Wednesday, March 21, 2007

With warm weather, local makes 1-day winter climb of Capitol Peak


Climbing Capitol Peak, thought by many to be the most difficult 14er in Colorado, is a long way in and a long way out. To do it in one day, even in the summer, is tough. Local Steve Bremner did it a few days ago.
On his blog he says: the one day push "has been an obsession for me for eight years. I tried unsuccessfully twice in 1999 and again in 2001 but never let go of the thought that I could do this. Yesterday brought success."

Of the crux he writes: "I down climbed the north face of K2 and proceeded to the infamous knife edge, which turned out to be the easiest part of the entire climb. Snow had formed a perfect snow bridge along the northwest side. The previous party's footsteps had sunk deep into the snow showing that they had been there later in the day when the snow was soft. I followed their steps with complete confidence, making little imprint in the solidly frozen early morning snow—that snow bridge was solid as rock. With the exception of a couple tricky spots on rock along the final ridge it was an easy snow climb most of the way. There were slings on the hard spots and I was sure wishing I would have brought a short rope for a self-belay, but I'm still here!"

Props to Steve. Before you try this, it's important to realize Steve is serious business. I think he holds the record for most fourteeners climbed in a 24-hour period.

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