ElCap Reports

ElCap Report 6/12/07

 By Tom Evans

Ok ... so it is Tuesday and there isn’t much you can do about that... still a long way until the weekend and there you are wishing and hoping for some relief... some inspiration that will pick up that flagging spirit of yours... just a few words to let you know that it is really all right and that you are going to make it... well call your grandmother because all you are going to get here is the unvarnished, uncensored (although some have tried), ugly truth... or maybe you got lucky and the truth is a wonderful reflection of your heroic inner being ... the one that rose above the petty existence you lead and made you a hero in everyone’s eyes, most probably... you just got lucky!! Anyway here it is straight from the bottom of the two Blue Barrels that are being hauled up the first few pitches of the Trip as I type these lines... Today’s ElCap Report... direct from the shade of the east side of the Bridge of fame and the walk of shame....

Zodiac: Martina and Peter have not shown up to start the route but I expect to see them there tomorrow...

The Ranch: More staging has gone into this thing than getting a space shuttle off the ground!! Pete is of course totally unconcerned and has all the time in the world while Kate is trying to get the lad moving in a positive direction... Pete showed up at the bridge today with an apron adorned with the image of a sheep... a weird sheep at that complete with tongue stud... the biggest one he will ever see. Kate lead the nasty second pitch yesterday and reported at the bridge this afternoon that it wasn’t "that bad".

Mescalito... the two guys are moving right along and seem to have it going on there...

Nose: A one day team who supposedly started at 2am were seen this morning in the gray bands and this afternoon heading for the glowering spot.. should be off around dark. There is a team that was in the stovelegs yesterday that I watched do the king swing... pretty good job there.. a little high but pulled off the mantel that is required if you go that way there.. camp 4 tonight... Saw a team of a man and women in the stovelegs ... she led some and he did too... she has a nice pink top.. very fashionable!!! at 2:30 they were on dolt tower and will make ECap Tower this evening..

Jolly Roger: Eric Mike Bill are still staging and should go for good soon... casual guys these ... should be a good one to shoot...

Salathe... Didn’t see anyone over there today... DP and crew seem to be off now...

In other news... ElCap burped around midnight last night and the valley shook for a while... no injuries and no damage were reported to my command center at the Bridge.. in fact the bridge was quiet until later in the day ... we had food and drink there complements of Mara and enjoyed a beautiful day there ... the temps are moderate and the sky clear.. the wall is empty and you are not here... show up and get on something good as I am getting tired of shooting a few folks on the Nose each day... Flash!!! News just in from dinner at the cafe just moments ago... my man in the field one "KFC" reports to me that ....Two strong Korean teams are lining up on Aurora and Lost in America or maybe the Trip.. they are the Blue Barrel owners and are expecting to go soon... also a solo on the trip is getting ready to go and a pusher on the Trip too and a pusher on Zodiac in addition to Martina and Peter, from Germany, who are starting tomorrow for sure... suddenly the action on the Captain is about to heat up... good deal..

It is very encouraging to see that some of our better wall climbers are starting to do solo pushes on some of the shorter, moderate routes (thus the so called "Pusher" .. nothing to do with drugs!!) as it is nice to see a return perhaps to an earlier time when climbers were striving to be more efficient and thus faster and less gear laden. I remember Tucker Tech climbing the Dihedral wall in 3 days solo without a haulbag or portaledge.. of course he was trying to recover from a broken heart which is a very dangerous condition to have in the first place... but we have a wealth of information available on the Supertopo site and from climbers like Hans, Ammon, Ivo and others who have shown the way to more rewarding and efficient climbing.

So check it out and maybe you will find the game to be less drudgery and more fun when done in a better style... don’t get me wrong here... people have the right to climb in any style they like, in accordance with their abilities, and it is all good as they are the ones having the experience, and the "do your own thing" style will always be the best way... but it does seem strange that the times are increasing instead of decreasing on some routes even though the climbers today are far better equipped and are better, more experienced climbers than those in the past...So I hope the folks going on these newer "old style" climbs will be an inspiration to some of you who are in a position to reach beyond your normal style.. Yes, yes I know... easy for old Tom to make such statements from the bridge and it is absolutely none of my business how you climb... but I just ask you to give it some thought...

So that's the way it is on the big stone... Tuesday June 12th, 2007 another day in the life of ElCapitan...

Later Tom