Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 2022-12-26, By: Will_E Info: No summit. I went up a week ago to figure out the creek crossing in daylight (thanks Screesurfer!), then went back last Friday and put in a trench to Moon lake so I wouldn't have to deal with my sucky route finding ability in the dark. Today I made my attempt, but after reaching K2 I just couldn't muster the cojones to proceed on. My trench is much better than usual, I was pretty happy with my route through treeline, made it to Moon Lake in 4.5 hours this morning. No telling if it will survive the weather that is showing to arrive on Wednesday. A few really big trees came down with the wind storm last Thursday, but not difficult to get around. |
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Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 2022-09-30, By: jamesmlord Info: Turned around at K2 due to unexpected snow/sleet storm around 7am that lasted for about an hour. Made the descent across boulder field difficult. One solo climber ahead of us made it up and down safely. Three others behind us also aborted the climb. BTW, I found some hiking poles on the route. If you left poles behind, please let me know where you left them and the type of poles and I will arrange to get them back to you. Otherwise, I plan to give to my son who climbed with me. |
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Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 2022-09-29, By: Gandalf69 Info: Snow off and on throughout the day made for more than I bargained for. I should have turned around at k2. Listen to your instincts, they are usually right. The colors aren't peaking yet in the aspen area. |
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Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 2022-09-25, By: TX2AFA Info: Camped overnight and were first group up, started at 0500 and on summit by 8:30. Back to car at 2:15. Could not have asked for a better day weather wise. Small patch of snow on K2 summit bypass. Plenty of space in parking lot and at camp sites. |
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Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 2022-09-25, By: pboldt94 Info: Dry all the way to summit, despite recent snowfall. Sunny and warm. Message if interest in any photos. |
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Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 2022-09-20, By: swesleyc7 Info: Here's a photo of Capitol, K2 and the knife's edge taken from Snowmass' summit on 9/17. Snow is beginning to accumulate in the area at an increased frequency. Snowmass had 3-4 inches of snow on the summit and the talus field just below, however not in Snowmass Lake's valley. There was not enough compact snow to walk on helpfully in the morning and it proved to be slippery in the afternoon after the sun warmed it up. Hope this is helpful if considering Capitol at this time. |
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Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 2022-09-04, By: The_Ramp Info: Day marred by a fatality that occurred during our climb - see forum topic. Route is clean, clear, and as advertised. From a route-finding perspective, this peak is a real puzzle. From navigating the initial gullies and the talus/boulder field, to the various ups, downs, and arounds on the ridge, and then the traverse up the south face as well as the final ridge push to the summit. A few thoughts: - Preparation was key. There are AMAZING resources out there from other climbers on this site with excellent beta on the route. I strongly suggest you study multiple climber trip reports before attempting. I was surprised in talking with folks around camp the night before our attempt how little knowledge they had on the route. A lot of focus is on the knife edge which is ~0.001% of the total climb and is one of the most-straight forward sections. - We thought the crux of the route was the final push to the notch on the east face, with loose rock and some spicy moves. The descent through this and the rest of the east face was challenging and slow. - Once through the notch and on the summit ridge, the climbing does not ease but actually seems to amp up - we stayed ridge proper going up and then did a slight variation coming down, though mostly on the ridge. It's all pretty solid but very airy and took longer than anticipated. - We took the ditch trail into camp and the creek trail out. The trade with taking the creek trail out is that there is about ~400' of elevation gain to get back to the parking lot. But it was all downhill until that final ascent, the aspen forests in that valley are unreal, we weren't playing the mind games of "I remember this rock; we have to be close now", and our GPS actually said the creek trail was slightly shorter than the ditch trail. Splits: 3.5 Hours TH to Camp (Ditch Trail); 2.5 Hours Camp to K2; 1.5 Hours K2 to Summit; 4 Hours Summit to Camp (we took our time); 3 Hours Camp to TH (Creek Trail) |
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Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 2022-08-15, By: E_A_Marcus_949 Info: Free and clear to the summit. Lots of rockfall. Saturday morning lot absolutely packed; midday at the lake most campsites full - look for people leaving and hover kindly. Lots of cows/cow patties on the upper TH/ditch trail in. The creek crossing right before the standard trail and ditch trail (on the ditch trail side) requires some shoes-off wading unless you're confident in your long-jump abilities. Wag bags available at the TH - use them and make sure to pack them out to a trash can in town. No trash collection at TH. |
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Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 2022-08-09, By: gcook33 Info: Great mtn. 4.25mi, 2700' from campsite 6 after a 6mi backpack in the day before. Some mosquitoes so bring some spray/wipes. Definitely a peak you want to keep your wits about you for multiple hours. |
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Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 2022-08-04, By: zootloopz Info: Summer conditions except for one patch in the boulder field. Spikes not necessary but could be a comfort. Or you could just walk under it. Standard route. Walked / went hands free across the knife edge for my 3rd ascent of this beautiful peak. Still my favorite 14er!!! |
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Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 2022-07-27, By: strausnb Info: Attempted solo ascent of capitol via direct ridge to k2. I mistakenly took this route after losing the trail and figuring the direct ridge couldn't be too bad. A word of forewarning, I don't think the direct ridge should be attempted unless it's not your first time on capitol. Long sustained exposure over loose class 4 rock with no exit points and turning around would likely be more time consuming and dangerous than finishing the ridge. Made it to K2, decided I was overwhelmed and turned around descending the standard route as afternoon storms rolled in. Start early and check your GPX as I lost the route constantly. Saw a bear on the ditch trail so make sure you have your canister. Stay safe! |
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Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 2022-07-18, By: bmcqueen Info: Summer conditions. There are a couple areas of snow left as you make your way to K2, but they are low consequence sections and the boot tracks through them should provide ample traction. I carried spikes yesterday and never put them on. |
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Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 2022-07-25, By: Msbaker Info: The road is in decent shape. I got my Mazda CX-5 up to the trailhead with minimal effort. Saw a few sedans at the trailhead so you don't necessarily need 4WD. Backpacked in 6 miles on 7/15 (Saturday evening) to Capitol Lake and most of the campsites were full. I ended up at Campsite 9. Bugs are horrendous in this area so bring your spray. Also bring your bear cannister as they are required and word on the summit was that a bear was seen at Campsite 9 the day I arrived. Started my hike at 6 AM and reached the summit in three hours from Campsite 9. Conditions were perfect. Very steep gaining the first ridge with Daly on your left. Snow fields in the Talus section which eventually leads to K2 are all avoidable or crossable without spikes. Knife edge was really fun, although it did get a bit busy on the return so be prepared to wait. The final pitch to the summit isn't easy and contains a lot of loose rock. Small summit but amazing views in all directions. Got back down to Campsite 9 in a little over 2 hours with some breaks to eat. Wildflowers in full bloom near the lake. Truly an incredible mountain. |
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Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 2022-07-11, By: benmangelsdorf Info: Hiked in Saturday, camped near the lake Saturday night, climbed Sunday and hiked out Sunday afternoon. A fair amount of snowfields between the Daly/Capitol saddle and the hike up to K2. They were hard-ish in the morning and soft on the way down around 10AM. I didn't wear spikes, but I honestly think spikes and axe would have been very nice on a few of them, particularly the last one. If you were really determined, you could probably bypass the steeper snow by scrambling some rock on the right, but I'd recommend just bringing an axe because you can then safely glissade on the way down. Aside from that, summer conditions. Amazing route, we stayed closer to the ridge after the Knife's Edge and did a ton of really fun scrambling. I wish all 14ers were like this. |
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Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 2022-07-09, By: dogsandguitars12 Info: Hiked in to camp Friday afternoon, my Corolla made it all the way up the trailhead. 99% summer conditions. We took K2's north ridge (ridge direct) to K2 then stayed high from K2 to summit. No snow at all on ridge and really solid class 3 and 4. Low winds and perfect day, didn't even wear windbreaker for most of the day. We descended standard route and it was a lot more loose than the ridge. Some snow fields left between summit and saddle, pretty not solid snow and spikes don't help from sliding and sloshing but short fields. Some of the creek crossings on the ditch trail are impassible without getting wet. Water shows recommended. Lots of mosquitoes. |
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Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 2022-07-07, By: chrislowrimore1 Info: Snow patches still remains in some of the gullies after you reach the Daly-K2 saddle, as well as the boulder field on the east side of K2. Microspikes were needed, and ice axe recommended in the early morning as the snow is iced over. No snow to navigate on K2 if you ascend K2 and descend on the north side. However, if you elect to go around the north side of K2 rather than summit it, there will be snow to navigate. Other than that, the rest of the route above the is snow free! |
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Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 2022-06-26, By: calhack7 Info: Summited via Standard route yesterday. No way to avoid the big stream crossing, ended up taking off my shoes/socks and waiding across. Between there and Capitol Lake there were a few downed trees and snow patches. Up to the Daly Saddle was completely dry. Lots of snow from the Daly Saddle to K2. I had microspikes and an axe, crampons would have been better in the morning. You could probably avoid it all by staying up on the ridge between the saddle and K2. Went up and over K2, there was snow on the bypass. Some snow patches on the standard route after the knife edge but all were avoidable. Saw one guy who turned back shortly after the Daly Saddle, other than that we were the only group up on the mountain. |
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Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 2022-06-17, By: Will_E Info: Summitted Capitol yesterday from the Capitol Creek trailhead. Trail is dry to the first big creek crossing, I took water shoes to get across, it was just above my knees, and cold. After the creek crossing there is quite a bit of snow here and there, but there were foot steps in place that made it easier to manage. A few sections of downed trees after the big creek crossing as well. Large snowfield just below Capitol Lake, the trail to the Daly saddle was dry. After reaching the Daly saddle I attempted to do the high route to K2, but after a few steep snowfields I gave up and descended lower, ice axe was needed to do this safely. After reaching K2, route is fairly dry, I was able to avoid snow on Capitol's ridge direct route pretty easily. On the way back, I just dropped all the way to the bottom on the backside of the Daly saddle, used crampons to get back up to the Daly saddle, worked really well, even in the late afternoon. Nice day, met a couple campers near Capitol Lake, beyond that had it all to myself. |