ElCap Report 6/18/13

ElCap Report 6/18/13

By Tom Evans

Yo… Another day of smoke filled skies befell us.  At first I figured Chongo had returned, and was holding a safety committee meeting under the Bridge!   However, no matter how hard the wind blew, the skies stayed smoked up.  Thus the opportunities for great shots were severely curtailed.  I did manage to capture a few images, in spite of the smoke.  So put down that smoke generator you are puffing on, hit a breath mint, and come on out to the Bridge with me and the Crew!

Today’s ElCap Report…written just for you..unique in all the world!

Zodiac:  Steve Bate, the guy with Retinitis Pigmentosa, who is soloing the route, wanted to fix and haul today, but Big Andy Kirkpatrick forgot to leave him the key to the car, where the gear is stored.  Andy went off to do part of the 3D in a push.  So Steve got to hang out all day at the Bridge, and talk shit with all the crews coming down from the Cap!...Priceless!

1)  Steve in fabulous colors … even dyed his hair!!.. not really.. hanging at the Bridge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The other solo on the route is Beau States, a Gunkie, from NY.  He climbed the Black Tower this afternoon without any problems, it would appear.  It looks like he knows the drill for this kind of work.

2)  Beau taking a break after hauling kit to the BT Ledge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3)  Beau climbing the Tower.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4)  The TER 3 man team hauled kit to the top of the 2nd this afternoon and will blast tomorrow, I think.  Here two men are ready to haul.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SSPO:  Ottawa Doug is a climbing machine!  He knocked off a couple more today and is nearing the junction with the PO.

5)  Here he is this morning on a long view from MPB (Manure Pile Buttress) outside parking area.  Notice the Continental Shelf, on the far right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6)  Here he is higher up this afternoon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nose:  Not a lot of teams on the Nose at the moment, as yesterday was a big top out day, for several teams.

7)  Solo climber Mike Flood has struck gold it would seem.  There are no climbers near him and he can climb unhindered…for the moment, that is.  Seen here, he looked strong in the Stovelegs, but I wonder about the small size of his haul bag… maybe he has some of that new fangled, dehydrated water!  One quart makes 3 gallons you know!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Stick Man and partner climbed the great roof this morning, and were seen at the entrance to Camp 5 later in the day.  The air was so thick with smoke that it was difficult to even see them on the Great Roof….. but not to worry… Capt. Tom is always looking for interesting things to shoot, no matter the conditions!

 

8)  From deep within the Heart of the Nose route, I bring….

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE STICK MAN!!  YOU GOT IT AGAIN...STICK OF THE DAY!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Big Andy Kirkpatrick and John-O, from Australia, are doing a push on the 3D today.  Interestingly enough, they decided to jug to Mammoth on the fixed lines and start climbing from there!  Mmmm… why didn’t I think of that??  Well … I have my reasons!

9)  Here is Andy coming around the corner on the Muir Traverse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10)  Salathe:  I spotted a team on the route yesterday and shot them on the Spire this morning.  Ahhhh… well… ahhhhh…recall all my rants about clothing and that should cover it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In other news:  The “management” burn here in the Valley has been postponed.  Notice how they have cleverly used “management” instead of “controlled”??  The boys in the Puzzle Palace have finally figured out that controlling a “set” forest fire is not really so easy as they once thought. 

We had a great time at the Bridge today.  Several teams made it down to the Bridge and the celebrations began!  Plus, Erik had the Bridge today and the crowds were enchanted, as usual! 

11)  There seems to be an endless supply of Tourons these days!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So that’s the way it is, for this Tuesday, the 18th day of June, 2013. 

Until tomorrow… Ansel Evans… signing off!

 

 

Zodiac soloist

Go Beau! Doing us Gunkies proud.

Pole position

Man if the pole guy would top step he could get another two feet on his 15 foot reach.

I think stick guy is Trolling

I think stick guy is Trolling Tom.
Lambone

"management" burn

Language continues to evolve. "Controlled" burn is ancient history - kind of dates to the medieval scribes era. After that we had "prescribed" burns, and when they would get loose and torch an extra 100,000 acres, that would be labeled "out of prescription" (like too much oxycontin). Now it's "management" burns. Don't get me wrong, we need a lot more wildland fires to get rid of all the excess fuel and gradually start to get the ecological fire cycle on a better regime, but the language is amusing.

Dang, that's a freakin' long

Dang, that's a freakin' long stick. He's missing all the fun of climbing IMHO. I don't get it.

Mike Flood

Yes sir, that is Mike Flood up on the Nose. Looks like he is doing a great job. Slow and steady. Quit it about the bag remakes Tom! lol, teams have hauled waaaay more than that on the nose before!
Love the report. Nice work Doug! Putting the pitches behind him.

uhhh

I think Tom was commenting that the absence of large bags was a reason for concern; ie: he may not have enough water for the push
 
From Tom:  Yep, I think you got it!  Most solos have two big grade 6 bags and a ledge, etc etc. 
Mike is going "old School" and I like it!!  Just hope he can get some water on the route. 
I hear there is some on Dolt, which he should be at now. 
Later Tom