If you wonder if you can find the courage to do Capitol Peak, this report is for you. I had pretty much decided it was out of my league. But with the right factors in place we were able to minimize the risk and maximize our enjoyment with a successful summit. This is a report to tell you what those factors were.

The six factors that made this my favorite 14er experience to date are:

1. Bluebird weather
2. Fitness
3. Overnight camping
4. Class 3 & 4 experience
5. Grippy shoes
6. Climbing partners who had summitted before

I’ll build the trip report around these.

1. Bluebird weather

The forecast for the entire weekend was warm, zero percent chance of rain, very little wind, and bluebird days from Friday through Sunday. This was huge because it removed the anxiety of having to race the clock on the hard sections. We could take our time to route find and also enjoy the moment. We even stayed on the summit for a full hour and 15 minutes.

2. Fitness

We trained for this mountain because 17 miles round trip with 5300 feet elevation gain and class 3 and 4 scrambling requires a lot from you. Our main training was to hike several 14ers in the months leading up to the trip. We did some 2000 ft gain hikes in June, and then six 14ers on weekends in July and August, leaving a two week rest period before climbing Capitol. In addition, I did a lot of core, one-leg balance and upper body strength exercises. Full-body fitness definitely gives you more confidence on the Knife Edge and beyond.

3. Overnight camping

Some high performers do the whole trip in one day. That is not us! We are more intermediate level. So we arrived at the campsites near Capitol Lake mid-afternoon and were able to get a full night of sleep before starting the summit attempt in the morning. To us it was totally worth it to carry the full backpack both to get the sleep and because the scenery up there is worth a longer stay. [Note: we got the last of 8 available campsites at about 3:30 pm on a Friday, so plan accordingly if you want to get one of those.]

4. Class 3 & 4 experience

There is no doubt that class 3 and 4 experience was hugely helpful for everything from K2 to the summit. I don’t think you want Capitol Peak to be your first high exposure experience; it would likely be a bad experience. We started the year with between twenty and thirty 14ers under our belt, but only one of those had a high exposure rating. We had done only three class 3 fourteeners. So here’s what our training looked like:

• July 11 – Mt. Lindsey by NW Ridge route
• July 18 – San Luis Peak (as a 14er finisher hike for one of our group members)
• Aug 1-3 – Crestone Peak, then Crestone Needle on separate days, both from Cottonwood Creek camp (In my opinion nothing on Capitol was harder than these two in terms of difficulty.)
• Aug 8 – Tabegauche Peak by West Ridge (mainly to stay in shape)
• Aug 15 – Torreys Peak via Kelso Ridge (to see how we would do on a knife edge. Very helpful!)
• Sept 4-5 – Capitol Peak

In addition to these climbs we went to a climbing gym twice just to get used to vertical exposure and class 5. You won’t see any of that on Capitol Peak but it made the Knife Edge seem doable by comparison.

Here’s how the summit day went for us.

With good weather guaranteed for the whole day, we didn’t set out until almost 7am, returning to camp at 3pm. So just under 7 hours of hiking, not counting our summit siesta, with the round trip from K2 to summit to K2 taking about 4 hours.

Some photos from the beginning up to K2…

Let’s talk about the Knife Edge. I had always wondered how I would feel at my first look at it. Surprisingly, the feeling was confidence that we could do this. This was largely due to the first 4 success factors being in place, plus the next one, which is…

5. Grippy shoes

My daughter and I both bought La Sportiva approach shoes for this occasion (the TX4 model for me), testing them out earlier on Lindsey, the Crestones and Kelso Ridge. The superior traction just adds even more confidence on the rock and they weigh much less than boots. Totally worth it.

Here are a few shots of the Knife Edge crossing where we were really glad for the shoes. For the record, I found online GoPro video to be unhelpful in getting a realistic feel for the Knife Edge. Such video exaggerates the sharpness of the ridge. The exposure is real, but it is on either side of you, not beneath you. To me that makes all the difference because on the Knife Edge you can actually sit down and rest, unlike climbing an exposed wall where if you got tired or made a mistake you would drop.

6. Climbing partners who have summitted before

After the Knife Edge is where the route-finding begins. We had two partners who had summitted before. This took away what I think is the biggest reason there are fatalities on Capitol – going off route. I had heard that there is a lot of loose rock to the summit but I found that most of it could be avoided if you stay on track. Also, we had been schooled in the essential truth that you MUST descend the same way you came up, including the Knife Edge. There is no shortcut off the mountain that you will survive. Seriously.

Some photos after the Knife Edge to the summit.

So, there you go, friends. I hope this report helps bring Capitol Peak within your reach. It truly is a remarkable adventure if you get the opportunity. By the way, if you stop at Sure Thing Burger in Basalt for your victory meal afterwards, you won’t regret it!

I would just add one footnote about our trip, which is that it almost ended before it even began. On our drive to Capitol we were coming west on I-70 from the Eisenhower Tunnel when a runaway semi-truck passed us on the left pushing 90-100 mph. He crashed not a quarter-mile in front of us, creating a horrific scene of destruction across the highway. If the trucker had been in our lane or if we were 15 seconds further down the road we likely would have been killed. So, for your consideration, I add a seventh factor for a successful summit trip: the grace of God.