ElCap Report 10/10/11
By Tom Evans

Yo.. We had a very nice day here in the Valley, right up until the rains came.  My Astrologer, Erik Sloan, mentioned at breakfast this morning, that the charts and darts said it was going to rain later in the day.  “Balderdash”, I said!  The morning was cloudy, which any ElCap Photographer will tell you makes for great shots, because of the lack of shadows and calmer air.  I got some nice shots this morning, but the clouds closed in and the rain fell a bit after noon.  I packed up my kit and got the hell out of there, as my gear doesn’t like water.  Now, closing in on 7pm the vertical visibility is about 300ft and the rain continues to fall. 

ElCap Report 10/09/11
By Tom Evans

Yo… Another great day of and for climbing here on El Capitan.  Lots to report on and I had a lot of images to process this evening so I am going to get right to the Report.
 

ElCap Report 10/08/11
By Tom Evans

Yo… Once again a perfect day to climb on ElCap.  The rock is getting the attention it deserves for a change.  The King has most of the action but other, seldom climbed routes are getting a workout too.  So throw off those shackles, plop down in your best, most comfortable chair, and come along for a trip on the Cap on a perfect Fall day in Yosemite.

ElCap Report 10/07/11
By Tom Evans

Yo… Perfect day here, after two rather harsh ones.  Last night was really a cold one but beautiful blue skies and cool temperatures made for great conditions on the Captain today.  Wall climbers have responded by heading up their fixed lines or starting out on the major routes.

ElCap Report 10/06/11
By Tom Evans

Yo… The Big Storm has been pounding us since early yesterday but is showing signs of clearing off.  Last night it rained hard for several hours and even a few flakes of snow graced the Valley floor before melting.  Camp 4 was Water World all day and night.  It has been very cold and wet most of today but slowly clearing.  

ElCap Report 10/05/11
By Tom Evans

Yo…The Big One has landed.  I heard it as a pitter patter on the tent around 2am and it soon grew to a roar as torrential rain poured down.  Camp 4 was soon awash in runoff from above.  The rain continued unabated until there was a break around 10am.  I took that opportunity to head down to the Captain to see what was to be seen.  Keep reading to learn more…

ElCap Report 10/04/11
By Tom Evans

Yo… Cold, windy, with clouds driving in from the south today.  The Dome has a banner streaming off the top and the Capt. took on a dark and somber look for a good part of the day.  The Big One is on the way and teams on the Captain are pushing hard to get off in time.  The rain has held off nicely thus far.

ElCap Report 10/03/11
By Tom Evans

Yo… Typical Fall day here in Yosemite.  Sunny, breezy, and cool all day.  Nice clouds too.  A really strong wind blew through here around 11am today and most likely signaled the arrival of the cold front expected to bring harsh conditions to the Sierra.  A few teams on the wall will have to tough it out, it would appear.  I did speak to Big Wall Kate and EE who fixed 4 on Mirage and came down to wait out the storm.  They wanted no part of it over on the slabs out West.  So we wait….

ElCap Report 10/02/11
By Tom Evans

Yo… Pretty nice today, if a bit cool at the Bridge.   The weather continues to hold with partly cloudy conditions.  The Park Service is warning everyone about the storm coming on Wednesday.  It will be pretty cold with snow above 7,500ft and that means rain in the Valley.  The throngs have left the Salathe and returned to the Nose.  They need to climb fast!  Lots of climbers on the Captain today…. Read all about it below…

ElCap Report 10/01/11
By Tom Evans

Yo… Another beauty here but not enough, it seems, to bring climbers out of Camp 4.  I don’t know what is up with the crews this season.  I heard someone this morning saying they were going to delay another day because the weather was calling for a 10% chance of showers this afternoon!  Bunch of Pukes!  Got rain gear?  Yes.  Got Portaledge?  Yes.  Got rainfly?  Yes.  Got balls?  No!  So it will be a thin ECR today.