approach is quite long but feels very flat, so it doesn't seem nearly as arduous as Longs (damn those 5' elevation gain switchbacks). Mostly Capitol just has a little bit of everything: interesting routefinding, big exposure, hard climbing, lots of elevation gain, lots of milage. No particular part is daunting, but the combined effect makes it a grand experience. Of course, objective conditions and subjective experience greatly affect the difficulty of the route. A bluebird, warm, windless summer day on Capitol could be substantially easier than an Icy/Mixed, foggy mini-epic on a "lesser" 14er.
Last edited by crossfitter on Mon Apr 25, 2011 4:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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gdthomas
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Re: Capital Peak Difficulty

Post by gdthomas »

As summer climbs go, Capitol is one of the most difficult of the 14ers in nearly every category from the standard TH - Mileage = 19 RT; Elevation Gain = 5,700'; Difficulty Rating = Class 4; plus the anxiety of the knife edge if exposure bothers you. However, the rock is solid compared to Pyramid, the Bells and the San Juan 14ers.
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BAUMGARA
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Re: Capital Peak Difficulty

Post by BAUMGARA »

davey_rocket wrote: Traversing the exposed summit block on loose rock was the more objective hazard in my opinion.
What he said, the traverse from the knife edge to the summit was just mentally draining. Here's your view...
Image
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JTOlson26
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Re: Capital Peak Difficulty

Post by JTOlson26 »

I approached from W. Snowmass creek on my attempt and that was an adventure in itself, but from K2 on, it was pretty demanding. My partner and I turned back a couple hundred vertical feet from the summit because clouds were rolling in and we were just moving too slow, but it gave us some good experience. The knife edge is daunting when it comes to exposure, but i would agree that it wasn't the worst part for us.
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Re: Capital Peak Difficulty

Post by tmathews »

The first difficulty is spelling it, apparently (Capitol). :wink:

In seriousness, though, I didn't find it as difficult as I expected. I think that part of Capitol's difficulty is psychological; people work themselves up because of the knife edge, but then find that it's not the monster that it's hyped-up to be. The rock is solid and you can scoot right over it on your ass for 150 feet. If you're extremely sketched by exposure, though, then yeah -- it can be terrifying. Like others have said -- the climb past the knife edge can be even more difficult depending on your perspective. There is a lot of loose rock and the exposure there is nothing to balk at. But, oh, what a view.

Difficult doesn't automatically equate to dangerous, though. The standard route on Little Bear may not be "technically" as difficult as Capitol, but many regard it as the most dangerous of any of the standard routes on any 14er.
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Rcizzle
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Re: Capital Peak Difficulty

Post by Rcizzle »

Cap is a great mountain. One of my favorites and probably not the hardest because I heard stories of Mt. Wilson, El Diente, and Little Bear . The two hardest parts include getting around "K2", but by that time I was so worked up over the knife edge, I definitely underestimated getting around K2. If my memory serves me correctly that part was very loose too. The second most challenging section was the "ledges". They are very steep and exposed, but they also quite solid. The most important skill you need to have for Capitol is definitely the "route finding" trait. You get that by either successfully summiting Maroon Peak or by bringing someone who knows what they're doing. You'll run into a whole bunch of those guys on Cap anyway.
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FCSquid
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Re: Capital Peak Difficulty

Post by FCSquid »

tmathews wrote:Difficult doesn't automatically equate to dangerous, though. The standard route on Little Bear may not be "technically" as difficult as Capitol, but many regard it as the most dangerous of any of the standard routes on any 14er.
I personally found Capitol thoroughly enjoyable. Difficult, exposed, daunting, but enjoyable. Little Bear on the other hand just scared the crap out of me.
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JB99
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Re: Capitol Peak Difficulty

Post by JB99 »

patternmike wrote:The elevation gain, grade and milage does not seem like it would be one of the more physiaclly challenging.
Compared to what? As some others have already pointed out it's one of the more difficult climbs *up a standard 14er route* in just these categories, add in the exposure and other difficulties and Capitol earns its reputation. I don't mean to say it's all that hard though, particularly for someone with some decent experience with class 3, exposure and long days. Plus, a lot of people (myself included) break it up into a two-day trip, making things considerably easier. Of course, I had perfect conditions so she was on her best behavior... Capitol from the lake to the summit might be the best section of any 14er I've been on so far.

*edit*

http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/triprepor ... m=tripuser" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; -trip report and shaky video...
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planet54
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Re: Capital Peak Difficulty

Post by planet54 »

If the standard route isn't enough for you ,try the NW Ridge. It rates 5.7 to 5.9. Then ask us again.
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bradyj
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Re: Capital Peak Difficulty

Post by bradyj »

Capitol was my Favorite 14er. I did not find it as demanding as people made it out to be. I found the knife edge actually disappointing because people hyped it up SO much. I made it a 2 day adventure and camped at the lake. Heck I even busted my leg up in the boulder field on the way down and required 7 stitches 5 hours later when I got back down into Gypsum, which is a whole other story, but still my favorite climb to date. As for difficulty I would rate LB, Crestone Needle, and the top of Mount Wilson more difficult than Capitol. But, I do have a decent amount of class 3+ to warm me up to the route. Enjoy the climb it is amazing.
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