CAPITOL PEAK
14,130 ft.
August 23, 1999
By Tim Briese
I was eager to climb Capitol Peak. I had seen stunning photos of it in many places, from calendars to television commercials. Even though it ranks as one of Colorado’s hardest 14ers, with its famous Knife Ridge and other difficulties, I was ready for the challenge, having gained confidence on climbs of Wilson Peak and the rugged summits in Chicago Basin during the previous month.
I picked up my friend Bruce at 7 a.m. and drove out through Aspen and headed up the excellent Capitol Creek road through stands of big aspen trees, and arrived at the trailhead just before 11:30. We planned to tackle the 17 mile roundtrip hike by backpacking up to Capitol Lake that afternoon and climbing to the summit the next morning. From the trailhead the distant view of Capitol Peak standing gracefully up at the head of the valley was magnificent.
We began the hike by descending about 400 feet on the trail to the floor of the Capitol Creek valley below, and then we followed the creek upstream. I was a little surprised to see a few cattle along the trail early in the hike, the first I could remember seeing on a 14er trail. The rainy spell of the past several days was just breaking up, and we were delighted to see the clouds disappear as the afternoon wore on, giving us a bright blue, sunny sky. It was a pretty hike up the valley on the gentle trail, as it passed through intermittent aspen and pine forests and open meadows, with frequent glimpses of Capitol Peak’s sheer north face looming ahead. We met about ten other hikers coming down the trail, but saw only one other party headed up.
Shortly before we reached Capitol Lake a sign along the trail informed us that no campfires were permitted up near the lake, although we could have one down lower in the woods. We quickly decided that we would forgo the comfort of a campfire for the views up closer to the lake, and pressed forward. At about 3 p.m. we arrived at the beautiful lake, a watery gem lying in a gorgeous bowl just above timberline, right below the incredible north face of Capitol Peak, whose summit towered a half mile overhead. We found a splendid campsite in a meadow about 200 yards north of the lake. Although we couldn’t see the lake itself from our camp, the view of the Peak to the south was most impressive. To the north we could look down at the valley we had hiked up that afternoon. Far beyond in the distance lay the Flat Tops, some 50 miles away.
We set up our tent on a lush grassy spot near some trees and began to cook our dinner. A few mosquitoes bothered us a bit, but a cool breeze from the north kept them away for the most part. After dinner we hopped across boulders and went back up to the lake to filter water and explore the area. We did not see anyone else around all evening. It was an exceptionally clear, beautiful evening without a cloud in the sky. You could probably count on one hand the number of evenings during the summer as fine as this one in this beautiful place.
The golden rays of the evening sunlight shone upon Capitol’s magnificent north face that towered above, highlighting its grandeur. I was awed by this spectacular place. As I strolled around the shore of the lake the words of an old church song came to my mind, “You’re walking on holy ground!” For a moment I glimpsed eternity in this grand outdoor cathedral.
Bruce and I found a spot to sit on the rocks at the lake’s edge where we studied the ridge high above that we would be traversing from the subpeak K2 across to Capitol in the morning. We saw a smooth stretch of light gray rock that we supposed might be the Knife Ridge, and some bothersome looking towers to the right. It promised to be quite a challenge. Back at camp a few minutes later I took a few photos as the last rays of sun shone on Capitol’s north face, and then we watched the moon rise above the ridge to the southeast. I was in an exuberant mood as I drifted off into a peaceful sleep later, after experiencing the grandeur of that evening.
We hit the trail just before 6 a.m. the next morning, and climbed the steep slope to the southeast through the tundra to Daly Pass, a thousand feet above camp, where we paused to rest and enjoy the early morning sunlight glowing on the landscape. From the pass we worked our way south around a basin below some cliffs on the right and then ascended a steep rocky section as we proceeded toward the summit of K2. We did not see a clearly defined trail here, and concluded that if a climber is audacious enough to tackle a class four peak like Capitol, then he could surely find his way up through this rough terrain.
Upon reaching the summit of K2 we were greeted with a breathtaking, although intimidating view of Capitol and the razor-like ridge we would follow across to its summit. We descended steeply off K2’s north face and began the traverse across the ridge. I paused to peer into a gaping chasm that dropped away to the south. Soon we reached a very narrow section of the ridge that resembled the Knife Ridge, but didn’t quite look like the photos I had seen of it. Bruce exclaimed, “They didn’t tell us there are two of them!” A short time later we reached the real Knife Ridge and proceeded to scoot across it. While grasping its razor-like tip with our hands we walked our feet along just below on each side, finding convenient footholds here and there. It was relatively simple to do in the perfect conditions we had, although the thousand foot dropoffs on each side certainly kept us awake. Actually, the greater challenge lay ahead, as we left the ridge when the terrain steepened and began to traverse around onto Capitol’s rugged southeast face. I slipped a little on a frosty rock that lay in the shade, but fortunately caught myself before any harm was done. Although the route was well cairned here, it was a challenging climb, with nothing easy about it. This was certainly no place to be in bad weather. High winds or wet rock could make the climb quite difficult and dangerous. As we picked our way up the steep face, I glanced down at the beautiful Pierre Lakes in the basin far below. Their smooth surfaces reflected a few clouds in the sky above like giant mirrors. A few minutes later we scrambled up the last few feet and stepped atop the spectacular summit.
As we rested in the warm sunshine on that airy perch, we gazed around at the incredibly beautiful views in every direction. Especially impressive were Snowmass Mountain and the Maroon Bells to the southeast, with the Pierre Lakes below. There was a colorful view off to the north, with two ridges lying in the foreground, one reddish in color and the other a golden yellow, with the white rock on Mt. Sopris beyond. Far below lay Capitol Lake, a dark emerald green bowl at the base of the Peak. It was sunny and calm, without a breath of wind blowing.
After resting a while we began our descent. As we picked our way carefully back down the southeast face we met a couple coming up, the first people we had seen since the day before. It was fun working our way down through the ledges and cliffs, and soon we were scooting back across the Knife Ridge. On the other end of the Knife we found a hiker sitting on a rock, waiting with a look of anguish on his face. He had been hiking up with the couple we had met below the summit, but when he reached the Knife Ridge he was paralyzed with fear and could not cross it. I felt sorry for him, for he had come so far only to be turned back by forces from within. While the Knife Ridge is not technically difficult in good weather, it is a tough place for those who fear high places.
It took us about an hour to scramble back down to K2 from the summit, and another long hour and a half to hike back down to camp. We were becoming quite tired and thirsty. Incredibly, the weather had been clear and calm since we arrived the day before, but some clouds were beginning to build up now. As we were packing up camp two young Outward Bound leaders came hiking up with a group of a half dozen teenagers and began setting up a camp nearby. They told us they were going to make an assault on Capitol the next day, although no one in the party had ever done it before. Bruce remarked to me that is seemed a little dangerous to take those novice climbers up there to do that exposed rock scrambling, and I agreed.
We broke camp around 2 p.m. and hiked back down the valley. The sky soon clouded over and thunder occasionally rumbled in the distance behind us. We reached the trailhead two and a half hours later, totally exhausted after the final, merciless 400 foot ascent out of the valley. We drove back on I-70, and arrived home about 10 p.m., under a big full moon that shone in the eastern sky.
Capitol Peak is undoubtedly one of the hardest of the 14ers to climb. In spite of its difficulties, though, I found it to be a lot of fun. The rock is pleasantly solid, the ridge scrambling is exhilarating, and the scenery is incredible. I would not hesitate to visit this majestic peak again.
