El Cap Report 05/26/07

ElCap Report 5/26/07
 By Tom Evan
s Yo.... loosen your tie, take your jacket off, go to the fridge and get a cold one... the time has come to escape your pitiful daily struggle for the legal tender... let your imagination take you away like a bath in a tub full of Calgon Bubbles... straight from the Ditch comes the dirt for today... brought to you from an RPG fired from the bridge at a low passing commie satellite.... the news from "The Ledge" on the Dihedral to the Bolt Ladder on Zodiac....
 

Zodiac: with Ricardo and Dan and the Squids and the solo gone the route has fallen into relative disuse for the moment... Matt bailed today when he noticed his cell phone on a rock AFTER he had jugged his lines and discovered that his ledge had come apart and was not salvageable... did see two guys on the bolt ladder on the 5th pitch this afternoon who had full battle array ready for any obstruction... Ricardo and Dan came by late in the day to tell of their fun on the route and get the obligatory "Bridge Photo" from ElCap Pics... the Montana girls came by too and got the full treatment with a sit in the rocking chair and the Bridge photo too... the girls looked like they had hardly been worked at all!!
 
Trip: The solo was seen just below the final corner late in the day and will most likely be off by dark... tomorrow I will see if he needs a partner for the climbers clothing boutique I suggested he open.. Two climbers were seen on the 5th pitch today with all the gear necessary for the task and were off on #6 when I left. PO Wall the solo was two pitches above the continental shelf this afternoon and appears to have things under control.... who is that guy?
 
SSPO: Polish nice guy,  Ragan, was seen at the end of the 3rd or so called "sidewalk" pitch today... still "in the trees" from my view, but I was able to shoo a squirrel off a branch and shoot him through the foliage. Nice yellow shirt and red helmet.. Press on son...
 
Mescalito: Ottawa Doug is the man.... he once told me that he loved the pic of Tom Cecil (Seneca Rocks Mountain Guides WVA) on the Mescalito pendulum that was included in an article about me a few years ago... so much so that he decided to climb the route so I could get a shot of him doing it... well I had some images to do in the cafe this morning and was a little late getting down there and figured he would have done the swing well before I got there ... wrong breath of a thousand swine!!! I pulled into the center and set up and there was Doug hanging from the rope on the pendulum... I rushed to get the shot as I thought I might just miss him doing it.... not to worry... someone told me that he had been hanging there for a half hour waiting for me to arrive!! I yelled up and he did the swing and I clicked and clicked... now there is a man with a plan... he got his shots and went on about his business...the man looks strong and is getting the job done.... Also rumored that some one is poking around the base getting ready to solo the route...
 
Nose: Well the excitement level is considerable reduced now that the Montana girls are done... several parties on the great route including a couple with 3 members.. up they go... most are low down so the route should be crowded for a few days while they clear out or bail. Bailers should take a lesson from one of the great bailers of Yosemite history, Me! Remember, always bail from the parking lot the day before you are supposed to rack up... much less work!!
 
Muir: Saw Jon Gleason on the ground as I was leaving to go this afternoon... shook his hand from the van in the road... Rob and Justin were seen just below the ledges half up the headwall this afternoon... looked like they were getting some good climbing in... Send it Men!!!
 
El Corazon.. TC and BR were not visible today but I did catch a glimpse of their bags going up into a corner..
 
Salather Free Rider: Cedar and Nick started early in the morning to free this great route over several days... I saw them after they had finished climbing to the alcove from the ground... that was at 10am... disappointed not to get any shots of them but at least they had shade the entire time... think they are resting tomorrow and finishing next day... Party of maybe 4 with nice colorful haul bags were seen going over the roof onto the headwall this afternoon on the Salathe route.. did get some nice shots from far away of them... Several parties are going up on the route in the next few days so come by the Bridge to get your number in the line!!
 
Dihedral wall: Managed to get past the senior moment I had yesterday when I forgot they were on the route... did manage to get some nice shots of the men as they climbed onto "The Ledge" 10 pitches or so up the route... it looked kind of warm over there and they were in black clothing... who dresses these people?
 
In other news:  I did have a nice chat with one of the boys in green today (a new ranger who tooled me for information like ... why are you here? Do you know anyone up there? Where do you live?) I showed him some of my friends, through the telescope, who were indeed on the wall and we had a nice chat about the great rescue that was done by SAR last week and parted on a pleasant note... you know if you treat them like you want them to treat you then things are much better for all of us... them included... So there you have it... not much dirt to dish today... the "folks" as "Bill O" calls them, are pouring into the park but the traffic is not that bad... the rangers have it pretty well under control and I quickly got through an intersection that was expertly being handled by Ranger Jack who nodded at me and said "Hi Tom" as I wheeled my great road locomotive past him... I hate it when rangers recognize me... you all have the luxury of anonymity that I have not enjoyed for years!! So remember... do it while you are still young enough and you will avoid "the melancholy of regret"...
ElCap Tom