Capitol Peak (Colorado)
| Capitol Peak | |
|---|---|
 Capitol Peak, from Capitol Lake |
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| Elevation | 14,130 ft (4,307 m) NGVD 29[1] |
| Prominence | 1,730 ft (527 m) [1] |
| Listing | Colorado Fourteener |
| Location | |
 Capitol Peak
|
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| Location | Pitkin County, Colorado, USA |
| Range | Elk Mountains |
| Coordinates | 39°09′01″N 107°04′59″W / 39.15028°N 107.08306°WCoordinates: 39°09′01″N 107°04′59″W / 39.15028°N 107.08306°W[2] |
| Topo map | USGS Capitol Peak |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | 1909 by Percy Hagerman and Harold Clark |
| Easiest route | Northeast "Knife" Ridge: exposed Scramble, class 3/4 |
Capitol Peak is the thirty-second highest mountain in the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the Elk Mountains in southern Pitkin County west of Aspen, within the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness. It lies on the long ridge connecting the heart of the Elk Mountains with Mount Sopris to the northwest. Capitol Peak is notable for its impressive vertical relief, for example it rises 7,000 feet above the town of Redstone, Colorado 8 miles to the west.
Capitol Peak is one of the most difficult of Colorado's fourteeners to climb. The only non-technical route, the Northeast Ridge, requires crossing the famously exposed "Knife Edge," the northeast ridge of Capitol. Fatalities have occurred on this route. Other routes require technical rock climbing, for example, the Northwest Buttress Route (Grade IV, Class 5.9). These routes have significant rockfall danger due to a great deal of loose rock; however the rock is substantially more solid than on the more famous Maroon Bells or on Pyramid Peak.[3]
Contents |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Capitol Peak, Colorado". Peakbagger.com. http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=5695. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
- ^ "Capitol Pk". NGS data sheet. U.S. National Geodetic Survey. http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/ds_mark.prl?PidBox=KL0688. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
- ^ Dawson, Louis W., II (1994). Dawson's Guide to Colorado's Fourteeners. Volume 1. Blue Clover Press. ISBN 0-9628867-1-8.
[edit] Further reading
- Borneman, Walter R.; Lyndon J. Lampert (1992). A Climbing Guide to Colorado's Fourteeners. Pruett Publishing Company. ISBN 0-87108-751-0.
[edit] External links
- Photo Journal of a trip up Snowmass Mountain and Capitol Peak
- "Capitol Peak". Colorado Fourteeners Initiative. http://www.14ers.org/peaks_elk_capitol.php. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
- "Northeast Ridge from Capitol Lake". Capitol Peak. 14ers.co. http://www.14ers.com/routemain.php?route=capi1&peak=Capitol%20Peak%20and%20Snowmass%20Mountain. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
