Capitol Peak

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 7/9/2017, By: lconnelly126705
Info: Route is in summer conditions mostly. Traction recommended to get from Daly-K2 saddle to summit of K2. Rest of the route is snow free. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 7/7/2017, By: benglish
Info: A few short, easy snow crossings on the way to the lake.
Dry to the Daly saddle. Continuous firm, sun-cupped snow from the saddle to just below K2. Dry summer conditions to the summit. I was happy to have microspikes and an axe on the snow. Low top approach shoes were sufficient. GREAT ROUTE! 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 7/5/2017, By: Amgdharper
Info: Hiker below is totally accurate. Trail up to Capitol Lake is great. Bring bug spray. Snow sporadically closer to the lake. Camp sites are dry. Trail headed up to the saddle is dry. Other side of the saddle is covered in snow. Bring your ax and crampons. August would probably be a great time to hike without them. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 7/2/2017, By: The_Flex
Info: There is many snow drifts still left on the approach to Capitol Lake, but none are difficult to cross. The path up to the saddle was very well built, so thanks to whoever worked on that. On the other side of the saddle, I got stopped by the heave snow. It is hard and steep. Some people were able to cross it with crampons and ax. Starts out with chutes of snow to cross, then most everything after that is still covered. Probably be cleared out enough in August... 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 9/11/2016, By: pianoz
Info: Great day! hiked in Friday, camped up by the lake. It was very busy so we had to double up with a group and share a campsite since all others were full. Started at 4:40 and, after wandering a bit in the boulder field, reached K2 right at sunrise. Rest of the route was dry and free of snow. Lots of people climbing, about 40ish, and we shared the summit with about ten people. On the way back we decided to go around K2 instead of up and over like we did on the approach. This was the wrong decision and proved to be much harder than just going up and over. Weather remained cloudless for the rest of the day, and it was actually quite warm by the time we got to the parking lot. Forest service is out in force so bring a bear can and camp at a site or they will throw you out. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 9/5/2016, By: shaunblair
Info: Sunny and dry, all day! Oh, the wind, though....very gusty, estimated 30 to 40 mph at times, made me death grip the knife edge as I scooted across. Did the hike from the trailhead at 3am to avoid camping! 😀

Mountain forecast said there should be great weather all week, it's a good time to attempt. Have fun! 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 8/29/2016, By: coloradodawg
Info: Most of the route up to K2 is free of snow with the exception of a couple of small snow fields that can easily be crossed without traction. Recent snow made the descent from K2 a bit slick so use extra caution on that section. Otherwise, conditions were typical for late summer. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 8/28/2016, By: scottbstein
Info: Ominous conditions up there today with some snow and low cloud coverage, it was eerie going over the knife edge as one side of the ridge was covered in fog. Snow has made a couple areas around K2 very slippery, other than that trail was dry and in good condition. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 8/27/2016, By: flagship47
Info: 11:15 am and noon pics from Mt Sopris of Capitol Peak on 08/27/16. Snow up to summit of Sopris was negligible. Didn't see any significant weather move through the Elks today. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 8/22/2016, By: Bombay2Boulder
Info: Route clear from snow all the way from lake to the peak. If you come across snow, just look around and find a way around it. No need for any traction. Also the road gets intense as people are parked like idiots on the road blocking the easiest path. Lot of big trucks and SUVs were not able to get all the way to the TH because people were parked blocking the road. I have not seen such bad parking even on the road to Kite Lake. This was evident both on my way in and way out. Multiple different cars blocking the road making the need of a 4 WD car a must to avoid hitting them. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 8/21/2016, By: Lindyhapa
Info: It was a very busy Saturday out there. I had to be careful not to kick rocks down on folks. There were no surprises out there. There were a few snow patches, but all were easily avoidable. There were thunderstorms the night before, but we couldn't have asked for better weather. It held all day and I completed the 54! 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 8/16/2016, By: Daniel Joder
Info: The few small snowfields remaining between Daly Saddle and K2 can easily be avoided. No need for ax or traction. We put on microspikes briefly to cross one (maybe 20 steps)--but we were navigating in pitch black by headlamp and the snow was hard and icy that early. In the light of day, this snow could have easily been avoided by dropping only very slightly lower. What a peak! 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 7/30/2016, By: polar
Info: Trail is totally clear of snow to the Daly saddle. There are a few small snow fields from the saddle to the talus field below K2, most can be avoided or crossed without ice axe/traction. No snow from K2 to the summit of Capitol. We did not bring ice axe/microspikes and did not regret that decision. The E face of Capitol (after the knife edge) has cairns marking the best route. Stuff above or below the cairned route tend to be very loose. A mountain goat ran across the NE face as we were descending from the summit and set off a few massive rock falls. Luckily it was below us, so it was fun to watch. It would be a different story had the mountain goat been above us. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 7/20/2016, By: goingup
Info: Did Capitol as a day trip with a 70% chance of thunderstorms. Weather held off until 3 pm when we were in the car driving away from the mountain. There is still plenty of snow in between the Cap/Daly saddle and K2. We used microspikes/iceaxe combo and felt very comfortable utilizing all available snow to avoid loose rock. Some of the snow is unavoidable, some avoidable but we were both happy with our choice to carry snow gear. There is also a nice chunk of snow blocking the "easier way" around K2. Personally, I think going up and over K2 is much easier on the ascent and return. This was the part I was most worried about and found it to be severely over hyped, same with the knife edge. Most of the difficulties are in route finding and negotiating after the knifes edge. This is the best 14er in Colorado in my personal opinion. Fell in love, hard.

Just follow the neon green cow diarrhea and you should have no problem with the early part of the route in the early morning dark (if opting as a day trip). We crossed a creek early on with no shoes on because we couldn't find a bridge or easy way over it. It was raging pretty good. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 7/20/2016, By: gspup
Info: Still some snow left just after the saddle and on the talus section. There's a sketchy spot you can avoid by going lower (pictured), but who likes doing that ? It won't hurt to bring micro-spikes for a little longer(I didn't and wish I had) and some poles. The snow sections are still long enough in my opinion to warrant them. Glissaded sections on the way down.

Prepare for many mosquitos and fly's on the approach and at camp.