ElCap Reports

ElCap Report 10/26/07

 By Tom Evans

Yo, I can't tell you enough good things about this weather... another sweet day here with warm temps and very light clouds up high. There are still some pretty colors here and the north side drive in the morning is still just wonderful with the most glorious yellows and even some oranges backlit by the morning sun... and they say this is going to continue for at least a week... well the leaves won't but the weather will.. As a result you would imagine that the Great wall is packed... well think again breath of a thousand swine... the thing is almost empty... for a time the Nose had not a single climber on it this morning... then someone snuck up to sickle thus being the only climbing team on the route.

I did see two guys rap off the top of the Nose with haulbags and figured it was rangers Jesse and Jack, heading down to the open sewer aka Camp 6 for a look at the dark side of big wall climbing... it won't be pretty for sure and we all appreciate the effort required to take a shot at cleaning up that mess that WE CLIMBERS have left up there... there is NO EXCUSE FOR SUCH BLATANT DISREGARD of the conservation of this irreplaceable resource. We should all be deeply ashamed that our group is responsible for this disgrace. Plus I heard that there was a very weak response to the call for volunteers to go up to the top of the Cap for this clean-up effort..... How can we expect to gain and keep the respect of the people who administer the park if we trash the place and ignore the call to help pick up our own mess? Disappointing to be sure. So today’s report is brought to you by the guys who answered the call and make the trudge up the Cap to clean up the mess the rest of us left behind. Thanks folks!

Today’s report.

Zodiac: Watched Adam climb the two pitches from the top of the Mark of Zorro pitch to peanut ledge in good style and speed. He should be off tomorrow, late... keep it going Bro... Lower down.. a climber was seen on the first pitch late in the day... I can tell you for sure it was not my buddy Gene, who spent most of the day getting ready for another carry to the base... he assembled another astonishingly heavy load and staggered off to the base of the route around 3pm this afternoon... he says that he has pared the gear down to the minimum possible to do the route... but is still waiting for one, I. Ninov who had promised to produce a ledge for him a few days ago but was last seem falling though the air at 120mph... Ivo! Are you out there? We need you so that Gene no longer has an excuse to hang out down here... the man needs to go... before Xmas!! Hello?!

NA Wall: Talked to a guy in the cafe this morning who knows the two that are on this route... they were seen today at the top of the Cyclops eye heading right on the El Nino exit... Nose: No one was high on the route except the clean up crew. lower down there was some action around sickle but that’s it.

Salathe/Free Rider: Did see what has been called a Swiss team do the monster crack today and both climbers got the job done on it and hung at the alcove.. the team from yesterday was not visible today..

Aquarian: Well KFC and Alic got off this route this morning (I had said incorrectly they were on Never Never land)anyway they liked the route for the most part but mentioned that it would be a swamp in spring... the cracks had some dirt and grass but the upper half was pretty good... they pushed it in 26 hours! Nice job lads.

In other news... the weather continues to be like that usually seen in late Sept. but it seems climbers are getting scarce these days.. guess they just can't believe the weather will hold or already had made plans based on the past weather patterns... the cafe is pretty lame in the morning anymore... this morning I went back to "our" table and saw a group of older women sitting there eating oatmeal and clicking their false teeth.... I stopped for a moment and leered at them with my best scowl... Tourons.... don't they know they are invading hollowed ground here? A particularly offensive looking one had Chongo's old seat... I turned away, disgusted.... Later, after they left, I recaptured the table, having to put up with the stench of cheap perfume until the air cleared.... Oh the Humanity!! Anyway it seems like the season has slowly ebbed away... hell, at least we could have a good storm to close things out definitively... a manly end to things .... it looks bad for so called "Hard Men" to be sneaking out of the valley in perfect weather... what of our image? But don't worry, I am here putting up a good front... "Oh, well...yes.. they have gone to the Himalayas for winter ascents of Mt. Everest in shorts and T-shirts" I tell the Tourons as they inquire..."Just where are the climbers?" KFC and Lance are going up on the Cap to place blowup dolls dressed as climbers, in strategic locations, to give the Tourons something to look at.... not a pretty sight here at the bridge... I can't hold out much longer... even the Cobras have lost their bite... the end is near.... my God.. save the women and children... signing off with my last reserves...

So that's the way it is for 26 October 2007... the day the music died....

Tom Evans