ElCap Report 9/28/12

ElCap Report 9/28/12
By Tom Evans

Yo… Fall, my Fall, why have you not fallen?  The dry, warm conditions continue to keep teams off the SW Face of the Captain and even the King is suffering some attendance problems.  Nothing to be done but stay in the late summer mode and keep take some extra fluids.  Most of the attention was high on the face and I did manage to get some sweet shots on great rock.  The show at the Facelift tonight features Cheyne Lempe, James Lucas, and what’s his name… ummm let me think… kind of obscure fella…got it!  Alex Honnold.  So I am going to go right to the action then to the show.

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

Zodiac:  The Brits topped out early in the afternoon.  They bivied at Peanut ledge last night.
1)  Guy leading the last part of the pitch above Peanut.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2)  Guy cleaning as Vic looks on from above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lower down Alice Ng was spotted leading the first pitch later in the afternoon.  She was starting the second as I departed.  Fixing.

Trip:  I didn’t get any good shots of Oli today as he is high on the route and the foreshortening is fierce.  I think he climbed off late in the day.  Nice solo for the rookie season of this determined young man.

Lower down I didn’t see the two fixers from yesterday on the route.  They did fix 4 yesterday.

New Dawn:  Ken and Tom climbed above ECT and made the big traverse to the dihedrals leading to Wino Tower this afternoon.
3)  Tom doing the big lower out to get to the belay in the corner with Ken.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ND/Genesis:  Pete and Jon climbed off Genesis this afternoon and are now on WEML to finish the route on Sunday … he, he! I won my beer bet!
The rock is some of the most photogenic on the Captain and I was in photographers heaven all day.  The great thing about shooting these guys is at the rate they climb I can photograph almost every pitch in good lighting!
4)  Starting the day up in the big air.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5)  Jon leading off on the last pitch of Genesis portion of the climb.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6)  Jon doing the tension traverse to get to the Harding line, Wall of the Early Morning Light.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7)  Jon climbing past the belay as the shade comes on.  He continued higher to the belay below the small roof just below the Harding Roof.

 

Nose:  There were three NIAD teams on the route today.  The first was Sean Leary and Mayan Smith-Gobat who started early and finished early!  I think they did between 4 and 5 hours which would most likely be the mixed team record.  I don’t know the exact time.
Lower down two teams were neck and neck for a while, one did the King Swing and one the Jardine.  Neither were what a local would call “fast” and we think there will be much suffering as darkness comes on to find them miles from the top.
8)  The King Swing team did it a little high but with a fine display of edging and tension traversing they got it done quickly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9)  The Jardine team languished in the dust of the King Swing team and will suffer enough higher up to make the climb memorable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lower down the Gray and Brown team plodded along in the legs, undistinguished, save their yellow ledge bag… I talked to them yesterday about the fashon requirements for an ascent in good style … but they appeared somewhat improvised and unable to secure the necessary wardrobe and thus are not easily spotted.  
I hear that there was a scrum on the first few pitches of the route, that I am certain will sort itself with most of the teams bailing.

I saw no one West of the Nose and conclude that the heat is taking its toll out there.  My man, John Selove, is fixed to the top of Peter Pan and reports that it is not a good idea to climb any higher in this heat.  We await the cooling trend.

10)  Blast from the Past:  Tom Evans at Camp 4, in brutal heat conditions of mid summer, on the 3D in 1983.  Back then it was considered “bad form” to carry more than a gallon a day for “the whole team”.  So, while the hauling was easy, the thirst was inspiring!  The day before, one of our gallon jugs of water broke while we hauled the bag to Mammoth Terrace.  We figured we could poach some water over on the Nose… a bad gamble for sure.  We died!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In other news:  Nice at the Bridge today with a solid crew hanging for some time.  I was pretty busy shooting and some of the crew helped out with the Tourons.
You won’t believe this one folks.  
A man was spotted walking in Camp 4 the other evening with a compound bow.  The next day a deer was spotted, near the Superintendents’ Bridge, with an ARROW stuck in it… no shit… an arrow in one our deer!  You can walk up to almost any deer in the park with no problem, as they are so habituated to people.  It was determined that the unfortunate creature would die after several days of suffering.   So, it was decided the humane thing to do would be to dispatch it with a shot from a ranger’s AR-15, and soon the deer was put out of it’s misery.  They are still looking for the IDIOT with the bow.  Only in California!! … or perhaps Texas.. or maybe Montana… could have been Wyoming you know…
So that’s the way it is, for this Friday, the 28th day of September, 2012.
Later, Ansel

 

Any word on whether Tommy and

Any word on whether Tommy and Kevin are going to take another stab at the Dawn Wall?
 
Kevin is out and a new guy is in... Seaquest or something like that.  I don't know the date of their arrival.. assume mid oct.  Tom

The Parched Dead Guy

Steely eyed climbers show their true grit while thirsting for simple water. Great post of the days events again Tom. What the hell is up with that bowman? Is that legal?
 
NO NOT LEGAL!  Just an idiot!

dead guy whose water you drank on camp VI ??

tom , what was the name of the guy whose water bottle you drank on camp VI , then you found out he had been dead for years ?? - ian j.
 
Buggs McKeith  saved my bacon, years after his death.  I knew he had died long before.  Tom

Rangers gun

"it was decided the humane thing to do would be to dispatch it with a shot from a ranger’s AR-15"

Did the deer have and illegal drugs on him?

quality shots

Yeah Tom.

The photos are looking sharp in the fall conditions.