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Submitted by Tom Evans on Mon, 06/06/2022 - 02:49
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ElCap Report 6/5/2022
By Tom Evans
Yo… We have had a slight change of the weather of late. Cloudy with some rain showers is the situation now. Fortunately, the showers are very brief and have caused no difficulties. The next week looks to bring a warming trend. This season has seen fewer climbers than in the past and that is why the reports are a bit on the thin side. We need volunteer’s folks… so get here and help me have a good shooting season… that is a direct order from Captain Tom. Don’t trifle with me Pukes!
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Sat, 06/04/2022 - 04:32
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ElCap Report 6/3/2022
By Tom Evans
Yo… Excellent weather continues to bless this season but climbers seem to be few and far between. The Nose remains pretty empty save a few NIADS now and then. If this keeps up I might as well go back home. So come on out and keep me here!
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Thu, 06/02/2022 - 02:44
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ElCap Report 6/1/22
By Tom Evans
Yo… The weather is clear and warm with a daily breeze blowing from the west which is normal for this time of year. The Captain is not crowded at all and everything is open for your climbing pleasure. I am starting to get a little overwhelmed with all the folks who want their shots drop boxed to them… you will have to wait folks as the internet is not fast enough to upload all those high rez shots… so you might have to wait until July when I get back to the land of the fast internet. Send me a reminder in 2 weeks and I will keep you on the list. My first obligation is to do daily photos and processing right here. Also, if you are in the Valley, please come get your shots in person to save me time and effort. I am in the Lodge Café from 7 to 9 am daily. When I am shooting at the tree, I can’t download shots for you.
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Mon, 05/30/2022 - 16:29
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ELCap Report 5/29/22
By Tom Evans
Yo.. Interesting weather these days as a cold front swept in from the north and cleared the clouds away and brought bright skies and strong winds to the Valley. Lots of cool routes going down now. Unlike past seasons the crowds are not a problem as you have your choice of any route you want. So come on out and join the lucky few who are enjoying the great weather.
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Sun, 05/29/2022 - 01:54
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ElCap Report 5/28/22
By Tom Evans
Yo… Nice weather these past two days… cloudy and cool! We are loving it after several days of hot weather. Lots of action but not much on the Big Two. In fact,the Nose has been practically empty and Salathe is the same. I hope you Cubicle Pukes at work are jonesin for some more shots of the big stone to keep your mornings worthwhile at work. Wake up!! This is the time to get your sorry asses out of the cubicle and on the road to Yosemite.
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Tue, 05/24/2022 - 15:37
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ElCap Report 5/23/22
By Tom Evans
Yo.. I arrived in Yosemite on Friday 5/20/22 after an 8-hour drive through the night, from my home in SoCal. The drive was difficult on the dark and windy night and by the time I arrived here at 4:05am I was exhausted. I have been making a slow recovery. The good news is that the weather has been as good as any spring I have been here! Sunny and cool here in the Valley. There are not a lot of wall climbers here and thus the routes have been the regular ones with a couple of exceptions you will read about below.
The permit system has rendered a huge reduction in Tourons and a new traffic pattern is keeping the traffic moving even on the weekends! However, AMARK is trying to maximize profits by running very few shuttle buses and people are complaining about long waits at stops… up to an hour in some cases with only two buses running the entire loop. So be warned and use a bike if you have one. It appears to me that most people are driving around instead of trying to use the buses. Masks are required on buses. Ok… enough system news for now.
As I have reached geezer status now, I will not be writing a lot of reports and the climbers you are interested in may not be on a particular report due to dark clothing (that epidemic continues here) or lack of identification, etc. So, Cubicle Pukes… this is it… you get what you get and your gonna love it anyway! Better yet get the hell out of that cubicle and come to the Valley. The place is deserted so you can climb anything you have a mind to. Or, just hang out in the meadow and enjoy the view and company.
Today's ElCap Report...written just for you... Unique in all the world!
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Sat, 10/23/2021 - 23:31
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ElCap Report 10/20/21
By Tom Evans
Yo… This is the last report of my abbreviated late Fall season. The weather is threatening to end the season within the next few days. As a result, I bailed for home on 10/20/21 as did many other people who took a hard look at the weather forecast. For me this has been a really short season as I only got two weeks of shooting. The permit system seems to have been no big deal as many teams signed up. It was nice to get back to Yosemite after an almost 2 year absence. If you missed getting your pics from me while I was here, then use the contact button to contact me. I need the climb and dates you did it and any identifying information you have .. like bag colors or clothing colors etc.
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Mon, 10/18/2021 - 17:49
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ElCap Report 10/16/2021
By Tom Evans
Yo… Several days of sunny and warm weather have been drawing climbers to the great wall. Strangely enough, the upper east side is seeing more climbers than the Big Two these days. Shortest Straw has been very popular, having women’s teams, solo’s, and men’s teams lining up for a shot at it. There have been some free climbing attempts on other routes as well. The season is winding down now as the extended weather forecast calls for rain and snow a week or so in the future. The Nose has seen a higher than normal bail rate thus far. For me the infection of ElCap by climbers wearing dark clothing has been particularly egregious, as it dulls my photo compositions.
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Thu, 10/14/2021 - 21:52
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ElCap Report 10/14/2021
By Tom Evans
Yo.. The Weather has been a little strange and that has affected climbing teams in different ways. As you read on the previous report, we recently had a night of high winds combined with cold temperatures. The woman’s team on the Straw kept going with apparently little trouble, while the men’s team on the Sea bailed because they lacked cold weather gear and suffered from the cold. Piton Pete’s team were quite alarmed at the conditions and were fearful it would be very difficult to retreat as they felt the conditions hampered rope management. Pete’s team bailed because his partner Kurt had serious back problems along with intestinal issues that incapacitated him. The Green Bag team just kept rolling along, putting the pitches behind them. This is the Fall season and the weather is uncertain some of the time… so any team should be prepared for anything from heat to freezing temperatures. Don’t go on the Cap without a full kit. Several people have died up there from the cold. Climbers tend to see Yosemite as just “Fun in the Sun!” The price for making that mistake can be your life!
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Tue, 10/12/2021 - 20:14
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ElCap Report 10/12/2021
By Tom Evans
Yo… Nights have been cold and the days cool with some sun and wind. There are some interesting routes being done as the big trades seem to be languishing in solitude with a few NIAD’s keeping it interesting. Many climbing friends have shown up and the line-up of vehicles seems to be fulling daily. I will keep plugging along in the meadow just for you! Most reports, like this one, will be a consolidation of 2 or 3 of days of climbing.
10/12/21 8am. BIG NEWS just in from Piton Pete who is trying to bail due to partner illness. High winds buffeted the Captain all night and into the morning. Pete says it is too cold and windy (70 mph) to rappel and the conditions are full on epic. Hopefully the wind will back off as the day progresses. Just goes to show you how important it is to be fully prepared for any circumstance.
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Sun, 10/10/2021 - 23:21
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ElCap Report 10/9/2021 First Report of the Fall season.
By Tom Evans
All right folks, the ElCap Report is back, after 2 years of no reports amid the covid 19 restrictions. So, wake up Cubicle Pukes, and pay attention because cool things are happening and more are planned... So, where the hell are you??? I arrived in Yosemite Valley around 8am on October 6th after a drive of 7.5 hours, from my home in SoCal. The driving was easy at night and I arrived to find ElCap with climbers on some really good routes… some I don’t usually see. The Nose has been empty for the past two days. The weather has been ok but the smoke has been a constant problem this season. I am planning on being here until the end of the month, and am staying at site 36 in Camp 4. I didn’t shoot on the 6th as I was pretty tired from the trip up and hit the sack around 6:30pm. This report is a compilation of the past couple of days.
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Wed, 05/19/2021 - 04:10
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ElCap Report 5/18/2021 Special Report Wilderness Climbing Permit
Yo.. It has been a while since I wrote an ElCap Report as the Pandemic has locked many of us into our homes and out of Yosemite. Recently the NPS released a new requirement for all climbers to apply for a Wilderness Climbing Permit (WCP going forward) if they spend one or more nights on a big wall climb. Since everything over the elevation of about 4,000ft is considered wilderness, that applies to all big walls in Yosemite. Unfortunately, the roll-out was poorly handled and all it accomplished was hostility among many in the climbing community. So, the ElCap Report (ECR going forward) known for its straightforward and credible reporting on all things ElCap (EC going forward) related, is going to give you the real dope on this latest eruption from the NPS. Understand, however that I am speaking only about the effect of the WCP on EC climbs, as I have no direct knowledge of any other climbs.
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Sun, 10/20/2019 - 01:27
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ElCap Report 10/19/19
By Tom Evans
Yo.. The weather has continued to hold and many climbs of importance are about to be done. And I am leaving for home in the morning, so this is the last report of the season. Too bad I have to leave but I planned a month-long cruise a few months ago and can’t cancel it for anything. I would like to thank all you readers and supporters of the Report. It couldn’t happen without your donations and rabid interest in the climbing on the Cap! I have had a good, if shortened season and, as you have seen, gotten a lot of interesting shots for the climbers to have and share.
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Sat, 10/19/2019 - 01:20
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ElCap Report 10/18/19
By Tom Evans
Yo… Surprise… the Nose is almost empty.. so all you folks constantly complaining about crowding… now is the time. Lots of other stuff being climbed too. I will be leaving the Valley this Sunday so come see me very soon if you want to get your shots directly from me. Otherwise use the “contact” button above to send me your information about the climb.
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Thu, 10/17/2019 - 15:45
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ElCap Report 10/17/19
By Tom Evans
Yo… Exceptionally stable weather has been the hallmark of this season. We have not had a drop of rain in daytime for the entire month I have been here. The forecast continues to promise good weather. I am leaving soon as I have other things on my agenda so keep that in mind and come see me in the Café morning or evening to get your shots…otherwise I can drop box them to you when I have time. Lots of interesting climbing going on these days aside from the big trades… so come on out and see all the action or better yet get up on the big stone yourself.
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Wed, 10/16/2019 - 04:20
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ElCap Report 10/15/19
By Tom Evans
Yo… The smoke seems to have vanished as quickly as it appeared… so come on down!! The climbing season has returned. Lots of action off the trade routes to report on. But the big trades are still getting most of the numbers.
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Thu, 10/10/2019 - 00:03
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ElCap Report 10/10/19
By Tom Evans
Yo.. As you know by now, the weather is great but the air is not. We have a big fire burning out to the west near Midpines. It is producing a lot of smoke and the prevailing west wind is bringing the smoke into the Valley where it is sitting and concentrating. It does make for some interesting sunsets and views of a very red moon at night. When it will disperse, no one knows. To keep your mind off the smoke, I have written a report from shots taken over the last few days. Later... 4pm this afternoon... the smoke is back since 1pm and it looks like the cycle will continue for some time... so ... stay away and keep checking back to find out what is up with the fire.
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Wed, 10/09/2019 - 14:17
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Big fire out to the west near Midpines.....Smoke thick in the Valley and it is not going away for several days.... don't come here until it clears ... maybe by the weekend.
Capt. Tom
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Tue, 10/08/2019 - 03:16
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ElCap Report 10/7/19
By Tom Evans
Yo… Today was a beautiful day… right up until 1pm when the Valley filled with smoke from a fire near Midpines which was Zero percent contained. Needless to say hwy 140 was closed this afternoon. So I got a couple of hours extra time to finish images early and write this report. The weather continues to hold.
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Sat, 10/05/2019 - 15:51
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ElCap Report 10/3/19
By Tom Evans
Yo.. Spectacular weather continues to dominate the season thus far. Now that the Face Lift was successfully concluded, more climbers are here to infest the great rock. Hopefully you, cubicle pukes, have caught the bug and are headed this way to join the crews up on the cliff or just hang in the meadow to do the “ElCap Lieback”. Lots of interesting routes to report on this time, so tell the boss you have to take a break and come with old Capt. Tom to share the experiences of climbers on our favorite rock… El Capitan! Sorry to have had so few reports thus far but I am finding that my available energy at 75 years of age is not what it used to be but I will do the best I can for you readers.
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