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Submitted by Tom Evans on Sun, 10/22/2017 - 16:57
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ElCap Report 10/21/17 New Nose Record
By Tom Evans
Yo… It was a cold and dark morning in Camp 4 and I didn’t really want get up… but Brad Gobright and Jim Reynolds seemed to be on the cusp of finally sending the Nose, in record time. This was to be their 11th run up the route and since their last run had broken the 2:30 barrier I figured this just might be their day… so I went to the café around 6:30, gagged down a greasy breakfast, and headed down to the meadow. I arrived to find that …the story continues below…
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Thu, 10/19/2017 - 02:39
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ElCap Report 10/12 to 10/18/17
By Tom Evans
Yo… Great weather, albeit on the warm side, prevails here in Yosemite. Unfortunately, so does the smoke from the Empire fire, up behind Glacier Point. So, most of the day shooting is a waste of time as the shots come out very strange looking until the smoke drifts off later in the afternoon. The roads are a total mess too with paving going on in the camp 4 area and other projects making for lots of waiting in lines. I had considered leaving this week but some friends are here and we are having a good time in spite of the distractions. We had a big rockfall off the first half of the 5th pitch on ZM, so that route will have to be reestablished there. The big rockfall area continues to dribble a rock or two now and then but nothing substantial.
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Sun, 10/15/2017 - 16:17
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ElCap Report 10/5 to 10/11/2017
By Tom Evans
Yo… The great weather continues to bless this fall climbing season. However, we have a lot of smoke in the valley most days and that tends to put a yellow cast on my photographs. Due to recent events on ElCap I have fallen behind in the regular weekly reports… so I am trying to catch up.
Today’s ElCap Report..written just for you..unique in all the world!
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Thu, 10/12/2017 - 17:25
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ElCap Report 10/11/17 Special Rescue Edition Texas Flake
By Tom Evans
Yo.. The day started as many do these days..the valley was full of smoke and I was not able to get any useful shots until late morning when the smoke drifted off to the east. Just past noon a friend came out and we chatted while I was doing my usual morning shooting. At about 12:30 a man quickly approached and asked if we had seen the big fall off the Boot Flake. I hadn’t seen it happen as I was conversing with friends at that moment. He described the fall to me. The climber had fallen from near the top of the Boot and the story continues below…
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Thu, 10/05/2017 - 15:37
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ElCap Report 10/5/17
By Tom Evans
Yo.. Splendid weather now dominates the climbing season. Warm days and cool nights are making for perfect climbing conditions. You need to come on out and get on the great rock as it doesn’t get better than it is now. The big trades are getting a lot of attention but some interesting climbing is going down on the not so popular, but deserving routes. This report covers the climbing from 9/27 to 10/5/2017.
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Tue, 10/03/2017 - 00:56
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ElCap Report 10/2/17
By Tom Evans
Yo.. this report will cover climbs up to the 27th of Sept 2017. The weather has been solid for some time now but the Big Three are not crowded at all…so this is your time to get going on the route you have always wanted to do. The news media coverage of the big rockfalls has pretty much gone away now and things are sort of back to normal for everyone but the people involved, of course.
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Fri, 09/29/2017 - 16:38
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ElCap Report Rockfall Edition 9/27/17
By Tom Evans
Yo…The weather has been really nice for the past few days and big wall climbers are back in force. Today was one of those perfect days that everyone had a nice comment about while hanging in the meadow. However nice the weather was, the rest of the day was ruined by a huge rockfall that came thundering down the SE face of ElCap, just right of the Waterfall route. The rockfall struck at 1:51pm with a loud cracking sound and then billows of dust rose from the base of the rock. Fortunately, there was a strong west wind blowing the dust rapidly to the east, so we were able to see the cliff right away.
About half an hour before the fall, three people were seen walking among the remains of the last rockfall, from two years ago. We watchers immediately scanned the base in hopes of seeing three people fleeing the area. Unfortunately, I was only to see a woman, helped by someone, slowly moving to the west. Immediately after the fall many people called in to report the rockfall and the possibility that there were people struck by it. YOSAR quickly arrived on scene, with all their resources, to evaluate the situation and help in any way possible. The shots below will tell the story, but not in the detail that would do justice to all those responsible for the rescue effort. Many people, you will never know about, made important contributions to the rescue. YOSAR continues to amaze with their efficiency and outright courage...dedicated professionals willing to risk their lives to save others... proud!
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Sat, 09/23/2017 - 16:08
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ElCap Report 9/23/17
By Tom Evans
Yo.. I have been here three days thus far and we have had rain, hail, sleet, snow, and wind…with a couple nice mornings and afternoons thrown in, but not together. The extended forecast looks promising. The bad weather has not kept climbers off the wall, unless they were low enough to rap to the deck when the weather came in strong. The Nose has been pretty loaded but has slacked off a bit with the cold weather. Some interesting routes are being climbed at the moment, so I will keep you posted. I haven’t been here long enough to get any scenic shots so this report will be just climbing shots. If see yourself or anyone in these shots that you know please let me know, in the comments section below, so I can add them in the appropriate shots. Thanks!
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Sun, 07/02/2017 - 20:55
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ElCap Report 6/30/17
By Tom Evans
Yo… This is the last Report for the Spring 2017 ElCap climbing season. I would like to thank all those who have supported the Report with their donations this season. If you have not yet gotten the shots I took of your ElCap climb then be sure to send me an email (use the contact button on this page) telling me what climb, when, colors of shirts and bags. When you get your shots you can use the Donate Button, on this page, to make a donation to the site if you wish. Many thanks!
This has been a strange season with all the varied weather, crazy road conditions, massive amounts of water raging through the Valley, rockfall closing roads and such. There was not a lot of crowding on the Cap, as the population of wall climbers was down this Spring, most likely due to the heavy winter snows isolating the Valley until the Tioga Pass opened in late June. We did have some “firsts”, including the first nude ascent of the Nose, done in a snappy 12 hours, and the first free solo of ElCap via Freerider, done in an awesome 3:49.
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Submitted by Tom Evans on Tue, 06/13/2017 - 16:12
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ElCap Report 6/13/17
By Tom Evans
Yo… Strange weather has dominated the last week or so. Storms and cold have kept the Captain pretty empty, but a change in the weather is in progress and teams are heading back up on the great rock. The hoopla has died down about the free solo of Freerider by Alex Honnold and he is off to Alaska for some serious mountaineering.
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