El Cap Report 10/20/07

ElCap Report 10/20/07

 By Tom Evans

Yo... Well it rained a bit last night and the valley was totally socked in this morning... figured the cafe would be doing big business today... but the clouds burned off around 10am and the day turned into a very nice one... the colors were really nice today as the maples are getting really yellow now and all the gullies are sporting Aspens and maples too.. very nice here... a little cool early but nice by noon... Today’s report is brought to you by a little Hispanic woman who kept trying to push me away from "My" camera so she could have a look, even though the telescope for Tourons was set up 2ft away and pointed at climbers... she got pretty annoyed that I wouldn't let here see the climbers through the camera, which BTW offers a much darker and harder to see image... some folks are never happy!!! Today’s ECR direct to you....

The McNeeley, Ousley crew was hoofing loads over to that "Brando classic" namesake on the upper east side of the cap...and are planning on a push in a couple of days... Ammon finally realized that the tall guy he was going to climb with was his brother Gabe... a touching reunion they had....

 

Zodiac: Chris and Debbie did the black tower pitch and then the one into the circle as I left around 3:30pm....Lower down a team started around 9am today and climbed to catch them at the top of the black tower pitch... they are meagerly equipped and I figured they were on a push but have stalled behind C and D who are blocking the circle at the moment... some accommodation will most likely be reached later this day... Lower down I saw a party on the so called Direct start.. you know folks this thing is a junk show... if you are wanting to climb Zodiac then why not climb the real route??

 

Trip: The fashionable E.Euros continued upward today after a bivy at the end of the 6th pitch... hopefully they will get in 3 pitches today as 2 a day makes for a long climb!! But that said... they look fabulous!!!

 

ZM: I saw Kevin and then Ted put away two more pitches today and they just have two more to do to top out... Both continue to defy all sense of fashion and keep wearing those black and white things... shirts or whatever they are... they should be sent back to Gucci for recycling...

 

NA Wall: The two man team climbed to the 6 pitch today with bags and I suppose they are on the wall for the duration now..

 

Nose: I did see the team that did the KS yesterday finish the GR this morning and last saw them disappearing into the Glowering spot... you know it is possible that they could be off late today if they kick it up a notch... Lower down a team of two was climbing with the brakes fully on in the lower stovelegs and thus the traffic was backed up for miles behind them... a New Zealand team that I have given shirts and beta to are stuck just behind them, in spite of the dire warnings I gave them about getting a late start from sickle... when will they ever learn, when will they ever learn?? Anyway they are all miles from Dolt tower and things could get ugly toward dark.. another team was hanging at the top of sickle like Kurtz on the Eiger...motionless for hours... Hello!!? Hello up there??! Anyone still alive???

 

Shield: Well these guys snuck in on me late yesterday while I was absent getting robbed at the YMC... they took everything but my undies from me... anyway, they left their ledge up at the start at the Groove pitch and lead away all day finishing the triple cracks around the time I left... now all they have to do is go down and bivy or spend the rest of the day hauling.. strange tactic that...The wind was raging in the afternoon like it often does and we were expecting the ledge to take off and head for Mono lake..

 

Salathe: Suddenly this route has become popular again... saw a team from yesterday to over the roof and onto the headwall late this morning... lower down saw a team climb the Ear and the pitch above it, using intricate direct aid tactics which BTW included the use of a pretty well done cheater stick to get over the small roof about 40ft above the belay... a stick on the Salathe...could they sink any lower?!! Lower down a team with a man and a woman, climbed toward the Ear as I left... he BTW was a paragon of fashion in a smart red shirt and a yellow helmet, if I recall... she was wearing fashions by "a La Dumpster" which is all the rage in the Homeless community... perhaps making a statement of some sort?? Lower down yet... a huge bag was seen tended to by some caring humans... it appeared that the bag was the object of the whole episode.

 

I didn't get out to the west side today as I am still recovering from my fleecing at the YMC and needed to get to shelter before the Tourons overwhelmed me and took my scopes...So the lesson here is that if you are going west young man, then contact me before the wagon train leaves so I can plan on making the long trek down there... no contact.... no pics... It was very slow at the bridge today in terms of climbers but team McNeeley did hang out and the elusive Gene Fisher also made an appearance along with Adam who is planning on doing something solo perhaps...Ivo drifted in late and was mumbling something to Stanley I couldn't understand... maybe a cheese burger order... Corbin and Hugo did a high speed pass late in the day waving as they caught 3rd gear.. Randy, Nefarious on ST, showed up at the end too... The Tourons were endless as was the traffic... but all told, it was a fine day here. Tom and Linda McMillian came by on the way to climb something.. senior citizens who climb... What’s up with that?? Tom is giving the show at the lodge tonight... Next week is the last of the AAC shows and I have the honor of giving that one... Anyway this is all I can remember to report on.... So that’s the way it is on this the 20th day of October 2007...enjoy the fall where ever you happen to be if not here... Later Tom Evans