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.
Capitol Peak Knife Edge
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
.
See also
References
External links