ElCap Reports

ElCap Report 6/02/12

By Tom Evans

Yo… Not nearly as warm as advertised today and a steep cooling trend is on the way. Lots of things happening on the Captain today. So settle into your favorite spot, get comfortable, let the Report take you away to Yosemite in the Spring!

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

Zodiac: A team of three was seen fixing the first couple of pitches today. Not sure who they are yet…. Do you know?

Straw: Matt Thomsen has been hauling kit to the base over the past several days to get ready to blast on his solo climb of this route. He fixed the first this afternoon and will blast in a couple of days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1)  Matt Thomsen leading the first pitch in Shortest Straw.

　

Iron Hawk: Mark writes that this route is kicking his butt pretty bad but he continues to make excellent progress and writes a daily log on Supertopo.com so be sure to check it out… it is called the ElCap Report with no date.. Mine always include the date so don’t be confused.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2)  Mark finishing up morning preparations to begin climbing.

　

Mescalito: Jim and Cameron are high on the route and with the long days now will most likely top out this evening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3)  The lads high on Mescalito.

　

Tribal: I heard it fall in mid morning… a large rock from somewhere on the cliff. I ran into the road for a better view but could not spot where it came from. I soon returned to my shooting and the AAC program. I spotted Marc and Markus high on the route but something was not right. Markus had returned from half way up the pitch and was sitting on the ledge next to Marc looking like something was wrong with him. Soon Marc was seen putting up their ledge and Markus crawled onto it. Not good, not good at all. These guys never put up a ledge during the day, so I called Ben Doyle at YOSAR and explained the situation.

Soon Rangers Stark and Coopersmith arrived to assess the situation. They used their vehicle’s audio system to ask the climbers if someone was injured and the reply was “yes”, but they didn’t want a rescue yet. Marc called YOSAR on the phone and sent me an email saying that Markus had pulled off a large rock which hit him in the head and he had passed out. They have plenty of food and water and thus decided to take the rest of the day off and wait until tomorrow to see what developed. Tough guys, those Old Germans!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4)  Markus leading the pitch that struck back at him!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

　

5)  Markus on the ledge discussing the situation with Marc.

 

　

New Dawn: The solo, Francis Perrault, crossed the traverse to the corners leading to Wino Tower this afternoon. He is a smooth climber and seems to have the situation well in hand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6)  Francis coming back to the belay just before the sun departs.

　

Nose: Cheyne Lempe and Alex Honnold were already at the Great Roof when I spotted them this morning. They were on their way to a sub 5 hour ascent of the route. Cheyne was psyched to climb with Alex and learn a few things! I find it refreshing that a climber of Alex’s caliber will take climbers who are unknown to him, but recommended by friends, on big climbs so they can learn his methods. Below are a few shots of Alex on the 11c section of the Pancake Flake pitch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7)  Alex taking a breather while short fixed Cheyne was coming up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

　

8)  Cinching up the shoes to get back climbing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

　

9)  Smooth and seemingly effortless moves soon got Alex to the belay.

　

Higher up the mixed team from the last several days topped out early this afternoon.

Down in the Legs a team of three were seen, in a pretty stout wind, slowly making their way to Dolt this afternoon.

The Colorado women were out earlier today, from Dolt, to make a run up to the Grey Bands to see what the climbing was like. They moved OK but seem to be stuck aiding a lot of the 5.9 above Dolt and you can’t seriously expect to be fast enough with that technique to get the woman’s record of 10:15. At this point they would be lucky to make a NIAD. But that said, they are up there to learn the route and as we know, tenacity and persistence pay big rewards in climbing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10)  Climbing off Dolt this morning seen though the trees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

　

　

 

11)  Some mixed aid and free climbing above Dolt.

　

　

GR to Muir: Pete and Mark spent the time I was watching hauling kit up to their high point. The wind was pretty strong and the old ledge of Pete’s was banging around pretty hard on the slab. They appear to be a bit more than half way Grape Race at this time.

I didn’t see anyone on the Salathe or west of Pete for that matter. There is a two man party going for the Shield but I have not seen them yet.

In other news: Nice at the Bridge today. Lots of Tourons here for the weekend. Several climbers spent some time hanging out today. Big things in the forecast…. So stay tuned to the ECR for late breaking news from the front lines of American climbing!

So that’s the way it is for this Saturday, the 2^nd day of June, 2012.

Later Tom