ElCap Report 5/29/13

Submitted by Tom Evans on Thu, 05/30/2013 - 03:04
ElCap Report 5/29/13
By Tom Evans
Yo..  Beautiful day here in Yosemite. Funny thing is that at 3:30am I heard the pitter patter of rain on the fly of my tent, and it continued on and off until after dawn. As a result, climbers who got up at 5 to get an early start on the Captain went back to bed, figuring the day was lost. Not the case as it cleared off by 6 and turned out to be just perfect for climbing. Interesting action on the South East Face of ElCap today… read about it below.

ElCap Report 5/28/13

Submitted by Tom Evans on Tue, 05/28/2013 - 21:23
ElCap Report 5/28/13
By Tom Evans
Yo… The so called “storm” everyone was quaking in their boots over, was a dud. So climbers are scurrying back to the base to get a place staked out. There isn’t much to report on today so I am going to include some scenics and a couple of climbing shots from the last few days.

ElCap Report 5/25 thru 27/13

Submitted by Tom Evans on Tue, 05/28/2013 - 02:43
ElCap Report 5/25 thru 27/13
By Tom Evans
Yo… You wouldn’t believe it unless you were here!  Everyone within 500 miles of Yosemite showed up this weekend! It took 1 hour 45 minutes to drive the 4 miles from the Bridge to the Lodge! Actually, the traffic people and rangers did a pretty good job with the situation, all things considered. Unfortunately for me, the first two days of the weekend, found the Bridge packed with Tourons and I was unable to get away from there until very late … so no reports for those days. The cliff has become nearly deserted today as there is a storm predicted to hit tonight.  Next morning.... the storm was nothing much and weather now solid for a week.

ElCap Report 5/24/13

Submitted by Tom Evans on Sat, 05/25/2013 - 02:56
ElCap Report 5/24/13
By Tom Evans
Yo… Wow!! Another beautiful day for climbing on the Captain. Sunny and cool conditions will not last much longer, as a storm is expected on Monday. It seems that Zodiac is still the climb to be on these days. Several climbers are taking a wait and see attitude before committing to blasting. Spring lighting is making for some difficult photography, but fortunately Capt. Tom knows all the tricks, to make shots work out right. BUT… help me out here climbers! The shadows are long and dark this time of year so … LOSE THE DAMN DARK SHIRTS AND PANTS!! They combine with the shadows to make humans look like long, dark blob. Do you really want a once in a lifetime shot of you to be a head with a dark blob for a body? Really?  You aren’t doing it for me…. I have a couple hundred thousand shots of climbers on ElCap and another blob shot just gets given to you not me! Women!!! Dress your man! 

ElCap Report 5/23/13

Submitted by Tom Evans on Fri, 05/24/2013 - 04:11
ElCap Report 5/23/13
By Tom Evans
Yo. Today we had a beautiful Spring day but it was kind of chilly and the wind was blowing pretty good too, although not as bad as yesterday. The story today was a lot of Zodiac and a little of the Nose. There are other routes going on but I was not in a position to see them directly… so… who knows?
The big weekend is at hand… remember… do not come to Yosemite this weekend…you will not be happy if you do!

ElCap Report 5/22/13

Submitted by Tom Evans on Thu, 05/23/2013 - 03:33
ElCap Report 5/22/13
By Tom Evans
Yo…  I arrived at the Bridge this morning to find a very strong, cold wind blowing hard from the West. The air was full of all kinds of particulate matter, brought from a great distance away. Climbers on the Nose’s lower third felt the blast the worst, and all were decked out in wind jackets and puffy’s. They all bailed!! Only climbers high on the route proceeded up the route. The wind has backed off, as I write the Report, and hopes are that it will not reappear in the morning.

ElCap Report 5/21/13

Submitted by Tom Evans on Wed, 05/22/2013 - 04:32
ElCap Report 5/21/13
By Tom Evans
Yo… The beauty of Spring weather continues to intrigue. There was lots of action on just a few of the routes today. Things are settling down a bit now after the terrible Sunday we had a couple of days ago. Erik Sloan is manning the Bridge on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for a while, giving me a much needed break. Some of the shots today are really neat so you are in for a treat… as if you aren’t always in for a treat! The climbing season is going good now and more climbers are expected around the first of June… so hold onto your helmets, big wall freaks!

ElCap Report 5/20/13

Submitted by Tom Evans on Tue, 05/21/2013 - 03:16
ElCap Report 5/20/13
By Tom Evans
 
Yo… another day of perfect climbing weather but due to recent circumstances the cliff is very vacant. The action these days is on the three most popular routes on ElCap. Of course, those routes are, the Nose, the Salathe, and Zodiac. So I am going to share the action with you.  At the end of this report is an analysis of yesterday's accident, as told to me my Marc Venery, the surviving member of the team.

ElCap Report 5/19/13

Submitted by Tom Evans on Mon, 05/20/2013 - 01:18

ElCap Report 5/19/13

By Tom Evans

 

Yo… it started out a beautiful spring day.  The three person mixed team on the Nose did the King Swing and was motoring along when I left.  There was a team on the Salathe that was doing well too.  I saw a wall team from yesterday climbing above Camp 5 this morning.

I arrived at the Bridge around 9:20am and was immediately approached by Ranger Ben Doyle who had reported that a call for help had come in from a party high on ElCap.  I set up my instruments and viewed the scene… I was horrified to say the least, and I will not go into any details at this time as an investigation is underway.  One of the team was killed in a fall.  Yosemite Search and Rescue immediately swung into action and did a “from the top” extraction of the deceased climber and is presently evacuating the surviving partner.  In all my 18 years of photographing climbers on ElCap I have never seen such a awful and terrible scene. 

ElCap Report 5/18/13

Submitted by Tom Evans on Sun, 05/19/2013 - 02:52

ElCap Report 5/18/13

By Tom Evans

 

Yo… another spectacular day here in Yosemite Valley.  Sunny and cool, with clean, clear air, to shoot through.  Lots of action on the few routes being climbed, at the moment.  I heard from Dave Allfrey that he and Alex Honnold were going to pick some “Low hanging fruit” today.  Check it out below! 

Most of the teams on the Cap are nearing the top now, so we need some replacements!  That could be you, my faithful reader…. Where the hell are you?  Sitting home watching sports on the Tube?  Well man up, Puke, and show the world what you got!!  I can’t make you world famous if you aren’t in front of my 600mm Nikon f/4 lens.  Imagine the glory, and climbing groupies, you are letting slip away!

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