Deja Vu on Capitol Peak

[HikesInGeologicTime]

Short of tackling Eric and using the rope you’d brought to restrain him and drag him along the correct route, which sounds ill-advised in the best of situations (and the sketchy part of Capitol is most decidedly not the best of situations), I think you did all you could. You made your case; he disregarded it.

There’s only so much you can do when a full-grown adult of sound mind and body decides they’re going to act on a decision, even when it’s objectively a bad one, and actually trying to physically restrain him could’ve resulted in you both needing to be rescued…or recovered.

I, for one, appreciate you sharing this, and I hope you’re somehow able to let go of the residual guilt you seem to be dealing with.

[Gandalf69]

resources like 14ers.com are out there to make sure people are as safe as possible. People who climb into terrain like on Capitol should have SOME prior knowledge of the peak, the route. If you don't know what your getting into, you should not be doing it, and its the climbers responsibility alone to know that, not their partners. Everyone has to have personal responsibility. As mentioned, you could have tied up eric and forced him down, but to a grown up person? In this age of the internet and smartphones? ERIC SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER. He can't be bothered by his other social media to research what he is out doing in the wilderness??
Just like at a ski resort, just because you can ride the lift to blacks or double blacks, does not mean that you SHOULD if those ski runs are too extreme for you. Glad everything turned out ok, but you did nothing wrong. (ps they have warning signs before those lifts, for people like eric)

[Jim Davies]

Thank you for the detail. Very interesting to hear about your partner dynamics.

[nickaa]

This one seems tough to respond to but since Eric is alive, I am glad you dont hike with him anymore. Very glad you posted this, he doesnt deserve a friend like you - considering his attitude as a partner I dont think he would have done the same (in fact, he probably would have left you). There are many reasons why I choose to climb solo, or at least do a small approach hike/expedition (which you seem to have done) to gain experience, so maybe I will stick to solo for that reason. Either way, I hope Eric stops putting other peoples lives at risk without understanding the consequences. Climb on.