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russman
Oct 22, 2001, 9:43 PM
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That post in the jokes is just what I thought of when reading that:) But seriously, pidgons are a big problem around my local crags. A buddy came over and was wonderin' what that noise was in the rocks...I said, O just the damn pidgons. They are pretty much a permanent fixture. Along with many other flying nesting creatures. Certain times of the year, climbing can be real interesting around there.
(don't worry jhundrup, I won't tell eveyone it was you I was climbing with:)
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kriso9tails
Oct 22, 2001, 9:48 PM
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I've run into snakes en route but only on easy routes free soloing over water. I had my first rattlesnake encounter at the crag, but not while climbing.
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pollux
Oct 22, 2001, 9:59 PM
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I had brought my shoes and chalk on a trip for some bouldering. I drove by this small gorge, probably 30 feet or so. So i decided to pull over and climb it, almost to the top I stick my hand in a small crack. As I pulled my self up i see something moving, Nice wasp nest. About pissed my self
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munckee
Oct 22, 2001, 10:25 PM
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I was at the top of a ~120 foot lead this summer and climbed just above a large flake that sat about 2inches off the main slab. I had been hearing sounds from above throughout the climb, but couldn't place the noise. Then, as I was about to get onto the flake, about a half dozen BATS flew out. Scared the hell outa me!
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fiend
Oct 22, 2001, 10:39 PM
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Back in the day.... I was working this crappy 5.12 and got to the section where you have to throw to a stacked 3 finger pocket. Inside the pocket was one of those big hairy spiders, so I decided to just sit on the rope and try to scare him out. I got someone to toss a stick up to me and I proceeded to try and swat the little bastard outta there, yet only succeeded in driving him further into the pocket.
By this point I knew he wasn't going anywhere so I tried to find away around the move but that wasn't gonna go. I could barely do the climb with the proper moves and I wasn't going to be doing an eliminate around a key hold.
After 15min of fooling around with the spider I set out on the climb again, took a deep breath and threw for the pocket.
Spider guts squooshed out of the pocket and around my fingers but I stuck it and moved on to the next clip where I could take again and clean my hands off.
Haven't been back on the climb since
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ratstar
Oct 22, 2001, 10:44 PM
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My partner and I were bouldering up Little Cottonwood and we found a small lizard and he climbed with us for a while. He stuck so good. he was only like 4 inches long.
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woodse
Oct 25, 2001, 3:57 PM
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Well here I've only been startled by wasps, and the occasional bat. Guess so far I'm just lucky.
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woodse
Oct 25, 2001, 3:59 PM
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dscrow:
are you sure it was a grizzly?? What section of the rockies were you in??
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hardcoredana
Oct 25, 2001, 8:10 PM
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Xeno, tyraidbp, and all others who frequent Devil's Lake in Wis, beware the chipmunks!
They are masterminds at stealing food from climbers' packs. They wait for you to get on the climb, and then they assault your pack and steal the food. They are very intelligent and use strategies impressive for animals of their brain size. They chew through one or two of the plastic teeth on the zippers. It all seems harmless and funny, until you are about to leave the crag, and you find that none of your packs zip up, and you have to carry all your gear in your arms. You curse the damn animals while they sit there laughing at your sorry bum as you leave behind a trail of Clifbars and climbing gear.
Not that I have any experience with this phenomenon. . .
[ This Message was edited by: hardcoredana on 2001-12-15 23:22 ]
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kagunkie
Oct 26, 2001, 12:34 AM
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On a trip to Cannon Cliff in NH we arived late at night so we bivyed near the cars. We did this all the time since the drive from NY takes six or seven hours and we usually arrived late. In the morning I opened my eyes to a clear blue sky and just layed there motionless for a few minutes breathing in the crisp clean air and thinking of the day ahead. When I did begin to stir I was suprised by the explosive burst of speed when a small red squirll flew from somewhere down below my feet and bounced off my sleeping bag and then used my forehead for a spring board to leap to the safety of nearby trees. Now I didnt mean to scare him but he shure scared the hell out of me. I thought he was an attack squirll guarding a nearby cash of acorns or something!
[ This Message was edited by: kagunkie on 2001-10-25 17:36 ]
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metoliusmunchkin
Oct 26, 2001, 1:44 AM
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One time, I was just topping out on my climbing wall (which, keep in mind, is surrounded by a grouping of large cedar tress) and my energy was running very, very low. Suddenly, whilst my energy was running out, a squirrel ran accross a near by tree branch and lept onto me! Because I was on the section of the route that overhangs, the squirrel landed on my lap, and then ran up my arm to my shoulder only to jump off to the ground in haste.
At this point, scared to death and adrenaline running low, I had to fall, though I was reminded of my dog Kona that was right near the base of the route. I quickly yelled to my spotter that he had to get the dog out of the way but it was too late and I fell, missing the dog by what seemed like a hair. Very close! Two animal encounters! One is enough for me!
P.a.t.
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vaness
Oct 26, 2001, 2:22 AM
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i found a newt on the path to a climb once. my sister nambed it bob. and one time i steped on a snake and screamed really loud. it was really funny cuz my dad ran away cuz he was scared.
vanessa
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alternativekudzu
Feb 11, 2002, 6:15 AM
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i've had a few unexpected lizards freak me out a couple of times...although i have a pretty bad fear of snakes and one day i just know i'll pull myself over a ledge and WHAM...but..um, i guess thats just MY fear
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maculated
Feb 11, 2002, 6:30 AM
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I think the swallows came back today, because at least 500 of them were flying up a storm around our rock.
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jmlangford
Feb 11, 2002, 6:53 AM
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I was at a place called Graveyard Lakes in the Sierras doing some climbing-it's about 8 miles into the wilderness. There were coyotes wailing off in the distance quite a ways so I didn't pay them much attention. That night, I started having a dream about the level of the lake coming up and it came up until the water was lapping at the back of my hand. I woke up, and, I kid you not, there was a coyote licking the back of my hand. (I was sleeping with my arms out in front of me out of my sleeping bag). As soon as I moved my still intact hand, the coyote went running off.
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kahuna3602
Feb 11, 2002, 9:24 AM
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I was bouldering a little used area I had found. My partner and I had found what we thought was a popular spot since the vegetation was gone and the ground smoothed out just in front of the long overhang leading into a cave. After trying several attempts we were getting bothered by the flies that kept coming out of the cave. A quick look into the darkness and we spotted several sets of eyes looking back at us. Needless to say we quickly and quietly left the area. My guess is coyotes but I never went back to find out.
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daggerx
Feb 12, 2002, 2:50 AM
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I have incounters with Birds/nests, wasps, hornets and once I fell from a broblem and landed on a rattle snake< I almost had a BM in my pants scrambling to get away from it.
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gilthanass
Feb 12, 2002, 3:47 AM
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I agree with a lot of the posters here, chipmunks are spawns of satan! When I was camping once, all day they were attacking our food back, we had to stand gaurd over the bah with sticks. Sometimes, one would make a noice in the bush to distact us, while the other would have a run for the bag! crafty little devils them. Then at night, we could see then bouncing from tree to tree, and one even attacked me! Well, when we woke up the next morning, we found a big hole in the food bag (that had been hung up in a tree). Damned chipmunks, I will never look at them the same again.
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jmlangford
Feb 14, 2002, 5:24 AM
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gilthanass...go climbing in the wilderness areas-with a .22 pistol. Those little critters make great target practice!
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upfreak
Feb 18, 2002, 3:27 AM
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Lizards, insects, Birds... anything that belongs on the wall.
BUT the WORST... LOADS OF BIRD SHIT!
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sizzlechest
Feb 18, 2002, 4:44 AM
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woodse, yes it was a grizzly we have tonnes of blacks and grizzlies here in the Canadian Rockies, I see them all the time, they aren't extinct here like they are in the U.S.
cheers
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uhighfreak
Feb 18, 2002, 6:19 AM
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Birds and bees have been problems for me. Just random encounters. Hands reaching for a hold and a bird flies out or on a climb and a couple a bees are attracted to me for some reason. To the question about grizzlies in the rockies, I was in Rocky Mountain National Park on Longs Peak and my friends and I saw a grizzly. We thought it was weird so we asked a ranger about it when we got down. He told us that they have always been around but most of the time they stay way up in the Mountain valleys that not alot of people visit
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kaptk
Feb 18, 2002, 6:21 AM
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Fortunately I haven't run into any while I was climbing, but I have had a few encounters. One of them that made me jump was when a bird crapped on my shoulder. It landed with some force and caught me totally off gaurd. Everyone around tried to tell me that it was good luck. I was pissed that a bird crapped on my shoulder. Fiend had me laughing with his "spider guts". Very vidid imagery.
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clymber
Feb 24, 2002, 1:59 AM
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I wasnt climbing but had a squirel jump off of a tree and it went between my leg and the frame of my mnt bike. Talk about a real shocker I nearly ran into a tree
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climberchic
Feb 24, 2002, 5:02 AM
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I was bouldering some roof problems up in Flagstaff. The particular roof we were on at the time was named the "Bat Cave" for obvious reasons. Guano-everywhere. I reach for a pocket and my spotter says "Wait! I think there is something in there!" I come off the problem to take a closer look. Just as I get really close to the pocket, she decides to stick her finger in the thing and out it flys, right into my face. Turns out it was just a massive moth, but by the way I was screaming, it could have been Dracula
This is one of the strangest things that has happened to me. One time, I was driving thru Zion late at night with a friend. I look up at the stars and decide to show him what the sky is supposed to look like without all of the light pollution (city boy). I pull over, turn off all the lights and we get out an look up. He is speechless and we walk away from the car to get a better view. Suddenly we hear a rustling and very heavy hooves walking on the pavement. It is pitch dark out and we can't even see each other but we both freeze. So does the animal. Suddenly, it snorts and starts charging us. We both scream and run for the car. I swear I could feel the vibration of it's hooves on the pavement as it got closer. Just like in a nightmare, it felt like we couldn't get the car door open and inside fast enough. I locked the door (just in case the giant beast felt like opening it ) and braced myself for the impact.
Nothing. I was scared to open my eyes thinking it would be staring at me through my window. I finally open my eyes. Nothing. We waited. I cracked my window to listen. No sounds, no rustling... I turned on my headlights expecting to see it in front of my car. Nothing.
The thing just up and disappeared on us without a trace! We made a 360 with the car to see in all directions but never saw what the dang thing was. Very strange. To this day we call it the "Buffalo Ghost Incident"
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