Capitol Peak (Colorado)
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| Capitol Peak | |
|---|---|
 Capitol Peak, from Capitol Lake |
|
| Elevation | 14,130 feet (4,307 m) [1] |
| Prominence | 1,730 feet (527 m) [1] |
| Location | |
| Location | Pitkin County, Colorado, USA |
| Range | Rocky Mountains, Elk Mountains |
| Coordinates | 39°09′00.9″N 107°04′58.6″W / 39.15025°N 107.082944°WCoordinates: 39°09′00.9″N 107°04′58.6″W / 39.15025°N 107.082944°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 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]
[edit] See also
- Colorado 4000 meter peaks
- Elk Mountains
- List of Colorado fourteeners
- Mountain peaks of Colorado
- Mountain peaks of North America
- Mountain peaks of the Rocky Mountains
- Mountain peaks of the United States
- Mountain ranges of Colorado
- Southern Rocky Mountains
[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.
- 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.
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