Capitol Peak - Northeast Ridge Direct, Solo Ascent

A solo ascent of the northeast ridge of Capitol peak staying ridge direct as much as possible starting from the saddle of Mt Daly. I met up with a friend on the summit. She took the standard ascent. Together we down climbed caps headwall, helping another (inexperienced) climber make his way out safely and made our traverse back across the knife edge, around k2 and down the arduous boulder field. finally arriving back to the saddle between Daly & K2. After many switchbacks we arrived at the junction for Capitol lake and pushed through the last 5 miles of beautiful and easy trail to our cars. ~18 miles and 5400ft of gain. Started 3am, made summit at 9:30am. Mostly class 3 but a lot of class 4 and rare but low class 5 depending on your route. Loose rock requiring extra attention and testing. Sustained exposure. Intense mental and physical day. This is an extremely dangerous mountain and should only be attempted by experienced and skilled climbers/hikers with route finding skills, route information, proper gear and understanding of weather patterns. This is a very long and demanding day. Take extra food and water you will use it. START EARLY!! Absolutely do not get caught in a storm on this mountain or you are in BIG TROUBLE.