ElCap Reports

ElCap Report 6/1/0

By Tom Evans 

Yo .. park your butt and turn off that cell phone and get ready for the real dealings from the center of the Ditch... that is of course the ElCap Bridge... the place of fame and the walk of shame... so, coming fresh to you from the Salathe's Ear to Zodiacs Nipple on the wing of our resident Mallard, Maynard (with his lovely lady Minnie close at his side) is today’s report .... approved by the Heads at the Heartbreak Hotel... today's ElCap Report...

Zodiac: Two teams are getting up there on this classic route.. in the lead are the team of three who were leading on the pitch above the Mark of Zorro when I left... the other team is that of two women who were leading the Nipple pitch when I left today... they are Lilla and Jen and this is their first route on the Big Stone... met Lilla's husband at the bridge today and he is enjoying the hospitality of the bridge. They are Canucks and live not far from the now famous Ottawa Doug...

PO Wall: Found out that Marc topped out just after Ottawa Doug did yesterday... nice solo's for both men.

SSPO: Ragon is getting close to the Pacific Wall intersection now and is moving slowly but steadily along... tenacity and persistence are his trump cards.

Mescalito: The party of two was doing the Bismarck when I left and the solo is a pitch behind them and I think that they will all get together on the Bismarck ledge tonight as it is a nice place to spend some time after being in slings for days on end...

Nose: Early last evening two lads from VA and WVA started off on the route planning on a push but at night!! We do have a nice full moon and the plan sounded reasonable but not exactly what is recommended... I explained a few of the tricks to use on the king swing and the pitch into camp 5... they hoped to be at the Boot by dawn... the $$$ on the street had them going into ElCap tower instead... well I got there earlier than usual and spotted them climbing to the Glowering Spot above camp 5!!! So the lads had us all fooled by the plan actually going better than expected!!! Right on... any time you can make the Bridge Gang look stupid is a good day and that they did!! I didn’t see them top out... The team of 3 that were slugging it out in the stovelegs late yesterday did make it to Dolt and I picked them up going to ElCap tower hauling a serious set of bags... when I left they were on the tower just kicking it so we can expect the trip to camp 4 in the morning...

Shield: Cotton Socks Dave and SEG were seen climbing the final corner late this morning and should now be off the route... nice work on a well engineered ascent... the two guys behind them were on chicken head ledge last night too and were seen above Chiefton ledge later in the afternoon...

Salathe/ Freerider... Stephane finished the FR this morning and it is the first roped solo of that free route I think.. not sure if he sent it all free but he did a lot of quality climbing and we had a nice chat as he walked by our end of the bridge this afternoon headed for that road behemoth he wheels around. He was carring a huge haul bag looked none the worse for wear... nice climbing!!!! Did see the European woman, Stephany Bodet and her husband climb the ear and then Monster crack on the first bid by a European woman to climb FR free... Best of luck to her and her husband.. The O'Neil Brothers extravaganza on Salathe was put off until tomorrow as loads were being hauled to the base in preparation for the actual climbing tomorrow... it is scheduled to take as many days as it takes... always a good plan! Big Name Yosemite locals are doing the leg work and are supporting the ascent... the crux just might be the freeblast as Sean will have to jug up that low angle slab of the first 10 pitches...No easy task for someone without the use of their legs.... he will be somewhat hindered by the shit bags dropped by someone who was higher above durning the last few days... wonder who that was? Many locals say they know and are not happy that someone is so stupidly inconsiderate of others in this new age of ecological climbing practices here in the Valley... always take your waste up the face... this kind of disregard for others is not acceptable here and consequences are severe if caught by both the law and the locals.... enough said...

In other news:  Cloudy today but not threatening... so the light was great for shooting ... sweet. Ottawa Doug spent a well deserved rest day here at the bridge and told of his exploits on the great Mescalito while we all kept up our required consumpiton of cool ones... Gabe and Janie also spent most of the day hanging out but it was a bit much for Janie who later went for a hike... Ashley of the Montana girls stopped by to say goodbye on her way out of the park and says she will be back next spring for more adventures... Emily said her goodbyes at the cafe this morning... we will miss them as they did bring that spark of adventure back into our hearts as we all watched and rooted for them ... Well the van is packed and the area policed up ... Maynard and Minnie are taking it easy in the dirt by the bridge and will keep things under close watch while we all scatter for the evening.... I have folded up the rocker and have hauled it up to the terrace of Heartbreak Hotel where the guests while away the hours thinking of great times and deeds... I am to give the slide show at the lodge tomorrow night for the American Alpine club as Tom Frost is a bit under the weather and had to cancel.. best to you Tom... so if you get a chance... come on by the lodge around dusk and check the show out.. Remember that there is only now and the future left in your life... look back to learn but go forward with enthusiasm... ElCap-Pics