PERSONAL NOTE: Five people died hiking Capitol in 2017. This is the hardest standard route to any 14er in Colorado. You must have YEARS of climbing experience to tackle this mountain safely. DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS AS YOUR FIRST 14er. Located in the rugged Elk Mountains and the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Area. Among the most beautiful of the Colorado 14ers, Capitol Peak owes its shapely lines, faces and ridges to glacial chiseling and smoothing. While the Maroon Bells and Pyramid Peak are roadside attractions and photographed often from a roadside overlook, spectacular Capitol Peak is a bit more elusive. The standard knifes edge route is 17.0 miles round trip from the Capitol Creek Trailhead and nearly 6000 feet elevation gain with technical class 4 scrambling moves. Extreme caution as well as experience is needed when climbing a mountain with such loose rock and exposed edges.