ElCap Reports

ElCap Report 6/15/07

By Tom Evans

Ok... you made it to Friday and you are going out the door for a weekend of fun... well take a moment to relax and read the report for today... simple task... easy to complete.. this one is brought to you from the 36 mpg car that Scott Stowe is driving to and from the valley daily... he came in today and his client bailed so he was stuck at the bridge... fortunately his much better half, Lori, graced us with her presence at lunch time... so we tolerated having him around!!! Anyway here it is for today... a day of big heat and little wind... get ready climbers and posers, summer conditions are here.... Today’s ElCap Report.

Zodiac: My German friends Peter and Martina came by today and asked about the route a little and told me that the heat had made them use more water than they had allowed for so they came down after fixing all their lines and are going to take more water up tomorrow... Peter said he was planning on 4 liters a day but was using 5... peter is very fit.. so let that be a lesson about the conditions at the moment.. My "pusher" friend was off the route for a couple of days as there were problems with water and hauling but he says he returns to the route tomorrow...

Lost in America.. The Korean team of 3 is sending well... they stopped for a couple of hours this afternoon to wait for the shade as it was too hot for them to climb...good move.. Tangerine Trip: Todd, the solo on the trip made it to the start of the 5th pitch today and spent most of the day climbing part of that pitch... he stopped at the intermediate belay half way up the pitch and cleaned and hauled to there.. I left while he was hauling... he is using an older soloing technique and going pretty slow but he has the same heat that others have and he is continuing climbing, albeit at a reduced pace...

Aurora: That Korean has a fixed line all the way to the Bat Cave with the bags hanging from there... no one is on the route at the present... the rumor is that they have a leader coming from Korea who arrives tomorrow... anyway that is the local scuttlebutt... how true? Who knows?...

El Nino: I didn’t see anyone on it today but I didnt really scour the route either...

The Ranch... Did see that Pete had lead another pitch and they were in the process of moving things up when I left today... I guess it was Pete I saw without a shirt for most of the day. God I hope so... looked hot there right from the get go...

Mescalito.. did see the two guys heading above the Bismarck toward the sloping ledge two pitches from the top.. don’t know if they make that ledge this evening ... if so then they will most likely be off tomorrow PM... if not maybe another half day..

Nose: The Truckee Three were up and past the king swing when I arrived at the bridge at 9:30am.. they spent the day getting into the gray bands and were seen on the ledge leading left toward the pitch up to camp 4... they had time to make that ledge this evening and maybe even fix higher.. it looked hot on the route with a little breeze later in the day... these guys are not fast but they are relentless... go guys! The Pink Nose team came by today and told me that they spent the night on the top instead of at the last belay... they climbed from Pancake flake to the top yesterday... good stuff! I am sure her parents are happy that everything went so well...

The Shield: Well I went down there to the west side to check on the guys and saw nothing above mammoth terrace... did see two guys rapping the fixed lines down from heart ledge and figured it was them... awfully hot over there...

Jolly Roger... did see the "old Dudes" this morning at the bridge... they pushed all the gear and bags up to mammoth terrace yesterday and left this morning for a week as they had work commitments this week... maybe it will be cooler next time we see them...

Salathe: Did see the team of three heading toward the roof pitch and about to haul the bags from Sou Le Toit ledge this afternoon late... they could be on long ledge by dark if they are quick... Looked over to Lurking fear while I was in the woodyard shooting the Salathe crew but saw no one on the lower part of the route.. higher up ... I don’t know..

In other news... seems that some people are taking everything I write as serious... let me remind you that this whole report is mostly just joking around with the actual information about the climbs as accurate as I can make it... Imagine this whole next part being read out loud by Jerry Seinfeld.. OK? Here goes... this is Jerry talking..."If I write that I think a team will be off the route later today then that is a judgment call on my part.. they may not unless I say that I saw them going over the top...When I said that I was going to watch Ian and Josh closely so that I could see if they bailed or not... its a joke!! I don’t watch people closely at all... there is no surveillance here... people are not under some critical eye here... its a joke... remember the post? I said that I had engaged the Mariposa Marching band to play music for the Walk of shame when they bailed... That’s a joke!! There is no marching band here!!! Its a joke!!! I kid around with everyone and there is a good natured give and take all the time at the bridge... we are far from serious here... there is no Heartbreak hotel that I jug up invisible lines to each day.... its a joke!! So please stop the talk about surveillance cameras and worries that I will put your team under special scrutiny... there is no special scrutiny!!" End Seinfeld... So that is the report for today... brought to you by the special CIA unit stationed at the bridge to report on all climbers activities... its a joke!!! It was really hot here so if you are planning on coming here for the weekend be aware that it will be uncomfortable... Nice time hanging at the bridge today... oh yes .. the El Cap shuttle bus is running now.. get it at the visitors center and it stops here at the bridge (even the park service knows where the center of the el cap scene is!!).. runs every half hour.. Ok..

So that’s the way it is here at the Bridge for June 15th 2007...

Signing off for now... ElCap Pics