The tiny town of Ouray, Colorado (population: 813), sits tucked away in a box canyon beneath the soaring San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado and is the self proclaimed "Switzerland of America." And not because of it's chocolate, but because it draws ice climbers from around the world.

Standing atop Point 13,664—also known as K2—the view southwest to Capitol Peak’s 14,130-foot summit is both intimidating and inspiring. It’s intimidating because the mountain is a soaring fortress of rock. It’s inspiring for the same reason. The mountaineer in me admires the peak’s architecture, and the aesthetics of its few routes of ascent.

From this vantage, I can see the famed northeast ridge head-on. In many circles, it’s referred to simply as The Knife Edge, and it’s why I’ve come to this remote 14er in mid-July. By many standards, Capitol is the king of Colorado 14ers. 

According to legend, French fur trappers in the 1820s were caught in a tremendous snowstorm. To lighten their load, they buried large amounts of gunpowder (poudre) in a hiding place (cache) along the banks of a river.

This is just one of the many stories about how one of the most scenic rivers in Colorado came to be known as the Cache La Poudre. (Pronounced: Cash-lah-Pooder.)