Tom's EL CAP REPORT of Alex's Solo

Search
Go

Discussion Topic

Return to Forum List
This thread has been locked
Messages 1 - 49 of total 49 in this topic
micronut

Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
Topic Author's Original Post - Jun 4, 2017 - 02:10pm PT
I saw this linked on the other thread and thought it might deserve a thread of its own. Thank you Tom for all your efforts over the years and for this beautiful report of a historic ascent.

My favorite quote from the report:
He stopped for a moment to wake up a camera man who had fallen asleep on the little triangular ledge on pitch 6. That seemed to break the tension for a time!


http://elcapreport.com/content/elcap-report-6317-special-edition-honnold-free-solo-elcap
High Fructose Corn Spirit

Gym climber
Jun 4, 2017 - 02:18pm PT
My favorite "fun" one was of Honnold passing through that couple's bedroom so early in the morning. :)

The conversation? "You might not want to stand up just yet, we're being filmed."



Thanks, Tom. Beautiful, majestic photos.
wilbeer

Mountain climber
Terence Wilson greeneck alleghenys,ny,
Jun 4, 2017 - 02:19pm PT
Thank You ,that is a great report.
skcreidc

Social climber
SD, CA
Jun 4, 2017 - 03:04pm PT
THAT, Tom, was an awesome photo report. Thanks for still being there.
Tripod? Swellguy? Halfwit? Smegma?

Trad climber
Wanker Stately Mansion, Placerville
Jun 4, 2017 - 04:22pm PT
Despite reading the other threads, my palms didn't actually sweat until I looked at Tom's report. Hard to fathom what he just did
Retirement? ...please
Ezra Ellis

Trad climber
North wet, and Da souf
Jun 4, 2017 - 04:35pm PT
I'm just speechless,
Alex is a mutant, and an inspiration.
Way to go Honlove ;)
Jon Beck

Trad climber
Oceanside
Jun 4, 2017 - 04:52pm PT
Tom has done some great photography, but this has got to be one of the best series yet. The Boulder Problem shot made me want to puke thinking about that move. Most have been tough to watch. Thanks Tom
Wen

Trad climber
Bend, OR
Jun 4, 2017 - 06:33pm PT
At some point I hope Tom and Jimmy will write something up about what it was like to watch this amazing feat from behind a camera. These pics are so great Tom, thank you to all who were there to give us a sense of what it was like. I feel like I'm in a special club that understands the magnitude of this achievement while the rest of the world just moves along like nothing is going on.
SteveW

Trad climber
The state of confusion
Jun 4, 2017 - 07:12pm PT

Thanks, Tom!!!!
Gersh

Trad climber
San Diego, Ca
Jun 4, 2017 - 08:55pm PT
Bump for one of the best threads ever!
Kalimon

Social climber
Ridgway, CO
Jun 4, 2017 - 08:59pm PT
Nice work Tom . . . glad you were chosen to be there for this historic achievement.

Alex Honnold has broken through yet another barrier in the modern human consciousness . . . in doing so he has effectively transformed the world around him.

Congratulations Mr. Honnold! Your dedication and mindfulness are a powerful example to your fellow travelers on this planet. Thank you for being a such a positive climbing ambassador.

Fossil climber

Trad climber
Atlin, B. C.
Jun 4, 2017 - 09:01pm PT
Beautiful, Tom! Thanks.
WBraun

climber
Jun 4, 2017 - 09:03pm PT
He stopped for a moment to wake up a camera man who had fallen asleep


Might not have been asleep but trying to stay out of the view from the ground cameras. .....
PhilG

Trad climber
The Circuit, Tonasket WA
Jun 4, 2017 - 09:05pm PT
Happy to see your part of the "News Team" once again.
Beautiful pictures of an amazing event!
Chaz

Trad climber
greater Boss Angeles area
Jun 4, 2017 - 10:10pm PT
I'm interested to know the workings of the remotely controlled cameras, as my kite-photo pals and I have systems to remotely control our cameras.

Great work, Mr Evans! This has to be right up there with the all time best El Cap Reports.
mcreel

climber
Barcelona
Jun 4, 2017 - 11:40pm PT
Hoo man, that made my hands sweat!
BLUEBLOCR

Social climber
joshua tree
Jun 4, 2017 - 11:55pm PT
🙏💪👍👊 #HONLOVE

Too Tom:👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻👋🏼👋🏽👋🏾👋🏿
Don Lauria

Trad climber
Bishop, CA
Jun 5, 2017 - 12:14am PT
Oh well, what'd you expect?

Good show, Alex. Freaking amazing!
tarallo

Trad climber
italy
Jun 5, 2017 - 02:02am PT
He is the best!
Just curious: he bypassed the ear to get in the monster?
In the picture he seems very low.
Gunkie

Trad climber
Valles Marineris
Jun 5, 2017 - 04:50am PT
Wow. That's all I have.
Nick Danger

Ice climber
Arvada, CO
Jun 5, 2017 - 06:39am PT
WOW, just WOW!
ydpl8s

Trad climber
Santa Monica, California
Jun 5, 2017 - 08:37am PT
All humans are equal, some raise the equality bar to unattainable levels ergo, are they human? Good question.
brotherbbock

climber
Alta Loma, CA
Jun 5, 2017 - 09:24am PT
Might not have been asleep but trying to stay out of the view from the ground cameras. .....

Tom said he was trying to sneak a candid pic of Alex but he was spotted.... hehe
Roots

Mountain climber
Tustin, CA
Jun 5, 2017 - 02:24pm PT
WTF is next? Great job (Alex)but that bars keeps edging higher and higher...
john hansen

climber
Jun 6, 2017 - 07:24pm PT
In Toms photos # 14 shows Alex at one of the crux move,s.

I wonder if this shows him doing the "karate kick" move, Tommy was talking about in one of the links above.

Was this the same spot that some have done as a dyno?




EDIT: Thanks dhayan ,, much safer with a static move.
dhayan

climber
culver city, ca
Jun 6, 2017 - 09:15pm PT
^ yes
briham89

Big Wall climber
santa cruz, ca
Jun 7, 2017 - 07:18am PT
Woo!!! TFPU
Dapper Dan

Trad climber
Redwood City
Jun 7, 2017 - 01:56pm PT
Phenomenal report Tom...
PolishClimber

Trad climber
Jun 7, 2017 - 01:57pm PT
Incredible. Excellent shots, Tom.
Chris McNamara

SuperTopo staff member
Jun 7, 2017 - 02:03pm PT
Excellent shots, Tom. And great captions, as usual.
chainsaw

Trad climber
CA
Jun 7, 2017 - 03:28pm PT
I heard that Alex "backed off" his first attempt. Is it really a free solo with all those fixed lines everywhere? On a free solo, you send or die. I know this will be an unpopular viewpoint, but its not a free solo when rescue is at hand on every pitch. A pinkpoint in some respects. Alex is miles and many pitches out of my league. But to call it a free solo is kind of questionable. Its not really free soloing when you can back off. I know people on the taco will attack me for saying that. I only free solo 5.8. Sorry if I offend. I totally admire Alex's amazing style and balls that require a dumptruck. Great achievment. But it will only be a free solo when backing off and rescue are not options for the climber. Bring on the hate folks. Im used to it.
G_Gnome

Trad climber
Cali
Jun 7, 2017 - 04:00pm PT
I can only imagine that you are used to it because you don't think things thru twice. Of course its a free solo, he never touched any gear, climbed without a rope and started at the bottom and climbed to the top. Now if you want to debate the ethics of having a rescue available that is one thing, but to think that a rope hanging near him changes the basic nature of the climb you aren't thinking very clearly. Had he fallen on any move on the entire route he would have not been caught and died. The ropes would not help. I don't know what else you could ask for.
blahblah

Gym climber
Boulder
Jun 7, 2017 - 04:12pm PT
The only way I can see Chainsaw's post having much validity is if Alex and his team had some sort of preset rescue signal, where Alex could start yelling for help and immediately have a rope tossed to him.
Actually, let me edit my response--I guess having ropes hanging near you would change the character of the ascent if you knew you could grab them if you got freaked out or tired or whatever . . . so now I'm not sure what to think.
nathanael

climber
CA
Jun 7, 2017 - 04:23pm PT
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/170606-alex-honnold-el-capitan-vin-spd

LOL watch the video and say it's not a "real" free solo
blahblah

Gym climber
Boulder
Jun 7, 2017 - 04:36pm PT
Just how many ropes were hanging around there next to the crux sections that he supposedly could have grabbed anyway?

If there were no ropes near any of the crux sections and he didn't have a pre-arranged rescue signal, which may well be the situation, then I agree the ascent is totally legit.
splitclimber

climber
Sonoma County
Jun 7, 2017 - 04:45pm PT
rad report Tom.

holy f'in hell chainsaw - is it ok with you that he rubbed his feet on the ascent?
okie

Trad climber
Jun 8, 2017 - 08:35pm PT
The only thing that would have made it cooler would have been less media coverage, fewer cameras. And shitty capitalism is already in full swing: Evans is getting messed with by National Geographic.
nah000

climber
now/here
Jun 9, 2017 - 12:55am PT
and unfortunately the wayback machine appears to have only captured 5 out of the 19 pics...

requires a copy pasta due to the st coding automatically splitting up the link... but better than nothin i guess:

https://web.archive.org/web/20170605010441/http://elcapreport.com/content/elcap-report-6317-special-edition-honnold-free-solo-elcap

hard to know what the whole deal is given all we are likely going to hear is Tom's side... but sounds like an unfortunate deal regardless of how it all ended up this way... sad to see that something so beautiful, on all fronts, couldn't have been resolved in a more mutually beneficial way...
CPorter

Trad climber
San Diego, CA
Jun 9, 2017 - 01:01am PT
A big F*#K YOU to National Geographic.
CPorter

Trad climber
San Diego, CA
Jun 9, 2017 - 04:46am PT
^ Sounds like Tom signed an agreement not reading the details and NG misrepresented the nature in a verbal communication.

Then standard corporate d#@&%ebaggery ensues once he posts the photos. As if it'll have any impact on them at all! F*#k off.

Tom, your pictures were awesome.
Chaz

Trad climber
greater Boss Angeles area
Jun 9, 2017 - 06:26am PT
Everyone looked good. Alex. Yosemite. El Capitan itself. The climbing community.

Everybody - except National Geographic.

Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.
Q- Ball

Mountain climber
but to scared to climb them anymore
Jun 9, 2017 - 06:50am PT
I respect Nat Geo and been dealing with them for years on several fronts. In my opinion much of the content seems to be getting political vs exploration/scientific stuff. Guess I am just cranky about a deal they pulled out of with me.
Anyways...go Alex!
gunsmoke

Mountain climber
Clackamas, Oregon
Jun 9, 2017 - 07:21am PT
What legal leg does National Greedographic have to stand on to stop him from posting his own pictures taken in a public park?

Tom isn't usually on the left side of the meadow at 5:30AM. Nat Geo contracted with him to do a project for them. Control of the pix goes with the territory. The problem is that one member of the organization said what the photographer would want to hear (i.e., lied) about the nature of a contract to get an easy signature. My guess is that Tom would have grudgingly signed it anyway had he known the legal implications, depriving us of the 5 pix that do survive on the wayback machine.
Todd Eastman

climber
Bellingham, WA
Jun 9, 2017 - 08:09am PT
Natty Geo is now part of the Murdoch news empire...

... aka Fox...
Cole

Trad climber
los angeles
Jun 9, 2017 - 04:22pm PT
Well you can't beat the internet, Barbara Streisand effect anyone?
http://imgur.com/gallery/ZSIAB


EDIT: just realized no photo of the crux tho! Guess whoever this is didn't get em all.
linkdropper

Social climber
deep inside the internet
Jun 9, 2017 - 11:19pm PT
https://archive.is/xYhHJ
kunlun_shan

Mountain climber
SF, CA
Jun 10, 2017 - 08:43am PT
^ TFPU that link! And also to whoever archived that page.
'Pass the Pitons' Pete

Big Wall climber
like Ontario, Canada, eh?
Jun 10, 2017 - 12:39pm PT
A sad and unbelievable story!
MikeL

Social climber
Southern Arizona
Jun 10, 2017 - 07:33pm PT
THANK YOU FOR THE LINK!

My heart was in my throat throughout. Jesus.
Messages 1 - 49 of total 49 in this topic
Return to Forum List
 
Our Guidebooks
spacerCheck 'em out!
SuperTopo Guidebooks

guidebook icon
Try a free sample topo!

 
SuperTopo on the Web

Recent Route Beta