Good point. Most (almost all?) of the navigation errors on Capitol happen on the way down.
I'd say the navigation on Capitol is easier, but the consequences of an error are greater.Is it similar to south maroon? Harder, easier?
Good point. Most (almost all?) of the navigation errors on Capitol happen on the way down.
I'd say the navigation on Capitol is easier, but the consequences of an error are greater.Is it similar to south maroon? Harder, easier?
I would say easier route finding. There aren't as many possible lines up on Capitol as there are on the Bells. Generally stay as high up as possible while keeping the climbing class 3. If you elect for the standard route you will be below the ridge til the very end. There's slightly less loose rock on Capitol than S Maroon.
I did the ridge direct route several years ago. Rock fall on the standard route drove our decision plus a friend had just gotten nailed with a rock on the standard a couple weeks before. My partner was a pretty strong rock climber and led, so that was good. I’ve never done the standard route so I can’t compare the two. I would say the ridge direct is mostly class 3 - 4 with some low 5. You can avoid some of the class 5 by dropping off the ridge a little. The exposure was fairly high. We brought some rope and used it on one place on the return, but you don’t really need it. I still remember the knifes edge as the thing that got my attention because of the air not the ridge. Worth considering this route I think.DeTour wrote: ↑Sat Apr 25, 2020 10:31 pm Attempt to semi-hijack the thread here. Planning another run at Cap this August and I keep wondering if the ridge direct from the knife edge to summit - or a hybrid variation - might be a smarter route than the standard south face. I'm not interesting in making a very difficult route any harder. I am intersted if I can make it safer. Some have opined that they thought the ridge is better due to being more solid, something I take very seriously. I've read someone say it entails some fifth class work, others who say nothing that difficult.
To be clear, I'm talking about from the knife edge up to the summit, not the ridge to K2 from the Capitol-Daly saddle. I know I'm staying away from that K2 ridge.
I've also wondered if a hybrid - partially south face standard, partly ridge direct - is worth considering. It looks like the two routes come close to meeting at the last major notch in the ridge, photo 27 in the route description. Thought perhaps following the standard route to that point and veering up to the ridge there was worth considering. Except it looks like getting up the fin that follows that notch looks might be the most daunting part. (Directly under the "Northeast Ridge" label in the photo.) Is anyone willing to weigh in on this matter?
Did the ridge direct solo and came back down the standard route my first time up Cap a couple years ago - truth be told, I did feel much safer on the ridge direct. Less people, more solid rock. However, it is incredibly exposed on both sides and there are smaller mini-knife edges on the way up. Lots of little v-notches in the ridge with little V0 boulder problems to get up. If you have strong ridge scrambling experience or a good lead head while rock climbing try it. Obviously everyone's different but if you wouldn't think twice about soloing exposed 5.4 then you'll be fine on the ridge direct.DeTour wrote: ↑Sat Apr 25, 2020 10:31 pm Attempt to semi-hijack the thread here. Planning another run at Cap this August and I keep wondering if the ridge direct from the knife edge to summit - or a hybrid variation - might be a smarter route than the standard south face. I'm not interesting in making a very difficult route any harder. I am intersted if I can make it safer. Some have opined that they thought the ridge is better due to being more solid, something I take very seriously. I've read someone say it entails some fifth class work, others who say nothing that difficult.
To be clear, I'm talking about from the knife edge up to the summit, not the ridge to K2 from the Capitol-Daly saddle. I know I'm staying away from that K2 ridge.
I've also wondered if a hybrid - partially south face standard, partly ridge direct - is worth considering. It looks like the two routes come close to meeting at the last major notch in the ridge, photo 27 in the route description. Thought perhaps following the standard route to that point and veering up to the ridge there was worth considering. Except it looks like getting up the fin that follows that notch looks might be the most daunting part. (Directly under the "Northeast Ridge" label in the photo.) Is anyone willing to weigh in on this matter?
I did the same thing. Up the ridge direct, and down the standard. I thought the ridge was MUCH safer and more solid.shays_days wrote: ↑Sat May 02, 2020 3:42 pmDid the ridge direct solo and came back down the standard route my first time up Cap a couple years ago - truth be told, I did feel much safer on the ridge direct. Less people, more solid rock. However, it is incredibly exposed on both sides and there are smaller mini-knife edges on the way up. Lots of little v-notches in the ridge with little V0 boulder problems to get up. If you have strong ridge scrambling experience or a good lead head while rock climbing try it. Obviously everyone's different but if you wouldn't think twice about soloing exposed 5.4 then you'll be fine on the ridge direct.DeTour wrote: ↑Sat Apr 25, 2020 10:31 pm Attempt to semi-hijack the thread here. Planning another run at Cap this August and I keep wondering if the ridge direct from the knife edge to summit - or a hybrid variation - might be a smarter route than the standard south face. I'm not interesting in making a very difficult route any harder. I am intersted if I can make it safer. Some have opined that they thought the ridge is better due to being more solid, something I take very seriously. I've read someone say it entails some fifth class work, others who say nothing that difficult.
To be clear, I'm talking about from the knife edge up to the summit, not the ridge to K2 from the Capitol-Daly saddle. I know I'm staying away from that K2 ridge.
I've also wondered if a hybrid - partially south face standard, partly ridge direct - is worth considering. It looks like the two routes come close to meeting at the last major notch in the ridge, photo 27 in the route description. Thought perhaps following the standard route to that point and veering up to the ridge there was worth considering. Except it looks like getting up the fin that follows that notch looks might be the most daunting part. (Directly under the "Northeast Ridge" label in the photo.) Is anyone willing to weigh in on this matter?
Oh and if you're in a good headspace, it is so frickin' fun. Incredible position and enjoyable scrambling. One of my favorite memories here in CO.
I was actually contemplating the opposite - the standard route to that point, bypassing the lower but really fractured fin(s) before it; and heading up to the ridge there. But that fin looks more intimidating in your photo than in Bill's.