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Capitol in a day, or however long you want to call it
Miles: ~19 (Creek Trail out, plus failed Daly attempt)
Vertical: ~5,500'
Hours: 16 TH to TH, ~32 home to home, ~45 bed to bed (with 5 hours of naps)
Added hours on trail: ~4.5 (pooping *PACK IT OUT!*, stashing beer, summit lounging, Daly failing, drinking beer, wishing Ben would scramble faster)
TH to K2-Daly saddle via Creek Trail: 3 hours
Saddle to K2 summit: 2 hours
K2 summit to Capitol summit: 2.5 hours
Capitol summit to K2 summit: 2 hours
K2 summit to K2-Daly saddle: 1.5 hours
I think Dillon took every photo except the ones he's in and numbers 29-32 and 36.
trailed by twenty hounds
What's sixteen hours? I've been climbing Capitol for eight years. I was living in Florida in 2007 when I first saw Bill's video crossing the Knife Edge and thought it was the coolest thing ever. From cool, Capitol came to seem challenging, then downright scary. Lately, it occupied more of a haunting position, the monkey on my back. I wasn't sure I even wanted to climb it anymore, but I sure wanted to have climbed it. I also definitely wanted to check out the Knife Edge.
loaned me twenty bills
"Ok, but you have to leave your shirt on and wear normal clothes."
"Do I have normal clothes?"
"I'll bring you some."
Into the Wooly Mammoth squealed Dillon's Jeep at 8:30 on Thursday evening. By midnight I was all bivied up under the stars. Surely I snagged at least two hours of sleep. With the help of an hour's nap after work and the blazing moon, we almost made our planned 4:00 departure. Make that 4:30. No worries, the forecast was 0% precipitation through Sunday. And forget Wheaties. I downed half a Chipotle burrito and we were off.
ran down to the levee
We took the Creek Trail on the way out. One crossing was a challenge. It was like the Knife Edge, only slippery. There is no picture of Dillon on all fours crossing the log, or of the small branch of that log that caught his lamp after it slipped off his head. Sorry. Safely across, somehow he took the lead and I straggled valiantly.
We beat 7:00 to the lake, stashed a couple beers, and cruised up to the saddle. This TR may only have one useful contribution. Get ready. I don't know if this is Bill's exact route, but from the K2-Daly saddle there's a clear trail that descends slightly and leads to a steep grassy slope, where a trail clearly continues on steep switchbacks. You might even call this slope a gully, as it's bordered by ribs. I say it's more of a slope. At the bottom of this grassy slope, directly across a loose rocky gully, one scrambling move up the opposite wall gets you to a small cairn that will lead you to the boulder-hopping section. Of course, we found this route on our return. I think it costs about 100 vertical feet. Compare that to tedious scrambling across and up that loose gully, which you would otherwise encounter a minute after foregoing the trail down the grassy slope, and take your pick. There's also rumored an option that really hugs the base of the cliff. I predict that will gain popularity over the next few years.
Taken on return from a little south of the K2-Daly saddle: grassy slope in front, opposite wall in center, boulders in back
zoom of the exit on the opposite wall
I ended up a ways left ascending the boulders. They seemed less tippy over there compared to our descent on skier's left. That deviation was purely accidental. 9:30 brought the top of K2. We were on the summit of Capitol at noon and back to boulder-hopping by 3:00.
Dilly-Daly
prison, baby
Oh, but beers at the lake wouldn't taste nearly as good without all the extra details. So here are at least a few. K2 definitely contends for crux of the route, especially with snow on the ledge around. We went up and over. The Knife Edge lived up to its reputation as one of the coolest mountain features around and not as difficult as you worry it might be. Not that I'm much of a climber, but I felt pretty awkward crossing much of it: the straddling sections, mostly. I had thoughts of sitting on the Knife Edge and calmly enjoying a time of reflection. But the thing is sharp. Good luck reflecting on anything but you-know-where. It encourages continued scooting.
Mountin'
We stayed true to the standard route to the summit. The gullies across the face after the Knife Edge are loose but doable. I found them comparable to the ledges on Eolus, possibly a bit easier, definitely with similar consequences. Gaining the summit ridge via the small ridge offered fun and efficient scrambling. The summit ridge itself was interesting"more exposed and difficult than I expected"and I paused in more than one spot to appreciate the daylight shining upwards, from below and between the massive blocks that comprise the ridge.
Ignoring that whole "summit is only halfway" thing, we savored the oasis of safety: gummy bears, photos, a soggy half-burrito, Pringles! We even napped for 20 minutes. Then up jogs a Leadvillian on her day off from the coffee shop. She gave us a three-hour head start from the TH and just about caught up. I think that's only because she wasn't weighed down by a helmet. Not much later we were joined by a father and his two sons, ages 10 and 11.
That was a fun sunburn.
We opted to stay below the summit ridge on descent, following obvious and lightly-cairned ledges back to the fun ridge that descends from the summit ridge. There were a couple sections along the face where communication helped prevent being above or below others. Overall, I feel this route offers pretty good safe zones, at least from other climbers.
The east side of K2 is a lovely place to be for the second time in a day. Hop, skip, jump, K2-Daly saddle. My life was now complete, but Dillon hadn't earned a new checkmark in weeks. Mount Daly looks like a cool mountain. However, I must recommend against its south ridge. We found it certifiably dangerous. Detour: 90 minutes, let's leave it at that.
Does anyone else only see the skiable slope in the foreground?
sweet Anne Marie
Back to those beers. Yes, back to those beers we went. We even found them. Then we drank them. One each. I filtered some water from the lake. Sunrise to sunset above timberline, check.
away each lonely night
Apparently Dillon was taking it easy on me while we enjoyed the day. Headlamps back on, he started running. "I don't know how to run," he says when he declines my run club invitations in Denver. Now we know he's just being nice. Maybe someday I'll keep up. There was one tricky stream crossing on the Ditch Trail, nothing a running leap couldn't almost clear.
You don't have to be faster than the bear. You just have to be faster than your partner. Good news for Dillon. Fifteen hours in and I had yet to be eaten by a bear. That was about to change. I mean moo-cow, not bear. I mean scared, not eaten. Fortunately for me, Dillon was the one to run into them. Fortunately for Dillon, he brought extra pants.
If I get home before daylight
Take note: Aspen does not cater to the late-night hungry hiker. It was Friday at about 9:30, and of the two joints that might have granted entrance to our smelly selves, the BBQ place was closed (strike two by my count) and the brewery doesn't serve food. Maybe there's a Domino's or something; that was closed, too. Fortunately, the Shell station in Aspen is fancier than most restaurants I'm used to. Their turkey sandwiches aren't even bad. Nap, drive, more food, wish Dillon had gotten Leadville Girl's number, more nap, drive, "GTFO my Jeep," drive, shower, whatever meal you call it at four in the morning on Saturday, ...and sleep.
I've slept well since.
Dillon, thank you for a great day!
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
The subliminal messages in those subtitles went right over my head. Other than that, you nailed it. Your 2nd TR? Haha. A few takeaways from this trip: chipotle beats a bowl of wheaties, read the instructions before attempting Daly, a nail clipper is the 11th essential, and maybe Im really at run club when I say, "Ben, I’m at run club, where are you?" ?!? Haha. Enjoyed this one. Now finish those 14ers buddy. Are you on longs?
for future reference: New York Pizza (on the brick mall, really close to the fountains) has giant slices for $3. they’re open til 1.45am even during the offseason. Ryno’s Pies and Pints serves food til 10.30ish usually and has tasty stuff. Justice Snow’s, though pricier, has a $10 burger and I think their kitchen is also open til 10.
this is an awesome TR, fantastic pics and hilarious writing and wordplay. congrats on Cap!
Thanks for the supportive comments, y’all! This was a fun one to climb and write up. It helps to have a fitting song.
Emily: Who isn’t?
Annalise: Thank you for the food recommendations! Duly noted.
Dilly: Purple Longsflake? Stay tuned for a couple San Juans in the spring. Bring your skis.
Congrat’s on Cap. If you go back for Daly the hardest part is getting past the first two towers; stay climber’s left on the first one through a small window then stay climber’s right for the second and just below the rock wall. After that it is easy to stay on the ridge and an enjoyable mix of ridge hiking and easy scrambling to the summit.
AnnaG’s food suggestions are right on, New York Pizza is cash only. Stoney Ridge Fridge, next to Domino’s is also a great post–climb spot usually open late. The place serves a breakfast sandwich on french toast, what’s not to like?
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