ElCap Reports

ElCap Report 5/24 and 25/2015

By Tom Evans

Yo… It looks like the stormy weather has passed for a time and the hoards have laid siege to ElCap.  Some interesting routes are now on the agenda.  Rally, Cubicle Pukes, put aside your boring daily tasks and take a few moments to catch up on all the action, direct from El Capitan… the greatest distraction in most of our lives!

Today’s ElCap Report..written just for you..unique in all the world!

1)  Blue Bird day on the Captain!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is some action on the upper east side, which I will report when the team blasts.

Zodiac had an ascent during the storms and now has a team fixed to the second pitch.  More about this team, when they blast.

 

2)  Shortest Straw:  A buddy of mine, Joh Selove , who soloed the Zod a few years back, is now fixing on this route.  John, cleaning the first pitch on the Straw.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3)  The Trip has a team of two women on it and here is a shot of them on the 5^th pitch yesterday.  Kitty Calhoun is the woman in the blue and Karen Bockel is her partner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rumors of two teams taking a look at the NA Wall are floating around but no one has shown up to start the route.

 

4)  A team of three started on the Pacific Ocean route a few days ago and are making good progress.  Here they are heading toward the Continental Shelf, early on the afternoon of the 24^th.  The climbers are Andrew, Paul and Brian.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5)  The PO team is seen here climbing to the corner where the Bearing Straits begin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6)  Mescalito has a mixed team of Lorna Illingworth and Hiroki, who are now on the route.  Here Lorna leads the Seagull pitch yesterday afternoon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7)  The Nose has seen some nice NIAD’s the past few days.  This team breezed across the Jardine Traverse on the way to a daylight ascent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8)  The multitudes rushed the Nose yesterday and most spent the day stuck behind traffic in the Stoveleg Crack. Abandon hope, all who enter!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9)  Mason Earl and Brad Gobright have returned to finish the route they started a few years back. It grazes the left side of the Heart, with a direct connection to Golden Gate.  This time they are attempting to push it up from the deck and are seen here at a cruxy part of the lower section, a couple of days ago.  Mason says this move is 5.13 something!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10)  Salathe/Freerider:  This area of the cliff has suddenly exploded with interest as we now have some drop-ins, working from above, and a number of Salathe in a Day teams, tangling on the pitches above Heart Ledge, and various Freerider hopefuls making trial runs.  It’s a mystery up there!!  Here a team is working off the Ear to send the Monster Crack.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11)  Out west, on Lost World, Pete, Rhett and Anita are zooming up the route in record time…. Ha!  Gottcha!  Nope, it is the normal Pete climbing rate slowed even more by a couple of days of storms.  Here they are in the vicinity of pitch 4, yesterday afternoon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lurking Fear has a couple of parties on it at the moment and should be clear soon.

 

12)  A little boy and a mud puddle … we just sat back and watched!  Our climbing ranger, Brandon Latham, let his son have the run of the Bridge a couple of days ago… fun times for the youngster!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In other news:  The climbing community is still struggling with the loss of Dean and Graham a bit over a week ago.  There will be a memorial remembrance for the men sometime in the summer.

Internet connection has been a real problem this spring as Yosemite continues to have the worst internet in the National Park System.  So, while I have shots for every day, I may not be able to post anything on the day of the shots.  So hang in there and be patient … the reports will eventually be posted.

So that’s the way it is, for this Monday, the 25^th day of May, 2015.

Capt. Tom…your eyes and ears, fixed on the Captain.