ElCap Reports

Yo.. Another super duper day here. Perfect temps to climb in the Valley but maybe just a tad warm on the Great Stone. The fire to the west is still making shooting difficult but far from impossible. The Nose was pretty crowded today and the Salathe saw some action. The rest of the routes are just sitting there waiting for you to show up!! Today's report is brought to by YOU, the climbers who want to be here so badly but, for the most part, have other obligations. YOU are the reason for the Report I do each day. I want YOU to be inspired and motivated to get out here and get in some ElCap time. ElCap had sort of fallen into the back waters of climbing in recent years and I wanted to renew interest in it in the community at large. So I have tried to connect with YOU directly. YOU have responded and I hope YOU can get the full benefits that the ElCap experience can provide. So, sell the car, get a ticket to the Valley, fill the haul bags and get on the route of YOUR dreams. I promise YOU some killer shots that YOU will remember for a lifetime.

Today's ElCap Report is here, now, for YOU...

Water Fall route: Well... the climb done by Alec and DanO, the other day, has generated some interest so Will and Jason went up on it today to try some free climbing. I saw them in the afternoon above the 5th pitch. Good luck and have fun guys!!

Zodiac: Bob and Ryan were starting the last pitch as I left this afternoon and are over the top by now. Nice work guys and you get the award for the most colorful kit on the route this season!!

Pitch above Peanut Ledge

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Bob and Ryan heading for the top on Zodiac

[IMG]http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll27/elcap-pics/BobandRyanheadingforthetoponZodiac.jpg[/IMG]

Gary and Eric climbed the Nipple and Mark of Zorro and were poised to head to Peanut ledge when I left. They might not have gone higher as the time was getting late and that pitch is a long one. In any event they should be off sometime tomorrow if all goes well. They have shown themselves to be a tough team with tenacity and will power. BTW they swooped the food and water that was left at the top of the Nipple last week. So don't plan on getting free water if you are going up there in the near future!! Ugh Oh.. the pic shows it is still there, maybe I wrote in haste about the food and water being gone. I will check tomorrow for sure.

Gary leading the Mark of Zorro

[IMG]http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll27/elcap-pics/GaryleadingtheMarkofZorroonZodiac.jpg[/IMG]

Gary above the Mark of Zorro

[IMG]http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll27/elcap-pics/GaryleadingabovetheMarkofZorro.jpg[/IMG]

Nose: I did see a couple of NIAD teams today including friend Clay (Dude 1) Usinger and his partner Mason. They climbed through a crowd at the Boot and were last seen heading toward camp 5. There were two Canadian women, Jenn and Jasmine, on the route and they climbed to Dolt and came down late in the day. Several other teams were on the route too, some in pairs and some in groups of 3. Everyone seemed to be getting along. Two teams from yesterday were seen going over the top in the afternoon including one that come across on the 3D.

Today's leading group in profile on the Nose.

[IMG]http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll27/elcap-pics/TodaysleadgroupontheNose.jpg[/IMG]

Safety committee meeting on the Boot

[IMG]http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll27/elcap-pics/ClimberssafetymeetingontopoftheBoot.jpg[/IMG]

Mason making the reach on the King Swing

[IMG]http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll27/elcap-pics/MasonmakingthestretchontheKingSwing.jpg[/IMG]

Clay lowering off after Mason back cleaned hard on the Roof.

[IMG]http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll27/elcap-pics/ClayUsingerloweringofftheGreatRoofa.jpg[/IMG]

Muir: I haven't seen them but I hear that Ivo, Ammon and son Austin are on this really super nice route. They fixed three and blasted today heading for Mammoth Terrace. Have fun in those upper dihedrals lads!!

Golden Gate: I saw the Norwegian team high on the route working on the traverse after the Golden Desert pitch.

Salathe/Freerider: Two teams were seen lower on the route. The team of two in the lead did the Monster crack and I last saw them above ECS. A team of three with little or no bags came up after them. They were sporting some nice yellow shirts and they too climbed the Monster. The rest of the route appeared empty.

Starting the fun stuff on the Monster crack

[IMG]http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll27/elcap-pics/StartingthefunstuffontheMostercrack.jpg[/IMG]

Today's best dressed team on the Monster crack

[IMG]http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll27/elcap-pics/TodaysbestdressedteamontheMonstercr.jpg[/IMG]

In other news: There has been some slacklining up on the LA but it is over now. The valley is getting pretty smokey these days so those perfectly clear fall days are on hold for the time being. The art auction sponsored by YCA is tomorrow so if you want some nice stuff come on by the Ansel Adams Gallery tomorrow evening and bid on your favorites and help out the YCA too. Wine and food are being served! I have a few of my moon shot posters, signed by Hans and Yuji the other day, at the bridge so if you want one come on by... proceeds go to the YCA!

So that's the way it is, for this the 16th day of October, 2008.

Be there or be square! ECP's