I just got of the phone with Ted Mahon of Aspen. He’s been working on skiing all 54 Colorado 14ers, and completed his quest yesterday with an 18 hour epic on Capitol Peak. He and Al Beyer found a new ski route down the south and west sides of the peak. More info here ASAP. Meanwhile, great job Ted and Al! (And who would have known, we now have three summit ski routes off Capitol Peak, the mountain that just several decades ago most people thought was completely unskiable.)
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| South side of Capitol Peak, ski route marked with small red dots. Mahon and Beyer roped up for some sections and the route involved at least one rappel. Why am I not surprised? In all, what a surprisingly elegant and creative line. Makes everything on the Grand Teton look old school, doesn’t it? |
Another view of the new line. Please click image for massive enlargement.
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| Looking down on lower portion of route. I hope this angle of view was from the recon flight, otherwise these guys need a psych eval (just kidding). |
WildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder Lou (Louis Dawson) has a 50+ years career in climbing, backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. He was the first person in history to ski down all 54 Colorado 14,000-foot peaks, has authored numerous books about about backcountry skiing, and has skied from the summit of Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest mountain.
