ElCap Reports

ElCap Report 6/12/08

 By Tom Evans

Yo… Well it was a beautiful and ugly day all in one here at the bridge. The weather was wonderful and there were many climbers hanging out at the bridge. For a lot of the day we had a great time watching as new action unfolded on the Cap. However, around 1pm a young climber who had just fixed on the Trip came up to me very upset and told me he had seen a body, at the base of the face, of someone who had fallen off the cliff. I talked to him for a few moments and then called 911. Rangers were immediately dispatched to the scene and the lad was interviewed and the location of the body ascertained. You can imagine how we all felt here at the bridge. It was like someone had sucker punched you in the stomach. Speculation was rampant of course. The young climber was quite upset and somewhat confused as to exactly what he saw. Was it a climber, a base jumper, a hiker? No one knew of course and all sorts of theories were proposed. Fortunately our SAR and LEO’s are the best in the business and knowing that it was in their hands and that a full and through investigation would follow was, in a way, a relief. But for several hours it was a grim scene here.

ElCap Report 6/11/08

 By Tom Evans

Yo… very nice day here today. Perfect weather once again. Unfortunately, there was little action on the Captain to keep the interest high. So most of the day was spend just hanging around in the shade and talking shit with other loungers. The Tourons were thick as ticks on a dogs ear. And, to compound the problem, one of our “newbee” Colorado lads, you know the one, was answering the dreaded Touron question, “Are there any climbers up there?” With “why yes there are!” Instead of “No, not at this time.” Thus making them stop in their tracks and start a little game of “explain to me everything you know about climbing and show me all the climbers on the rock through that wonderful telescope.” When the Tourons departed, the lad received a through tongue lashing in the proper way to deal with Tourons at the bridge. Next time his mouth will be duct taped closed and he will be tied to a nearby tree! Today’s report is brought to you by Amanda, Lee Cossey’s fiancé, who was nice enough to bring me some healthy food for lunch and faithfully stay to watch “her man” even though he was doing nothing but sitting on a ledge most of the afternoon. Today’s Report.

 ElCap Report 6/10/08

By Tom Evans

Yo! Man this was one sweet day here in the big valley. The action has heated up on the Cap and the scene at the bridge was just all fun today. Since it is Tuesday the Touron population is down from the weekend. You have once again missed the perfect late spring day here. Temps…. Perfect…. Sky …. Clear…. The Cap… Brilliant… the Bridge rats… doing the bridge lieback all day! The beer was free, the food was free, the laughs were many. The Posse was in full force and there were loads of climbers just relaxing and having a good time. Hell, we even allowed the young Colorado climbers to hang with us, not to mention the heroes of recent ascents of the Cap who were here to try to extend their, “basking in the glory” time. Several have passed the usual one day limit on basking, but they continue to glow in victory anyway. As you probably know, if you are successful on ElCap you get a full day to receive congratulations and ego massage. But if you do the walk of shame then you get crap from everyone for two weeks.

ElCap Report 6/9/08

By Tom Evans

Yo! SWEET DAY!!!! It really was folks. Perfect temps, clear skies, cool breezes. However the Captain was nearly empty! Yep that’s right, just a few teams of climbers in this perfect weather. Why you ask? Well most topped out yesterday and there are few up to replace them. The Bridge, however, was busy with people most of the day. Today’s report is brought to you by Zander, who came by with the Beer, and hung out for a long time watching the few climbers on the wall. So here it comes, direct from Dead Bird ledge on Zodiac to you… Today’s ElCap Report..

ElCap Report 6/8/08

By Tom Evans

Alright, listen up desk jockeys and cubicle geeks… this is the shit from the main Bridge Rat here at the scene of the action on the Cap. Perfect day here with masses of climbers hanging out. I guess it is Sunday, as all the puff daddy café rats suddenly left from the café this morning around the time church starts! They all returned red eyed from singing those hymns and praying so hard, I suppose. Anyway, it was nice down at the bridge even though the action on the Captain was somewhat abbreviated. So here is the report for today brought to you by a couple of smoking hot climber girls from Santa Cruz who happened by after a climb to look through the scope. They didn’t stay long in spite of the efforts of Lucho, “the Lover“, and Dave, “the Bone“, Turner’s best efforts to entice them to remain.

ElCap Report 6/7/08

By Tom Evans

Yo. Nice day here for a Saturday. Great weather, nice folks, heroes down from the Cap and not too many Tourons. Unfortunately the controlled burn was not quite out in Foresta and after noon the skies got kind of hazy. I have the show to get ready for tonight so this will be to the point. Brought to you today by Lori who worried all day yesterday about her man Tony and friend Clay and in the end it was all for naught. So here it comes direct as the Direct on the Dome, to you, now..

ElCap Report 6/6/0

By Tom Evans

Ok… here it is …. I just got back from the exhibition of climbing photos and museum artifacts that Ken Yeager has put together. Nice little party to kick off the showing. Lots of climbers in evidence. Many of the “Old guys” were there too and it was nice for a “never was” striving to become a “has been” to get the chance to mingle with greatness. A good time was had by all…. Many thanks to Ken for putting on this event. A beautiful day at the bridge it was too. Perfect conditions brought out a lot of folks. The action on the Big Stone was good too.

ElCap Report 6/5/08

 By Tom Evans

Yo.. Nice day here today, low winds and clear skies. Unfortunately, for me and the Tourons, the Park Service has decided this is a good day for a controlled burn and by noon the ElCap area was filled with smoke and thus the visibility so reduced that pics were impossible to take. So I left early. Today’s report is brought to you by Steve Muse and entourage, who were here at the bridge to take in the sweet taste of victory! Nice going gang.

ELCap Report 6/4/08

 By Tom Evans

Yo… got up to partly cloudy skies and very cool temps with a strong west wind this morning. Low clouds were hanging off the Dome and Cathedrals. Went down to the bridge and of course found that “MY SPOT” was taken once again… I hate it when that happens. One would think that the head bridge rat could at least keep his parking place! Anyway a stiff wind was blowing across the deck, and it was all I could do to take a few shots against its tug. Wind is the dreaded enemy of the telephoto lens. The slightest push and the pic is trash. So I fought it all day. The place was empty and would stay that way for most of the day. It was cold and the Captain was marshalling its forces against the climbers who would dare. There were people in retreat, two parties from the Nose route. So I did what I could and hung in there until around 2:30pm when I had just had enough of the jostling about. Most of the teams were bundled up but moving upward.

ElCap Report 6/3/08

By Tom Evans

Yo… geeeeezzzzeeee.. So much going on today. Lots of climbers on the major routes with the exception of the Nose. Perfect day most of the time with high clouds and comfortable temps. The bridge was deserted for half the day and then was so crowded that you could hardly find a place to stand. Mostly it was climbers but quite a few Tourons came by too. This report is brought to you today by Gene who was up from Modesto late in the day sporting a limp from a fall he took on the trail serving as a crash pad for Steve Muse! Anyway I have so many images to process tonight I may never get to bed so I figure I had better get this Report done now, so here it is!