Stone Pony

08/27/2017 By Milek78
Since first time I came to Colorado 2 years ago I wanted to climb Capitol Peak. I did not have what it takes back then. I heard about its technical difficulties and remoteness. After Torreys Peak(by Kelso Ridge) I felt like I need a partner and some support to pull that off. In July I met B0NE at one of our New Jersey's events and asked him about the trip to Colorado. He just said: yes, lets go. Since then the plan was made and Capitol Peak stood as one of our major targets.

This is great mountain and the feel of accomplishment is enormous, especially for us flatlanders. For me its been the hardest thing I ever done. I would probably change few things leading up to the climb. Could have spend more time a the lower elevation and prepare for the climb, but with the time constraints there was not much time for that. All in all I'm glad we pulled that off. This cache is just like a little cherry on the cake. Thanks for bringing me here, cool to log it after few years without find. TFTC

Photo

Photo

08/27/2017 By B0NE
Hailing from New Jersey, Milek and I are on a roadtrip to cache this area of the USA. Highpoints, counties, and many other interesting caches are on the radar. Thanks to the many CO's for placing these caches. Time to journey on!

I'll start at the beginning. Milek78 had been wanting to summit Capitol Peak for over 2 years. I was at an event earlier this year and he asked me if I was interested in flying to Colorado to climb Capitol Peak. I immediately said yes and got to work on planning some caches around the area and booking the flight.

As a somewhat experienced climber and hiker, I knew it was time to step up my game and go for a 14er which just so happens to be what some may call the hardest non-technical summit in Colorado. Never having experienced elevation above 10k, I was concerned about possible elevation sickness and fatigue. Nonetheless, I was excited to give it a shot.

We pulled into parking, and hiked in the Capitol Lake trail. We arrived and immediately setup camp at about 11500 ft above sea level. We were both already tired from lack of sleep and the long hike. I had already started getting a slight headache which persisted and got worse as the night went on. I spent the entire night in the tent freezing accompanied with a headache. With little to no sleep, we got up early to start the journey up.

The first half would have been cake but the altitude slowed us down. Harder to breathe and was getting a little dizzy with mild headache. At one point before K2, I wanted to quit, couldn't see myself going the whole way like this. Slow and steady, we pushed on up and over to the Knife Edge or AKA Stone Pony. Heights used to bother me but since I started summiting mountains, I've gotten used to it. I felt more comfortable on this than a lot of parts on the mountain. Seemed solid and went across mostly riding the pony. Got winded about halfway across and paused for a pic while looking down both sides at a fall of certain death was exhilarating.

The mountain gets considerably harder after this point. As the altitude increased, so did my need for breaks. We sat on the other side and discussed the real possibility of turning around. The intimidating view of this massive summit, increasing clouds, and feeling like hell were the factors. We knew the further we went, the further we had to trek back. The mountain had played it's tricks on our minds but still we pressed on.

Loose rocks, steep inclines, and fear of death were what lay ahead. We both went for it and gave it everything we had until we reached the summit. Capitol Peak was ours, but now for the descent... Climbing down was easier and harder at the same time. Exhausted and proud, we made it out alive. Through the pain and doubt we still made it up, it was the most physically and mentally challenging hike/climb to date.

On a more serious note. While in camp and on the mountain, word quickly spread of a missing hiker. Once we reached the peak, we saw the rescue helicopter circling the mountain. We knew it wasn't good. Once back at camp, I found out the details of what happened. I won't go into it here, but I want to stress the difficulty and terrain of this cache is real. The mountain is a class 4 scramble, lots of loose rock and paths that appear to be shortcuts back to camp will lead to your doom. Never try to go down the North face of this mountain, it is a cliff that hides from sight when on the ridge near Stone Pony. Stay safe and know your limits, get some climbing experience before heading here, and do a google search about recent news of this mountain.
Stone Pony

09/14/2014 By juhhi
I hate to say, but I did'nt make it. The terrain was mostly similar than Lappland in Finland, and I done worst. But the altitude and when I saw K2 I decided to turn back. But at least I can say I tryed...juhhi Finland
Been there. Almost...

08/17/2014 By Going_Up
It's odd to log a DNF for a virtual, but I earned the DNF. My hope is to come back within a year or two to turn the frown upside down.

Came up the previous day as part of the In View of the Stone Pony event, organized by vorticity. After getting altitude sickness the previous day, I felt weak and dehydrated, but otherwise felt fine. Figured I would get as far as I could. Except for some anxiety about slowing the group down, I enjoyed the hike, and made it further than I expected. Once I tried going over K2, I didn't feel like I could make it back over, and made the hard decision to turn around at K2, 500 horizontal feet from GZ.

I heard someone else who turned around where I did say they would never do something like this again. My thought was that I looked forward to coming back when I am in a better condition to make it all the way.

By not getting to GZ, I didn't have a find for the day, which would jeopardize my 100+ day streak. After getting back to Denver, I was able to crawl around under a bridge in the dark to make a find and keep my streak alive!
Saddle_before_sunrise

Capitol_cirque

Where_I_turned_back

08/17/2014 By WingsAndTales
The first time I looked at this cache I thought there was no way I would ever do this. Then there came a challenge cache that required it, GC2K4T3. I still figured it was out of reach but kept thinking about it. Then vorticity published an event close by and I started to contemplate actually doing it. I found lots of videos on the internet showing the knife edge those images kept me awake at night but I decided to go anyway. The hike to Capitol Lake is an adventure all by itself but it's just the beginning of one of the hardest and funnest things I have ever done. I suspect I may be back to try for the summit in the future now that I know I can handle the challenges along the way. Many thanks to vorticity for leading the group to the cache. His experience on Capitol made this possible for the rest of us. Getting to know a few other cachers along the way made it even better. My only regret was that my hiking partner, estes01, couldn't be there but she'll be happy to know that her tent passed the test. TFTC
Getting there is half the fun

The glow of sunrise from the saddle

Snailman1 and Jsarch contemplating the route

Maroon Bells and Snowmass Mt from K2

I rode the pony and I liked it

Columbine in the rocks on the way down.

08/17/2014 By SnailMan1
I have looked at this cache in the past and figured it was one that I would never get. When vorticity set up the event nearby, I thought that this was my chance to at least giving it a go. After we hiked up to Capital Lake I was having serious doubt that I was going to be able to make it up to this cache given how much my legs were aching. I decided to get up a little bit early to give me a head start up the trail and my legs felt surprisingly well. We all I met up at daylight at the saddle. Vorticity led us out down the trail which gave out in about 100 ft. We then entered the rock/boulder field which lasted all the way to the top. I have never hiked over such difficult terrain in my life. We all finally made it to K2 and the decision we had to make was up and over or around. We decided to go over which turned out to not be as bad as I was thinking it would be. After that we made our way to the pony and we each took our turn breaking it in. We couldn't have had a better day. The weather was perfect and the scenery was awesome.
Snailman1 riding the pony (GC6DC7)

Vorticity, WingsAndTales and jsarche (GC6DC7)

K2 (GC6DC7)

Capital Lake (GC6DC7)

08/17/2014 By jsarche
So, Capitol was one of those 14ers I had placed on my "likely will never climb" list a long time ago. Too remote. Too difficult. Too technical. Then Vorticity went and put together a geocaching event at Capitol Lake, and I'd run out of excuses to even get on the mountain. We had a great time hanging out at the campsite Saturday night, and we were on the trail by 5:30 Sunday morning and had the awesome treat of seeing sunrise from the Daly-Capitol saddle. Some lengthy amount of time later, we were at K2 trying to find the best way up and over. Then we reached the Pony -- the very aptly named Knife Edge -- and I was done. I was physically up to the challenge of summiting, but that small, insistent voice of mortality in the back of my mind wouldn't shut up. Along with SnailMan1 and WingsandTales, I rode the pony and then we turned around and began the long trip home. What an awesome experience! No regrets whatsoever about not hitting the summit. This was one of the most memorable hikes I've done, and the opportunity to log an old virtual at the top of it was a great deal of icing on that cake. Thanks!
Ominous. Menacing. Brooding. Gorgeous. Pick an adj

Sunrise from the Daly-Capitol saddle.

The main event.

A bit more perspective on the main event.

08/16/2014 By COpackrat
It had been more than 30 years since I last rode the pony, but don't count me out yet! I went in to Capital Lake the night before so I could go up on Saturday morning, hoping to avoid some of the Sunday traffic jams, and had a great day. The views were just as spectacular as I remembered, and the weather smiled on me. Went across to the summit, and had a nice visit with others there, then returned to camp and the event later that day. What a great weekend!
Pierre Lake Basin

Capital Lake

Summit shot

Riding the pony

08/16/2014 By hartsdale
Yea!!!!

More later,,,,,,,,,

I started this log after I got back to the east side of K2.

I came up a day early camping and hiked up to the Pony this morning before the Event down below this evening and what a hike it was.

I was on my own and going around, up and down K2, I almost threw in the towel.

I watched two groups come back two different ways and I found a third way that was the best way for me.

Taking my picture was not easy either, but I was glad that there was no wind to deal with.

Thanks for some great memories!!!!

BTY: be careful crossing the snow fields, I lost my footing and went down but with my quick and lucky stab with my fingers, I was able to stop myself from a very bad slide and stop on the rocks at the bottom.

Hd

This entry was edited by hartsdale on Tuesday, 19 August 2014 at 01:48:31 UTC.
That's old me

Event site in center just north of the Lake

Snow field crossing.

Sunrise from the saddle.

08/09/2013 By johnsonny
Whew! That pony has quite the kick! Made the climb with a great bunch of guys and made sure to stop for a pose 'in the saddle.'

As a side note, there was a geocache container on the summit with a log and everything. I went ahead and signed it. Could have been someone was going to place one there but couldn't get it approved.

This entry was edited by johnsonny on Friday, 27 September 2013 at 18:42:19 UTC.
Great bunch of guys crossing

In the saddle