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Submitted by Tom Evans on Thu, 05/28/2009 - 03:18
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ElCap Report 5/27/09
By Tom Evans
Yo… Pretty quiet here at the bridge today. Nice overcast sky kept the heat down and the glare at bay for my shooting. Few Tourons and climbers around today. A little thunder boomed from time to time but no rain fell.
The wall east of the NA is empty now and awaits your team to get in there and look good. In fact there are relatively few climbers on the Captain at the moment.
I have some other business to attend to so the report will come at you right now… Today’s ElCap Report…
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 03:45
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ElCap Report 5/26/09
By Tom Evans
Yo… Nice day if you like great weather until about 4pm and then a busting thunderstorm! Or, nice weather until 1:25pm and then a roaring avalanche over on the West side of the Captain. It was too far west to hit any climbs but Alex Honnold saw it up close from the Headwall of the Salathe and said it was raging! The dust cloud rose up to the height of the Cap. Patty got a video, as Sean’s dog alerted her to it! I called it in, as did others I’m sure. Our Jr. climbing ranger Max came down to get the details.
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Tue, 05/26/2009 - 01:47
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ElCap Report 5/25/09
By Tom Evans
Yo… Wow!! Gorgeous day here in the Valley. Warm sun, cool breeze and an almost empty Captain! The crowds vanished yesterday so today was vacant. No traffic jams, no Tourons, and no climbers either!
1) Today’s report is brought to you by Mason and Clay who were down from sending Golden Gate over the past several days. Nice send lads.
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Mon, 05/25/2009 - 04:04
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ElCap Report 5/24/09
By Tom Evans
Yo… well here I sit in my van at the Bridge. The great shadow of the South Buttress has worked its way across the magnificent South East Face of El Capitan as it has done for all of recorded history. The climbers on Zodiac have finally gotten the shade they’ve sought all day long. Various teams are just a few minutes from the top and the end of a journey that will remain in their lives for as long as they live. The ElCap meadow is awash in the warm light of the evening and a cooling breeze is sweeping the grasses from the west. I would be gone by now but the traffic in the east end of the valley is jammed, so I thought I would just sit here and write the report at the bridge. Ivo, Ammon, and Corbin just wandered past seeking a sunny spot to watch the evening unfold.
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Sun, 05/24/2009 - 04:24
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ElCap Report 5/23/09
By Tom Evans
Yo…. Whoa!! Really great weather today with sunny skies and cool breezes. Lots of action up on the Big Stone with most of it on the Nose and Salathe. Yeah I know, tell you something you don’t already know!! The traffic today was as to be expected with huge lines of cars trying to get out of the park late in the day. The shuttle was bringing the Tourons as fast as it could drive the loop. Lots of people looking through the scope today but not many climbers in evidence. Maybe everyone went climbing?!! There were some high clouds building up behind the Dome but that’s not unusual.
The action on the rock is picking up now, so you pukes and punters need to get it together and make some plans to take advantage of the fine late spring weather! So lock yourself in the garage, turn up the tunes, settle down on that smelly old sofa and get your laptop cranking because you are one of the lucky people who know about the ECR and get to live the good life, if only vicariously!
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Sat, 05/23/2009 - 03:05
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ElCap Report 5/22/09
By Tom Evans
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Fri, 05/22/2009 - 02:42
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ElCap Report 5/21/09
By Tom Evans
Yo… really a sweet day here, even out in the meadow with the sun beating down. The Nose still commands most of the teams on the mighty ElCap. I hear that several teams are about to pounce but I will believe it when I see it. SE face will be devoid of climbers east of Mescalito tomorrow…. Where are the Zodiac masses we usually see lined up on the route? MIA.
But not to worry because in spite of everything I am still here, hopefully at the Bridge itself tomorrow, to record all the action on the big stone Trades or not. Mostly the Trades these days.
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Thu, 05/21/2009 - 04:20
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ElCap Report 5/20/09
By Tom Evans
Yo… what a sweet today in the EC Meadow. Sunny but not too warm with a nice breeze from the west all day. The big Trades were getting most of the action with the Nose by far the most busy. The Salathe is getting some traffic but not much. Everything from Mescalito to the East Butt is open. So where are you my dedicated readers…sitting at home, wasting away, living the dream through the ECR? Well get a life and bring it to Yosemite.
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Wed, 05/20/2009 - 04:06
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ElCap Report 5/19/09
By Tom Evans
Yo… Much cooler today but with a touch of humidity. Nice clouds drifting by all day but never developed into a storm, much to the delight of various wives and mothers who happened by to see their boys on the wall. I hung out with Jerry Miller, a guy who also takes shots of climbers from the meadow but has a super duper telescope and various computer items that put my little rig to shame. You can contact him for shots if you were climbing on the wall recently. We had a nice time comparing notes and swapping photography stories. The Bridge was way closed today and I couldn’t even get close to it but had a good time hanging with Jerry.
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Tue, 05/19/2009 - 03:30
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ElCap Report 5/18/09
By Tom Evans
Yo… you know how I said there was no way it would rain today? Well, I was wrong, really wrong!! It started out nice enough with some high clouds and cooler temperatures. Then some rumblings were heard from the vicinity of the Dome. Matt got a cell message, around 1pm, from KFC and Josh as they were coming down from their 6 hr ascent of the RegNWFace of the Dome. They said to hold on tight because the storm was a wild one and was headed down valley. Very dark clouds with much lightning and loud thunder were soon upon us here at the Bridge. Torrential rains burst upon us and we were in the shit for sure! Immediately Horse Tail Falls, heretofore dry as a bone, was a torrent pouring over the rim. Even Middle Cathedral Rx had a waterfall coming down it about 100 ft west of the Central Pillar of Frenzy. Portaledges went up fast for those with them and the rest just suffered. It was quite a show for those of us here watching from the meadow. By 4pm it was all over.
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Mon, 05/18/2009 - 03:16
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Elcap Report 5/17/09
By Tom Evans
Yo.. Well it was hot today, as advertised, but that didn’t seem to deter the serious climbers from giving it a go on the Captain. They, of course, are all volunteers, and theirs is a journey who’s conclusion is uncertain. Improvements in the weather are just a couple of days away so be ready when the heat breaks.
Today’s ECR is brought to you by one Scott Stowe, guide extraordinaire, last seen climbing toward Dolt Tower in the blinding glare and heat, client Michael in tow. Lori brought the girls down to see their dad hauling the freight and they got to see him close up through the telescope.
So turn off the ball game, finish that last cheese burger, swill down the dregs of that beer and settle in to read today’s ElCap Report written just for you, Pukes of all kinds….. Here it is….
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Sun, 05/17/2009 - 01:59
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ElCap Report 5/16/09
By Tom Evans
Yo… Pretty freakin hot today in the Ditch. As a result of the heat there were not many takers stepping up on the Big Stone. You may have noticed in recent days the pictures were not as sharp as the ones from the Fall. The sun is very high in the sky now and most of the light is not reflected back to my camera and the view is kind of stark. Also, the air is hazy with water vapor from the falls and pollen from the pines. Plus… who dresses these pukes anyway?!! Fall is the time to shoot ElCap but what the hell… I am here anyway because my band of followers, that’s you guys, would not make it to fall without the ElCap Report. So here I am suffering in silence as I always do!
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Sat, 05/16/2009 - 01:59
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ElCap Report 5/15/09
By Tom Evans
Yo… man was it hot today, and they say it will get hotter by the weekend. So if you can stand the heat then put a few cold ones in your pack, tell your loved one that you have important business on the internet, close the door and step into my world here at the world’s most famous and influential Bridge. Even though the Bridge is closed until late next week for repaving, I was still there, at the west end in the blazing sun, to shoot pics and inform the woefully ignorant Tourons about how those ropes got up there so the climbers could climb up them. Today was the first day of the YCA’s new program, “Ask a climber”. I happen to be the man with the answers to all questions, good or bad ones included. I devote two hours a day to set up the telescope and have equipment out so that the Tourons can really understand what is going on up there on the Captain. It seems like I have been doing that for many years in the past but 8 hours a day!
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Thu, 05/14/2009 - 18:59
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ElCap Report 5/14/09
By Tom Evans
Yo.. Well here we are at last… your man is finally here on the scene! Nice, warm day here in the Valley. Must have been pretty hot up on the Cap today! The usual routes were getting the action today with most of it on the Nose as you could have guessed. So Cubicle Pukes, put down any “real” work you are doing and act busy but by all means come along with me to the fabled El Capitan, where the bailers bailed and the senders sent. Today’s ElCap Report is here right now.
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Tue, 10/28/2008 - 05:02
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ElCap Report 10/27/08
by Tom Evans
Yo... well... the day has come folks. I drove down to the Cap today, climbed out of the van, looked and looked and saw an almost empty wall. The monkey's in my posse and I decided we needed some meadow time and with so little action to shoot I decided that the time had come to close up operations for the season and take a few days to hang with my friends and get some of the last rays of Fall color on my sensor. I didn't take a single photo today but from the meadow we tracked a couple of parties throughout the day so I do have information on them ...but there are no pics.
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Mon, 10/27/2008 - 05:07
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ElCap Report 10/26/08
By Tom Evans
Yo... It is getting late in the season folks so get it together and bring it here. The routes are still open and the weather looks good. This weekend was splendid and many people turned out to see the end of fall. The leaves are falling rapidly but the Indian Summer continues. There are still a precious few days left to enjoy before the winds blow heavy and the cold days settle on the land.
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Sun, 10/26/2008 - 05:09
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ElCap Report 10/25/08
By Tom Evans
Yo... so.. yeah... I know, it was tough wasn't it? No report yesterday and you were starting to get the DT's right?! Well maybe you will start to appreciate me a little more and bump these great reports along like they deserve. Do you know that I have posted over 600 photos on the Report this year? 600!! Now you can go to the pitiful number of photos from the other photographers in the photo collection on the Supertopo site. What do you get? 15 or 20 shots... Ha ... that's such a punk amount. And too soon I will be gone for the season and you will have to endure the long, cold, winter without your ElCap Reports to keep your heart warm... God I feel sorry for you Cubicle Pukes out there in the World. So today's report is brought to you by me... ElCap-pics, over worked and under appreciated. So evacuate the building, turn off that cell phone, and pay attention Pukes because there won't be many more of these reports as I am getting old and feeble and will too soon be just a memory...
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Fri, 10/24/2008 - 05:10
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ElCap Report 10/23/08 By Tom Evans
Yo... Geeze, what can I say that I haven't said in the past several reports? Totally beautiful here and the weather is cooperating to the max. Still lots of climbs to be done before the first winter storm sends the Wall Rats scurrying for warmer environs. Today's report is brought to you by the Bridge Rats with whom I am going to climb the Royal Arches tomorrow. I will be gone most of the day. Thus there will be no photos and no ECR tomorrow... I know, I know.... Take the pain pukes!!! I need to have some fun you know!!
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Thu, 10/23/2008 - 05:12
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ElCap Report 10/22/08
By Tom Evans
Yo.. So nice here today... a little on the warm side too. The Nose, Salathe, and Zodiac are loading up. The fall colors are absolutely stunning and I think this is the max day so far and maybe for the entire Fall. Today's report is brought to you by the Trees. Yep, those pesky rascals, trees... they make the Fall, Fall. Right now they are the commanding life form in the Valley. People are coming in from all over the place just to look at them. A lot more than come to see the climbers or to climb themselves. So here is to you my dear friends, the Trees... always be here, always shelter us, always inspire us, always remind us what we don't want to be reincarnated as!
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Wed, 10/22/2008 - 05:13
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ElCap Report 10/21/08
By Tom Evans
Yo... I will let the photos speak for themselves today and not admonish you for not being here. The weather looks solid for at least a week and the climbers are responding by going up on the big stone. Today's report is brought to you by El Capitan. The rock we love to love. While religious leaders may claim to speak to and for God, I DO speak to and for ElCap. He tells me that he is getting pretty fed up with all the human excretions on his sides. He is also unhappy about having excess holes punched into him. He wants us to show a little more R.E.S.P.E.C.T. and not use him to do foolish things to ourselves and our fellow humans. The Captain is pro-climbing and wants only the best for us but wants us to want only the best for him too. So thanks to our Captain for all he allows us to do...
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