Capitol peak fall

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pmeadco
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Re: Capitol peak fall

Post by pmeadco »

Based on the description my guess is it is one of the gullies not far from the saddle. Perhaps at 39° 9'45.25"N, 107° 4'23.97"W, or maybe 39° 9'43.81"N, 107° 4'23.74"W. That is just speculation, however. I recall a few different potential routes in that area and I could understand that someone may attempt to go high there rather than traverse around.
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JaredJohnson
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Re: Capitol peak fall

Post by JaredJohnson »

handonbroward wrote:Does anyone else have any info on this "gully" that is referenced? Curious as to where it is in regards to the Daly saddle and where the regular route heads from there.
From the 14ers route description just after going over the Daly saddle:

"Begin traversing across the side of the slope where it quickly becomes obvious that some route finding is necessary. Take your time and try not to lose much elevation as you cross a couple of small gullies and steep terrain. After approx. 1/4 mile, the route becomes more obvious"

When I reached the saddle on the 14th I was considering going up the ridge direct route, I turned right and scrambled up the ridge for about 4 minutes on easy class 2/3 to a point just before the first significant "wall" on the ridge and had some breakfast. Some guys that had passed me wound up meeting me there thinking they were on the standard route. It became clear that on one of the very first steep gullies that you're supposed to traverse and "try not to lose too much elevation", they instead followed a faint trail upward. We chatted and they rejoined the standard route.

I decided to take the standard route so I dropped down and met them again. When we reached longer snow fields on the standard route I pointed them in that direction and one of them said "well there's a bit of trail here that switches back and goes higher" and they took that. I took the standard route and I think it was easier if not safer. I heard from them later that they managed to get to K2 alright on the route they chose.

It's pure speculation but I think the unfortunate climbers on the 15th took that first steep detour. Although they might have taken the second or they might have intentionally been on the ridge direct route. In any event they aren't to be judged, if there were any mistakes made a hundred other luckier folks made worse mistakes that week and got away with it. I got myself off-route on the way down from the summit and nearly got myself injured or even killed when a hold popped off of some loose rock I shouldn't have been trying to traverse on. Thank you Jesus the rest of the rock held and I managed to calmly downclimb.

I just think it's important to take the lesson to be careful to avoid these types of deviations and stick to a route, either standard or ridge direct, or whatever route one has pre-planned and is confident they can handle. And maybe work your way up to a peak like Capitol with slightly less serious hikes and perhaps some class 5 practice at the gym. Maybe it would be worth looking at the wording in the 14ers route description to make sure it helps people avoid the gully mistakes -- although it doesn't seem too bad, it certainly put me on the right track. Maybe even a picture of that section with a line showing where you should go and a line showing what to avoid.

-Jared
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ChicagoMike
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Re: Capitol peak fall

Post by ChicagoMike »

Thoughts and prayers to his family and friends
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