El Cap Report 10/23/07

ElCap Report 10/23/07

 By Tom Evans

Ok... It's Tuesday and another super day here in the Valley... weather, perfect... climbing conditions, totally sweet, climbers, eager... chics, hot... cafe food, awful... leaves, fading fast... Tourons, abundant infestations.... Time left for you to get on the Big Stone, plenty.... Gene Fisher, still stalling... So where are you? I know where you are, hiding behind the old excuse of family, job, bills, kids, etc.. etc... BOGUS, my friend ... totally BOGUS!! You can always take care of that stuff but just ask your selves, "how many fall days will I see this sweet in the valley?... am I going to live so long?" Well, let me tell you Dog, you aren't going to live forever and some day, in the hopefully, distant future, while you are lying in bed gasping your last breath, you will think back with your last thought and wonder... "Why the hell didn't I go to Yosemite that fall of 2007?"... then bonk! You are gone for eternity... Is that what you want? Huh? Your last thoughts? Well suck it up chump and get out here.. some things are really important you know and Yosemite in the fall is high on the list!

With that thought still resounding in your head the ECR for today is brought to you by Gene Fischer, who was trying to lift the excessive rack of gear he assembled at the bridge today, racking KFC's brain to find a piece of specialized gear for every possible placement on Zodiac. He will need three porters just to carry the rack to the base! Good luck Gene!!!

Today’s ECR...

On the Water Front: Aaaarrrrggghhhh.. Well I did spy the crew on deck this morning at the top of the black choss pile that is the first 5 of the route. Capt. McNeeley was off navigating the first real pitch of the route while the other swabbies were lounging on the quarter deck trying to find some shade below the sails. It looked a wee bit warm over there this day... McNeeley was having some problems finding the way over the dangerous shoals and was fore and aft and all round for a while... late in the afternoon the Capt. retuned to the quarter deck for some grog, leaving the lines fixed high in the yards... it doesn’t look good for this voyage as the way is uncertain and the crew short on time... we will see....aarrgghhh!

Zodiac: Adam was up and on the job when I arrived today.. he stayed at the top of 4 last night and pushed his lines up to the start of the black Tower pitch and was hauling as I was leaving around 3:30...wearing an awful brown shirt I might add.. I am tempted to stop shooting the lad as it takes a brave photographer to shoot into that pile of horse dung...

Trip: Well my men, KFC and Lance were by these guys yesterday on their 8.5 hour push on the Zodiac and reported some loud swearing between the members of this team ....turns out that they ARE Eastern Europeans... anyway, they were going on the last pitch as I left and still looked absolutely fabulous!! Lower down... a horrific scene has developed in the lower depths of this EZ trade route... the so called, Invincible, North Carolina boys were biting down hard on the bitter pill of defeat...just one of several teams that the Trip has smacked down hard in the past week... well boys, maybe you can get in line on the South Face of the Column...No?

Nose: Ah yes... the ultimate classic, the beautiful, "easy woman" of the great rock... well the old gal is still alive and well and several teams are spending a little more time with her than planned or not spending much time at all... the bail rate is still around 50%.. so maybe she ain't so easy after all! The AMGA sent out another NIAD team to assuage the wounds of recent days perhaps... Anyway ...out came the best of the crews in the persons of one, Miles Smart, Yosemite speed trained on the smooth granite of the big stone itself and fresh off a honeymoon cruise, up the route, with his wife, the lovely Liz, last week, and another guide who's name I didn't get at the AMGA meeting last evening. Surely these guys could mend any wounds inflicted upon the beleaguered organization. Anyway, Miles was thinking about a 10 to 12 hour climb today, so it was with some anticipation that I rolled onto the bridge today with all the guns mounted ready to dissect their every move. I picked them up at the end of the infamous Jardine Traverse as Bruno (I don't know his name so I will use this one for him) was climbing the long pitch to Eagle ledge.

Unfortunately for our boys, the three person team from yesterday, last seen crawling toward ECT late in the day, had just deposited their last person on the heretofore mentioned ledge, and had sent their leader out on the next pitch... so room was limited and the line was long. Bruno quickly dispatched his pitch with some sparkling free climbing at a high grade and was just able to wedge himself among the others crammed on the small ledge... their leader was about 8 moves up using advanced direct aid techniques on the difficult 5.8 section just above the ledge... this was not going to be pretty... Soon Miles arrived, after sprinting up the pitch at such a rapid rate that one of the Tourons watching thru my scope shouted..."My God, that man is actually running up the rock like a lizard!!" Miles soon wedged himself in among others... the smell must have been awful... anyway... a scuffle soon broke out as Miles, using the polite "guide talk" taught by the AMGA, who's motto is "treat all climbers as though they are clients", told the other teams honcho that he was going to kick his ass if they were not allowed to pass immediately!! Miles then puffed out his chest and reached for his nut tool while their man went for a number 4 camalot... it was a tense standoff for a moment but reason prevailed and the speedy guides were allowed to pass but had to climb the pitch behind the leader to the next stance...

Soon, however, the boys had put that situation to bed and Bruno lead the pitch to the traverse ledge in another display of really nice, speedy free climbing... well... he did grab a few slings here and there... but so did the Huber’s!!! Quickly the boys were passing the NZ guys who were deep into day 3 and probably weren't even aware that they were passed. They flashed up the great roof with Bruno again speeding right along like an old Yosemite veteran... I last saw them around 2pm stepping over to the glowering spot... looked to me like they just might get that 10hr NIAD they were seeking... the folks at AMGA are breathing a sigh of relief at the office tonight! The Boys came through!! Beers for everyone! There were, of course, many others on the route... parties of three, parties of two, who can count how many?... they were all moving upward, some rapidly... some barely. The NZ boys were heading for camp 5 it appeared and were just getting on the GR when I left... if they push hard they may get off tomorrow late. A team of two was seen going over the top around 1pm and the two from the supposed NIAD yesterday were not seen today at all and I assume they were able to climb off last night or early this morning. We are all breathless with anticipation at the coming days events.... yeah.... really.... well... maybe..

Shield: This mixed team was high on the route today with the guy leading the long pitch to just below Chickenhead ledge.. the gal was decked out in her nice powder blue camisole top and matching headband and was quite comfortable at the belay as the wind was nonexistent and the temps warm.. She then stepped up and had some "real fun" cleaning a line of overdriven pins a mile long... not deterred, she lead the pitch to Chickenhead Ledge in early afternoon... who is this mystery woman and her manly partner??? Well it turns out they are a French team!

Salathe/Free Rider.. Did see a team going past Sus Le Toit and to the headwall this afternoon.. a long rope, maybe Alex's, was hanging down there all day and some activity was seen around it later .... anyway the team climbing the route seemed unaffected and proceeded to Long ledge...

In other news... went to the "event" last night which was not a Patagonia thing but, an AMGA meeting. They did have a Patagonia person there in the person of Lynn Hill... Doug Robinson was also there as were a lot of guides I had never heard of or seen before. They were a cordial group and talked endlessly among themselves during the silent auction for a pile of goods. I left before the programs and later heard that Lynn had a nice presentation that was well received by all... good fun...

Here at the bridge it was another beautiful day... no wind and quite warm... the SE face of the Cap looked to be in early summer conditions and several parties were seen sporting shirts on their heads to keep cool.... I talked to a good friend down south in SoCal at home and she told me that the big fire was about a mile from my house and that the entire mountain community was closed to all. So I guess I will have to stay here until they open the roads home...hopefully I will have something to come home to.... Well anyway... come on out... a week of good weather is forecast and the conditions are great... BTW ... congrats to Lance and KFC on their speedy climb of Zodiac... Lance said at breakfast it was the best EC climb he had ever done and not slogging up the route is the best part.. fast and light and supper in the cafe!!

So that’s the way it is on this the 23rd day of October 2007.. come on out....

So long... Tom Evans