ElCap Reports

ElCap Report 5/27/07

 By Tom Evan

s Yo... a little late posting this one as the Valley was a Zoo yesterday with huge traffic volume ... but here it is fresh from the pack of a hitch hiker I sent out as the van couldn't be moved in the traffic... your man here on a windy warm day with all the action from the cap.. we had the bails and the flails today and some "walk of shames" too. We had some expeditions backing their bags and hauling their shit up fixed lines and down from the top...So direct from the Dihedrals' Black cave to Zodiacs' Dead End ledge... here it comes... the ElCap Report..

Zodiac: I saw team Zodiac on the black tower at 9 this morning as I had gotten down to the bridge early because all the local hanging bros evacuated the cafe early to go to church and with me working and all I didn’t get to go with the lads. Saw them in the white circle late when I left.

Trip: the two guys on there were seen going up the slab to the 9th pitch when I left and seem to have it all under control... There is a new team of two lurking around the 3rd pitch and they are well dressed too.. so they should draw attention from this cameraman

PO Wall: did see Marc cross into the bearing straits from the central latitudes today.. seemed to be moving along just fine..

SSPO: Got a few shots of Ragon as he did the 4th pitch today... hope the lad has some extra food and water as he didn’t make much distance today... but these things start slowly and gain momentum... so a word to the wise... Don’t become discouraged on the first 2 days or so of a route and bail ... if you have the prov’s and are healthy then you will get faster as time goes on and not have to do the walk of shame. I know as I have bailed too many times myself for no good reason and now I suffer the melancholy of regret never to be erased.

Mescalito... Must say that my man Ottawa Doug is racking up the pitches as he headed toward the ominous Bismarck looming above.. it casts a long shadow over the route and the thought that it is up there with that off width finish can chill even the warmest heart... you go Doug... because of course you have to do it, like it or not, or you will miss that plane back to Canuckland.

Nose 3D several parties are on it but up high... did see a unique thing today... two speeding climbers with no baggage arrived at the king swing this morning and went down to do it... must have had the wrong book because they tried too high and too low and never did get it.. they bailed from the top of the boot... the King Swing won one for a change... did see them slinking by on the far side of the bridge doing the walk of shame.... we let them pass unberated as we have all walked that walk ourselves.

Muir... did see Rob and Justin working on the pitch above the slab today and got to see R take a couple of nice whippers ... he seemed ok though and was right back on it and passed the pitch without incident...

Shield... did see Bobo and "someone else’s girlfriend", aka SEG,  going up the Muir approach pitches with her leading after they jumped some fixed lines up the FIRST 10 PITCHES!

Salathe Free Rider... Speaking of fixed lines... saw a team of 4 consisting of a certain famous photographer, a tall thin local gal, a broken down big waller on the rise again, with his woman, hauling massive loads to hollow flake after ascending said fixed lines yesterday.. but the lines were their fixed lines put up after climbing the freeblast and were removed as required by NPS... take a lesson Bobo!! It can be done from the ground!!.. a few parties working on the upper half... Cedar and Nick should be finishing up today on FR.

Dihedral Wall Got over there late in the afternoon and saw that party doing the flake pitch high on the route... two more days should see them off... nice lighting over there in the late day...

In other news... Werner came by early and we chatted about how getting old is a good thing but not all it is cracked up to be ... he sat in the ElCap Rocker at the epicenter of the center of the big wall scene here in Yosemite and said he felt 10 years younger when he got up... the power of the rocker is not to be denied!!! Ricardo and Dan and their entourage stopped by to hang out and recall their just finished climb... various others drifted in and out as we chilled and swilled down at the Bridge...People have asked where I stay and I am going to fess up... There is this ledge at the top of the Heart, on EC's SW Face, called Heartbreak Hotel and I have some invisible lines strung up... so in the evening I jug up there and while away the hours .... . That’s a wrap for another day.... remember the trust built over a lifetime can be lost in a moment ... so be square with your loved ones and reap the rewards...

From Heartbreak Hotel... see ya at the bridge... ElCap Tom