Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
elcap-pics
climber
Crestline CA
|
|
|
Topic Author's Original Post - Oct 6, 2008 - 12:54am PT
|
ElCap Report 10/05/08
By Tom Evans
Yo… The storm has vanished as quickly at it came in and today was cool and sunny. The wall rats scurried up on the cliff with most of the action on the Nose. The wind was blowing pretty hard on all the exposed parts of the great cliff and most climbers were in jackets huddled at the belays. The air was clear and the photography excellent. The leaves are starting to turn on the North Side Drive and the air has the crispness of Fall now. The forecast is good way into the future so if you have any plans you had better put them into practice as the time has arrived to fish or cut bait. Today’s report is brought to you by Hans and Yuji who came by this afternoon on their way to do a tune up run up the Nose around 2pm. Imagine doing an afternoon ascent of the great climb! I did a many afternoons, and mornings ascent of the route myself!!
So ditch the bags, trim the rack, start short fixing, and chalk up fast because we are going up on the Cap right now on Today’s ElCap Report…
Zodiac: The team of two that had fixed to the top of three were back and headed upward today.
Starting the 4th pitch on Zodiac.
Zenyatta Mondatta: Matt and Brian did one of the most photogenic sections of the route today and you are going to benefit by getting to see a load of pics of their day. I did get an Email from Matt’s wife, Chrysten, in Peru, who said she really appreciates being able to see her man up on the route via my shots and gauge his progress from the report. You Bet!! I left around 4 as Brian was finishing the 9 O’clock Roof pitch.
Matt Lambert leads out on the Lightning bolt roof pitch.
Matt moving up on the LBR’s pitch. Zenyatta
Brian leaves the belay on Zenyatta
Brian leads out on the 9 O’clock roof pitch on Zenyatta
Brian getting to the roof.
Matt relaxing while Brian climbs the roof above. Taken from way out west.
Mescalito: After a good start the Polish team decided to bail from the top of the 7th pitch today. As those in the know, know, reversing the Seagull pitch is a daunting prospect and the lads spent most of the entire day getting back to Stork ledge. What up dudes???
Reticent: Davito lead one of the crux pitches of the route today as he climbed above Wine Tower on a time consuming lead today.
Nose: I spotted Mash and Chantela a couple pitches above camp 6 this afternoon and they should be off by now on their climb of the 3D.
Lower down there were several parties slugging up the Stove Legs and a very lightly equipped one moved over to ECT in the mid afternoon. The rest were in a conga line to Dolt Tower. None were going down but it is not decided yet!!
Hans and Yuji went off for an afternoon climb in preparation for their speed run on Wed morning. If that run doesn't do the trick then they are going next Sunday. I didn’t see them climbing but they had a pile of folks below Sickle to get through and of course the multitudes higher up.
3D or something over there. I did see a team of three on Grey ledges leading up to the traverse this afternoon. Where are they headed? Just in front of them was Narek, the polish climber who is headed to the Shield.
Magic Mushroom: This team moved up smoothly today and are now out of the awkward flaring corners that infest the upper part of the route. They are dressed in rock cammo clothing and were not showing up in the shots… their loss!
Out west the team was nearing the top of their route this afternoon.
In other News: Wednesday and Thursday will be big days here. Of course Hans and Yuji are trying for some record insurance and will go again on the weekend if things don’t suit them. Chris Sharma is going to take a run at on sighting the Nose free those two days. Should be interesting! Come on out!!
Other routes are about to get some action too so the rock will be crowded soon! The bridge was a little chilly today but a nice group of climbers hung out and had a good time.
Lance Alec Aaron Kate share a good time at the bridge.
Aaron and Kate enjoying a laugh at the bridge
Pete and Kate compare guns and Pete’s expression tells the tale!
I mentioned the other day that we have a problem we need to deal with on the Nose and also most likely the Salathe. Very sadly these wonderful, mega-classic routes are turning into open sewers once again and it is not just at camp 6 on the Nose. Camp 5 is a disgusting out house as some climbers are using the ledges to defecate and urinate on. I see teams go out daily with no poop tubes. So I am suggesting that climbers stop disrespecting the very rock that they idolize… man up and get that solid waste packed away and off the route. It is not difficult to do. The urine problem has gotten to be epidemic.
Camp 5 is coated in a layer of greasy human excrement. We figure that if you drink a gallon of water then you generate about a third of a gallon of urine. So I am asking you to, on these two routes only, but it would be nice if it became widespread, urinate in one of your used gallon water bottles and:
1) Carry it to the top and empty it out a good distance from the edge of the cliff in the sandy soil that acts like a filter to cleanse the waste when it rains or snows up there.
2) To me, even though it is not “legal”, if you can’t carry it up, (and you should carry it up) then take the bottle and huck it over the side away from the route so that it hit’s the wall a ways down. It should break and discharge the urine on the rock where it can be washed away by rains. Then you or someone interested in helping, can pick up the empty plastic container. I know, I know… it is like heaving a bomb over the side and if someone below was hit with a gallon of urine it could be very bad. So I don’t recommend this really and the boys in green would be very upset ….but something has to be done.
Option 1 is the best.
Some of our climbers don’t seem to think it is a problem but I assure you it is and if we climbers don’t take some action then you can bet the authorities will and once they get involved there is no telling where that will lead. So we need to rededicate ourselves to the “clean climbing” ethic. Most routes are ok as people urinate over the side without much problem, as the wall is steep on many routes, so this request is just for the Nose and Salathe. None of us want to bivy in such filth and the problem needs to be addressed right now!!! Your ideas would be appreciated and debated as mine are going to be. I am asking all of you to do more to keep this wonderful resource, and inspiration for many of us, in as pristine condition as possible. What is going on now is totally unacceptable. Enough said?
So that’s the way it is for this the 5th day of October 2008
Thanks for reading my rantings and do something positive please!
Later ECP’s
|
|
neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
|
|
hey there tom.. say, as always, even us non-climber learn a lot...
thanks for taking the time to do all this reporting...
say, very serious share about the "human filth" on the ledges... sure hope folks take this to heart... sounds really typical of fitting into the catagory of:
who's gonna' make me?....
as many of you all must climb through it all:
you sound like you got best interest in heart for all, too, sure hope certain-climbers start to get a better concience as to all that, if not for folks, at least as you said for the loveliness of the natural rock for the next folks to enjoy it...
|
|
hungry man
Trad climber
around
|
|
jesus christ, pete! I think wee-wee has bigger muscles than you!
just kidding.
hey thanks for the report, tom. I NEVER piss on the wall...errrrrr
|
|
Lambone
Ice climber
Ashland, Or
|
|
Were. Tottally raiding petes haulbags. Come on pete, which one is the beer in? Leftover Shiraz?
|
|
hungry man
Trad climber
around
|
|
good work, I was wondering what LBRs were. I thought they were some kind of alcoholic drink like PBRs.
|
|
Gabe
climber
San Clemente, CA
|
|
Yo Tom. Thanks for all the daily reports man! I hope your getting your ration of granite in as well as taking, and then, reporting on these climbs. Cheers to all you hard climbers up on the stone! Some days are fun.... the rest are really fun!..No? At least in retrospect....Good on ya Tom for the 'Don't turn the stone into a sewer' message. It's somthing we can all work on with the piss. The ShlT is unacceptable though. I like the Waste Case and Wag Bags. It's easier than a paper bag, no smell if used properly, and becomes land-fill friendly. Not bad for sh#t.
Not bad sh#t Tom. Cheers All! Me
|
|
yosguns
climber
San Francisco, CA
|
|
Thanks, good reporting. Me too, was wondering what LBRs were... Now I will not forget.
|
|
sbecker
Sport climber
Meff-ferr, Oregon
|
|
w00t!
|
|
'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
|
|
MATT:
please check your email, and also help yourself to what you find! Sorry about the clusterfrig - we were running to beat the rain!
You will find what you're looking for in the big North Face pig, and there may be some leftover food in the Metolius, too. There are at least four beers left in an orange two-handled bag, and you may also find some down deeper in the North Face. There is ONE bottle of shiraz left in the bottom of the North Face pig - you will find it on the very bottom in a kind of a stretchy blue "wine cozy" that holds two bottles. There is a corkscrew I believe in either the black food bag hanging near the summit, or else you will find one in a small size old fish pink bag that has a few personal odds and ends in it. Failing that, you can get the cork out with the blade of a Swiss Army knife - stick the blade carefully into the cork, and rotate it as you gently pull it out - it works.
There are a number of cans of food in a bright pink bag in the bottom of the North Face, and you will find extra water if you need it in the Metolius. If you take anything, email me what you took and what's left - Brenda and Kate and I will be returning to the summit on Wednesday - see your email, our first available day - to grab the stuff. And we may stay overnight on the summit so will need to consume remaining supplies!!
Sorry for the inconvenience, thanks for being a good sport, and enjoy the "pig booty"!
Cheers,
Pete
P.S. Hungry Man - it is a little known fact that Wee-Wee the Big Wall Crab leads most of the hard pitches, not me. To him, a #0 head is, "like, bomber, eh?"
|
|
Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
|
|
Nice shots on ZM!
I agree Camp 5 can be foul in the fall. Part of the reason is the lack of rains this summer. My usual solution is to do walls in the spring rather than the fall. But fall is the most crowded season, as people feel more confident after climbing the whole summer.
I would not recommend tossing off a 2-liter soda/PVC bottle with liquid inside - they are strong and do not break easily, unless you get a direct hit on the cap (try jumping on one - I at least can't break it). It might work if you tossed it with the lid off, though, but the risk of hitting someone on a route or at the area at the base of the Nose is probably unacceptable.
If you carried your water bottles up in your haul bag, then there is room to carry one up to the top. Although to be honest, I rarely use a pee bottle. The way I have dealt with pee is to pee into an empty can, and then toss the pee out well out to the side of the bivvy, where it can't be easily smelled from the bivvy.
As for the solid waste, if you don't have a poop tube, there is the "poor man's poop tube":
1. Assuming you are eating food out of the 1 pound cans, like for canned peaches, ravioli, etc. - save a can from dinner, with the can lid attached.
2. Poop into a plastic grocery bag.
3. Tie up the bag and drop it into the open can. (They usually fit no problem).
4. Close the can lid and duct tape it shut. Then just drop it into the haul bag. The can makes a strong "frame" around the bag and keeps it from being squeezed. The duct tape will eliminate all smell.
5. Once down from the wall, disposal is a slight problem, but dropping it in a dumpster seems OK to me. If that bothers you, there is an option to reopen the can and empty the bag into your toilet.
|
|
deeski
Trad climber
North Carolina
|
|
Hi Tom,
Any word about VJ's night on the wall?
Dee
|
|
Ottawa Doug
Social climber
Ottawa, Canada
|
|
Hi Tom,
Really crisp pics of ZM! Love that new lens. You make important points on the camp V issue. I haven't been there since '83 and it was okay then, but even back then camp VI
was gross. I think you are right that climbers had better deal with it or it will dealt with for us. Nice to see you post up Gabe. Are you going to be in the valley this fall? Also, great pics of Aaron and Kate at the bridge and Pete's 'big guns.' Go Matt, go on ZM! We've exchanged a couple of emails, but never met. He's logging one route after another. :)
Two years ago exactly tonight was my first night on Zodiac in the chilly fall air. Man do I miss it!
Cheers,
Doug
|
|
GhoulweJ
Trad climber
Sacramento, CA
|
|
I was on CampV September 30 and wow, it was horrible! It is scary to even stand on the ledge, slippery smelly slime.
Tom, I'm on your side. If we do the Salathe or Nose again, we are carrying off the pee. I suppose it is the least we could do.
|
|
doktor_g
Social climber
Mt Shasta, CA
|
|
Tom,
Is that a new lens? Much nicer than that duct taped POS you used to have...
Grover
Thanks for the pics of Lambone. Gooooooo MAAAAATTTTT!
|
|
Dr. Rock
Ice climber
http://tinyurl.com/4oa5br
|
|
I'm gonna need the shutter speed for these early October Hubble/SLR combo pics from Heaven , can ya help me?
Maybe post a disgusting set of pictures of the defamation, that would toughen us up.
I got it- after a two week "Grace Period", anyone caught with their pants down will have their dasterdly dead
photographed with the Bubba 800 and posted for the whole World to see, what say?
Beware climbers, the Potty Police are here.
What about vomit, is that legal?
I like to vomit if , it makes me feel better.
Also, I lose weight, which means I can drink more Beer.
Then pee the Captain, what up?
God Forbid, I wonder what the rocks down at J Tree smell like.
Judging by the people I have seen who climb down there, it has got to be pretty bad.
Not really, jus kiddin.
-
|
|
elcap-pics
climber
Crestline CA
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Oct 7, 2008 - 12:32am PT
|
Dr. Rock
You are a strange person....
Climbers should be the potty police because it is climbers who suffer the most in the mess. Haul it out dudes!! All of it!!!
|
|
Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
|
|
We need an education project on the poop issue. There's a lot of climbers who don't have wall in their home countries and whose English is weak. We need to get translations of Big Wall poop ethics into numerous different languages and posted in Camp 4 and in the big wall guidebooks, and heck even on the signpost leading to El Cap.
It wouldn't hurt to remind them that people with huge scopes know who is naughty and nice.
The Nose is disgusting at the bivies. No doubt. and people get worse because of desperation as they get higher! Why is camp 5 and 6 horrible while dolt and El cap tower aren't nearly as bad (of course they have big cracks up higher)
We'll have to start another poop thread later, perhaps when Jesse is down, and he or chris can suggest language and Supertopo linguists can translate into respective languages
Peace
|
|
Pakdong
climber
|
|
I will chip in for those signs, since the Gov't is now broke. Can we get some multi-linguals out there to translate??
|
|
duncan
Trad climber
London, UK
|
|
The Better Poop Tube
A 2.5 gallon (25 lbs.) plastic bucket with snap-on lid. Often available for nothing at your local fast foot outlet.
Clean out the cooking oil, paint or whatever, replace handle with tape sling and duct tape. Secure the lid with a luggage strap and/or more duct tape. Hang beneath haul bag. I’ve not had a lid come off in 100+ pitches, including dragging one up the Heart slabs a couple of times. Make your deposit into a sturdy brown paper bag, available from most supermarkets (double-bag those tomatoes!), not a non-degrading plastic bag. When you’re down, decant contents at the RV dump station or vault toilet.
I’ve used a PVC pipe and I think a bucket is better as it is lighter and easier to empty and clean. It can be home- or camp-made in a few minutes from easily obtainable materials and costs pennies or nothing. It’s a good starter option even if you go on to buy or make a bespoke tube.
|
|
AbeFrohman
Trad climber
new york, NY
|
|
Hey Tom, tell Lance "Evan from Island Rock says Hello."
|
|
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!