09/22-23/2012
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| Capitol Peak |
Grace and I haven't had much success alpine climbing in Colorado: one mini-epic on Longs Peak, and lots of retreats due to wind, weather, and acclimatization problems. Hopefully that streak has now been broken.
Capitol Peak is known as one of the most difficult of the Colorado "14ers", but that's because most of them are just giant piles of sand - well, talus. It caught my eye initially, because it really stands out on a topo map. The easiest route (the NE ridge) is 3rd class, with a few short sections of 4th; this was our descent route.
The northwest buttress is a very aesthetic line that requires a few pitches of 5.8/9 climbing and lots of low-mid 5th class. The crux comes right at the beginning, so you don't have that hanging over you the whole time, and is super fun. Unfortunately, much of the rest of the route turned out to be unpleasantly loose.
We approached on Saturday, through a glorious aspen forest. Our trip was well timed; fall color is in full swing in the high country. This led to a predictably slow pace, as I stopped to take pictures every other minute. It took 4 hours to hike the 7 miles up to Capitol Lake.
We got up at 5 on Sunday, and made the deceptively short hike up to the unnamed pass from which the route begins. The first pitch and a half is really amazing and varied. Good cracks, flakes, overhangs, and a crazy run-out foot traverse along a horizontal 5-6" crack. The 5.9 crux comes in the form of a thin crack that's too small for hands, and too big for fingers. The rock was so smooth, cold, and slippery it felt like climbing a crack in ice. The 40 F temperature meant I had to stop and warm my hands after every few moves. I didn't hesitate to pull on gear.
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| top of the 2nd pitch |
Pitch 2 is a moderately loose 5.8 slot, which was exciting to get established in, but quickly eased to mid 5th. We did the rest of the route in 3 simul-blocks, with difficulty varying from 2nd class to 5.7. There is some fun climbing, and nice positions higher up on the buttress, but the loose rock that began after the first pitch was pervasive, and particularly noticeable on the harder 5.7 sections. I was constantly worried I would kick something loose which might chop the rope or hit Grace.
We made it to the top in 6.5 hours of climbing, and were able to enjoy a brief patch of sunshine on the summit before it began snowing. Short squalls alternated with sun as we descended the NE ridge. We were back at the lake in 3 hours from the summit, and then bombed down the trail to the car in 2.5 h. Motivation: reach civilization in time to get a burger. Instead we found a steakhouse in Glenwood Springs which served us lamb chops and elk steak. mmmm.
Overall, I can't really recommend the route. It's cool to do a long committing 5th class route on a big beautiful peak, and the line is very aesthetic. However, all the loose rock really detracted from the experience: I can't enjoy climbing when I'm constantly worried I might kill my partner (wife!) with a misjudged move. Grace may have had a better experience; the worst any rocks she knocked off might have done would have been to smush one of the many pika.
Still, it was a great weekend. Excellent scenery, company, and a nice sense of satisfaction in having safely completed the route.
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