Capitol Peak

Colorado peak questions, condition requests and other info.
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Boaterzz
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Re: Capitol Peak

Post by Boaterzz »

docinco wrote: Tue Oct 05, 2021 4:45 pm aadi, this isn't about you personally--past couple of years this site has been plagued with wannnabees and arrogant trolls, sometimes amusing but usually just obnoxious. not you. your questions seem reasonable to me; you just picked the wrong month. conditions right now are poor for both climbing and snow-climbing, too much or not enough. to my mind, concurring with others here, either of the crestones could be a good choice because of the southern and/or western exposures; same with little bear west ridge although i haven't done this approach. hourglass on little bear is said to be a good snow climb but right now would be a mess; was a piece of cake when i did it in the summer, but it was almost completely dry then, and the fixed rope was solid although unnecessary. happy climbing and welcome to 14ers.com. we're not all glassbowls.
So someone without a lick of climbing/hiking experience in CO comes on the board to say "I wanna climb one of CO's toughest 14ers in adverse conditions bc I think I can and I did some stuff in California...oh that's not a good idea lol? what about 3 or 4 of the other most difficult 14ers where ppl commonly die lol? Let me continue to troll you about hiking in trail runners when it's obvious there will be snow on everything this weekend...surely I wont need crampons."

And y'all are really taking this person seriously?

Troll or otherwise, you are not capable of doing these peaks. Even in summer conditions.
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WVMountaineer
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Re: Capitol Peak

Post by WVMountaineer »

bdloftin77 wrote: Tue Oct 05, 2021 10:24 am Friday weather.jpg
Sunday weather.jpg
Weather on Pikes was almost identical to this forecast last Friday, Oct 1st. Snow came earlier then expected and was a wet heavy snow which we were prepared for and didn't have a problem ascending/descending in. The one thing I didn't expect was the whiteout conditions on the way down from the summit to about 12,500 ft so if you decide to give this a shot, expect difficulty navigating Capitol with very low visibility.
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arthurspiderman
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Post by arthurspiderman »

Boaterzz wrote: Tue Oct 05, 2021 6:33 pm
docinco wrote: Tue Oct 05, 2021 4:45 pm aadi, this isn't about you personally--past couple of years this site has been plagued with wannnabees and arrogant trolls, sometimes amusing but usually just obnoxious. not you. your questions seem reasonable to me; you just picked the wrong month. conditions right now are poor for both climbing and snow-climbing, too much or not enough. to my mind, concurring with others here, either of the crestones could be a good choice because of the southern and/or western exposures; same with little bear west ridge although i haven't done this approach. hourglass on little bear is said to be a good snow climb but right now would be a mess; was a piece of cake when i did it in the summer, but it was almost completely dry then, and the fixed rope was solid although unnecessary. happy climbing and welcome to 14ers.com. we're not all glassbowls.
So someone without a lick of climbing/hiking experience in CO comes on the board to say "I wanna climb one of CO's toughest 14ers in adverse conditions bc I think I can and I did some stuff in California...oh that's not a good idea lol? what about 3 or 4 of the other most difficult 14ers where ppl commonly die lol? Let me continue to troll you about hiking in trail runners when it's obvious there will be snow on everything this weekend...surely I wont need crampons."

And y'all are really taking this person seriously?

Troll or otherwise, you are not capable of doing these peaks. Even in summer conditions.
Boaterzz this is a bad and wrong take.

aadi clearly has a resume with peaks tougher than the standard routes on all CO 14ers. Most peaks this time of year (especially in the Sangres) should be in good enough condition. The forecasts aren't calling for any significant snow soon and I'm sure that aadi will have a blast on whatever they chose to hike up!

Plus, crampons are worse than useless in these shoulder season conditions. Trail runners and maybe microspikes are perfect for this time of year unless you are baby brained.
aadi_duggal
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Re: Capitol Peak

Post by aadi_duggal »

Boaterzz wrote: Tue Oct 05, 2021 6:33 pm So someone without a lick of climbing/hiking experience in CO comes on the board to say "I wanna climb one of CO's toughest 14ers in adverse conditions bc I think I can and I did some stuff in California...oh that's not a good idea lol? what about 3 or 4 of the other most difficult 14ers where ppl commonly die lol?
If you think the peaks I have listed equate to “not a lick of climbing experience”, I don’t really know what to say. I really don’t know what point you’re trying to make by saying I’m trying peaks where people “commonly die on”. Mountains aren’t inherently deadly. Being underprepared IS. I made this thread so I don't end up underprepared with summer gear. I’m sorry if that struck a chord with you for some reason.

Also, word of advice:

Regardless of how inexperienced/incompetent you think I am; that attitude of trying to make someone look stupid will instantly discredit you and diminish anything you have to say that IS of substance. If you think that someone, like me, is inexperienced and your first instinct is to insult that person, you’re not going to get anything through them.

Luckily, I have no intention in trying to prove you wrong. I’m not getting hurt by doing something beyond my skillset to prove a point. That may not be the same for others who listen to you.
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JaredJohnson
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Re: Capitol Peak

Post by JaredJohnson »

I wonder how much snow is in the Indian Peaks Wilderness around this time, as it's lower altitude perhaps not as much? OP, Lone Eagle Peak (solo flight) and the Mohling Traverse could be perfect for you if they're dry. Really great climbing and a significant accomplishment. Here's one TR: https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/triprepo ... trip=15534

Unfortunately I can't give any insight into the conditions there, but maybe others can. Not as high but not as far south so I can't venture a guess
aadi_duggal
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Re: Capitol Peak

Post by aadi_duggal »

JaredJohnson wrote: Tue Oct 05, 2021 8:59 pm I wonder how much snow is in the Indian Peaks Wilderness around this time, as it's lower altitude perhaps not as much? OP, Lone Eagle Peak (solo flight) and the Mohling Traverse could be perfect for you if they're dry. Really great climbing and a significant accomplishment. Here's one TR: https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/triprepo ... trip=15534

Unfortunately I can't give any insight into the conditions there, but maybe others can. Not as high but not as far south so I can't venture a guess
Thanks! I’m not sure if you’ve done this, but I just remembered about the tenmile traverse. That would be a great addition to my trip, since I’ve yet to do a long alpine ridge traverse yet (Building my way up to the WURL within the next few years? We’ll see lol.) Not sure about the conditions for that though, and I couldn’t find much about that recently here.
Aphelion
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Re: Capitol Peak

Post by Aphelion »

The Tenmile traverse could be great. Mostly easy talus/trail in case of poor conditions, optional class 3/4/5 if it's dry.
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Slawson405
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Re: Capitol Peak

Post by Slawson405 »

What a contentious topic! My dude, if you’re not a troll, check the conditions reports for nearby peaks. If there’s not one, probably means conditions are s**t. If you are a troll, you’re a veteran, you’ve got these people divided lol.
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Barnold41
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Re: Capitol Peak

Post by Barnold41 »

aadi_duggal wrote: Tue Oct 05, 2021 8:00 pm I’m not getting hurt by doing something beyond my skillset to prove a point. That may not be the same for others who listen to you.
...but you can die. Just don't end up a fatality, that's mostly what people are trying to say.
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two lunches
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Re: Capitol Peak

Post by two lunches »

aadi_duggal wrote: Tue Oct 05, 2021 8:00 pm Mountains aren’t inherently deadly. Being underprepared IS. I made this thread so I don't end up underprepared with summer gear. I’m sorry if that struck a chord with you for some reason.
i respectfully disagree your comment, given that some of the mountains in question are Capitol, Little Bear, and the Maroon Bells. plenty of well-prepared, experienced climbers have died on those peaks in better conditions than you'll find up there right now.

good luck, be safe.
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Re: Capitol Peak

Post by Chicago Transplant »

Earlier this year on a Capitol a young man fell and died, his body is still up there because as they tried to recover him, four of the SAR members were pummeled from above by rockfall and one was injured rather seriously. I think a lot of the posters here probably had that incident in the back of their minds and don't want to see you hurt or killed, nor any rescuers be put at risk of the same if something were to happen.
“The fourth rescuer sustained major injuries after being struck by a rock, which knocked the rescuer roughly 20 feet through the air in a ‘rag doll,’ or somersault motion,”
https://www.aspentimes.com/news/searche ... ear-aspen/

Similarly, on Blanca recently a SAR member was injured searching for a missing man who was later found deceased on the mountain.
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Reg0928
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Re: Capitol Peak

Post by Reg0928 »

stephakett wrote: Wed Oct 06, 2021 10:59 am
aadi_duggal wrote: Tue Oct 05, 2021 8:00 pm Mountains aren’t inherently deadly. Being underprepared IS. I made this thread so I don't end up underprepared with summer gear. I’m sorry if that struck a chord with you for some reason.
i respectfully disagree your comment, given that some of the mountains in question are Capitol, Little Bear, and the Maroon Bells. plenty of well-prepared, experienced climbers have died on those peaks in better conditions than you'll find up there right now.

good luck, be safe.
I agree with Steph. Most of the options being thrown around ARE indeed inherently deadly, and the fact that you think otherwise leads me to believe you probably shouldn't be climbing them in the current conditions.

Not trying to pile on or be a prick, but please rethink this plan. Stay safe!
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