Capitol Peak (14,130) by Brian Schultz Sunday July 19, 1998
The long drive from Minnesota on Friday gave me plenty of time to think about climbing and mentally prepare myself for Capitol. I studied the route many times over the winter and was eager to get back to the high peaks again. Having hiked mostly easy ones, I would be attempting my first class 4 and Capitol Peak was the first of three in a row planned. I worried alot about the knife-ridge and wondered if I was getting in over my head. The guide books say it has good holds but reading about its exposure unnerved me somewhat- my mind pictured long, sheer dropoffs with tiny, precarious holds and slipping meant a terrifying death. And I would be climbing solo.
I reached the trailhead at 1:30 PM on Saturday. The skies were clear and sunny and it was hot. I visited with the ranger who warned me to put on some bug lotion (which I didn't have). He'd just returned from Capitol Lake and planned on spending the night there but a marmot got into his tent and chewed up the rubber hose on his stove.
At 2:00 I hoisted up the heavy backpack and began the descent of 400 feet. The trail is excellent and the hike in was mostly uneventful. The flies and mosquitos were awful (which made rest stops very brief) and the resident cows did not seem to appreciate my presence as they blocked the path, moving very slowly to let me pass. Beautiful wildflowers and glimpses of Capitol lured me on but I struggled at the end; just taking 25 steps at a time was a major effort. The altitude took its toll on me and at 6:30 I plopped down at the grassy knoll, too tired to even walk up to the lake for the view.
After sitting a while to stop my head from spinning, I took some ibuprofen and set up the tent. I made dinner and visited with the neighbors- three young guys who got to the kniferidge, got spooked and turned around. That had me worried. Perhaps I really was in over my head. Sleep did not come easily and I tossed and turned until 1:30 in the morning. I was jolted awake at 4:00 and I mean wide awake- that was it for my night's sleep. Surprisingly, I felt pretty good- no nausea or headache. I studied the route some more, made sure the pack was ready, and mulled over routefinding, the weather, the kniferidge, reaching the summit- the usual stuff. And ate breakfast.
At 5:55 I started for Daly Pass and got there at 6:30. It was already warm, the sun was bright, and the skies were clear. So far, so good! Two women, Connie and Sarah, caught up and we chatted and took some photos of K2. We dropped down the other side on a good path instead of taking the exposed ridge up, losing 200 feet in elevation and in essence circling around to get to K2. This brought us to a steep snow-filled basin - so out came the ice axes. We stashed them under some rocks at the top and the gals moved on ahead of me. I didn't have the energy to keep up with them but eventually made it to the top of K2 and what a view from there! The kniferidge looked pretty impressive down below.
Dropping straight down to the kniferidge is extremely steep and exposed; the best route is descending 50-60 feet to the north and then angling over to it. Connie and Sarah were already on the kniferidge as I neared it. All my worries about it vanished quickly as I scrambled across. It's true- you really can hold on and walk your feet under you (most of the way). It's plenty exposed but not as bad as described and the superb weather and dry rock made the going easier.
Once across, there's still considerable distance to the top and the very exposed face must be climbed. I saw Connie and Sarah working across it but I stayed closer to the ridge which was a mistake. It is horribly steep and I lost some time looking for a shortcut. Steady angling to the left brought me to the far side and from there back to the right and then up to the ridge. As I neared the ridge, I ran into Connie and Sarah on their way down. Another couple was right behind them and all successfully made it up. Connie climbed below the ridge while Sarah stayed high to get to the summit. I went for high and after a short, thrilling scramble I found myself on the summit! The time was 9:40 for a 3 hour 45 minute climb from camp. I was overwhelmed at my great success and reveled in the superb views.
I had the summit to myself and stayed for only 20 minutes even though the weather was great. It was hot at this high elevation which surprised me. I ate lunch and started down. Somehow I kept drawing too close to the ridge on the descent of the face and continually had to make corrections to get to the kniferidge. When I got there, two guys were coming across and one was having trouble- it took him over 15 minutes to cross and he said it was the most dramatic exposure he's ever encountered. When I got to the basin past K2, I searched for my ice ax but couldn't find it. I was so discouraged but glissaded the very soft snow without it and at the bottom met more climbers going up. At this point I finally felt truly safe and was very glad to be down from the hard stuff.
I made it back to camp at 1:10 for a 3 hour 10 minute climb down from the summit and a total climb of 7 hours 15 minutes. I was parched and overheated, and my new filter wasn't working right. It took forever to fill a bottle. I packed up and left at 2:10 for the long hike out and when I stopped to filter water again, the flies swarmed all over me. Pump, slap, pump, slap, over and over, all the while barely getting any water through the filter. The flies were in my hair and biting my arms, face, and neck. I'm drenched in sweat, the temp felt like 100 degrees, and all I wanted was to get back to the truck. When I got to the woods the mosquitoes took over. By now the pack was so heavy I hardly had the energy to swat them. Almost totally dehydrated, I got to the last section- the 400 feet gain up to the trailhead- and finally at 5:30 reached the truck. I was worn out. Getting the pack off was a huge relief and my backpacking adventure on this trip was officially over- just day hikes from now on out.
Despite my worthless filter, lost ice ax, and no bug spray, the two day trip was rewarding. I had a backup ax in the truck. About the exposure: IMO, it was much worse on the face than the kniferidge. Even so, the exposure didn't bother me at all, unlike in the past where I've turned back because of it. Apparently, my fear of exposure was tamed on Wetterhorn. There's no getting around the fact that weather can influence the outcome of a climb and I was blessed with perfect conditions. The rock on the face was solid for the most part, making for fun scrambling to the summit. Capitol is a hard peak but not as hard as I thought it would be, considering it was one of several peaks I initially thought I would never do.