ElCap Reports

ElCap Report 10/03/11
By Tom Evans

Yo… Typical Fall day here in Yosemite.  Sunny, breezy, and cool all day.  Nice clouds too.  A really strong wind blew through here around 11am today and most likely signaled the arrival of the cold front expected to bring harsh conditions to the Sierra.  A few teams on the wall will have to tough it out, it would appear.  I did speak to Big Wall Kate and EE who fixed 4 on Mirage and came down to wait out the storm.  They wanted no part of it over on the slabs out West.  So we wait….

ElCap Report 10/02/11
By Tom Evans

Yo… Pretty nice today, if a bit cool at the Bridge.   The weather continues to hold with partly cloudy conditions.  The Park Service is warning everyone about the storm coming on Wednesday.  It will be pretty cold with snow above 7,500ft and that means rain in the Valley.  The throngs have left the Salathe and returned to the Nose.  They need to climb fast!  Lots of climbers on the Captain today…. Read all about it below…

ElCap Report 10/01/11
By Tom Evans

Yo… Another beauty here but not enough, it seems, to bring climbers out of Camp 4.  I don’t know what is up with the crews this season.  I heard someone this morning saying they were going to delay another day because the weather was calling for a 10% chance of showers this afternoon!  Bunch of Pukes!  Got rain gear?  Yes.  Got Portaledge?  Yes.  Got rainfly?  Yes.  Got balls?  No!  So it will be a thin ECR today.

ElCap Report 9/30/11
By Tom Evans

Yo… The perfect weather continues in spite of various long range forecasts.  The rock is damn near empty as I type these words.  WTF is up?!  Where are the climbers?  We do have a few new teams hiking to the base but none have appeared above the trees thus far.  So it is kind of thin pickings for a report today.  I will give you what I’ve got, but it isn’t much.
 

ElCap Report 9/29/11
By Tom Evans

Yo… Cloudy and humid on the Cap today… made for sweaty conditions.  Rumors abound of coming bad weather.  I don’t know what to think, and try to be optimistic.  The Bigs are getting emptier by the hour.  Put the dog in the basement, the kids outside, your spouse in the kitchen, and come with me, up high on the Captain for some adventure climbing.
Today’s ElCap Report….written just for you…unique in all the world!

ElCap Report 9/28/11
By Tom Evans

Yo.. The beautiful days continue and you are probably somewhere else… now, is that what you really want?  Cubicle Pukes… I know you have to keep the world running, and we all depend on you, but come on man… take a break!  You do get vacation days… right?  You are damn near rich, because of all the work and long hours you have put in for “The Man”.  So come on out and enjoy great days that you will never forget… you will soon enough forget the individual days you worked…NO?  So they don’t matter… only the good days matter in the end.

ElCap Report 9/27/11
By Tom Evans

Yo… Man, another perfectly beautiful day here in Yosemite!  The Cap is filling with climbers but mostly on The Big Two.  Conditions look solid for some time, so the invitation stands… get here!  The rescue from yesterday was finished up this morning by hauling the remaining climber and Ranger Jeff Webb up to the top of the cliff.  The whole thing was in the books by noon.  A job well done.
 

Special ElCap Report 9/26/11
By Tom Evans

Yo… Big rescue off the Captain in the late evening today.  An Austrian took a fall on the pitch leading into Camp 5, on the Nose route, around 3:30 this afternoon.  His aid sling pinched his right thumb off his hand as he fell.  Fortunately, the severed digit landed on the ledge beside his partner, Richard Edelsbacher, who retrieved it.  The initial story had Richard catching it with his other hand which would have lead to …. Wait for it.... wait for it!!   You guessed it!!  ........“Catch of the Day”. 

ElCap Report 9/26/11
By Tom Evans

Yo… This was the kind of day that climbers come to Yosemite for in the Fall.  It was perfect!  A lot happened today and it is very late (10:30pm) as I type this report.  So I will have to move along.
 

ElCap Report 9/25/11
By Tom Evans

Yo…. No rain in the forecast … but… it was cloudy, windy, and chilly all day.  The Cap took on a dark and forbidding appearance that kept even day climbers away.  The Bridge was quiet, with few climbers or Tourons evident.  This was the last day of a very successful Facelift.  So it will be a lot quieter tomorrow around here!