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Truthdweller
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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I've posted these before from out at Santee Boulders, CA...
Here's one that sounds more like a Roadrunner episode than anything, but I'm telling you, it actually happened!...
"I was out alone at Santee Boulders, circa 1980 something, back by the Twenty Point Boulder when nature called on me to deliver a package. I had other options but I found myself walking uphill along the ridge on a faint trail, out of sight from any humans that I could see. So, I proceeded to drop my drawers and assume the position. Suddenly, and faintly, I started to detect the familiar sound of something running over the ground and it was quickly getting louder in front of me! I started to raise my eyes (don't forget to recall the position I was in) when a COYOTE appeared coming directly at me at full steam! His eyes met with mine when he abruptly put on his brakes, rearing back, and coming to a sliding stop in the dirt about fifteen feet before me! We locked eyes with each other for a quick second when he darted to his right, down into the ravine below. I raised up a bit and continued watching when, out from a bush, a Jack rabbit emerged with the coyote now in close pursuit! Still shaken, I took a deep breath in relief, looked down, and realized that I was finished with my delivery!"
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steveA
Trad climber
bedford,massachusetts
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While climbing the Red Shirt route on Yamnuska, (Canada)in 1967 , I was dive bombed by an Eagle. I came upon the baby chicks in a nest, within inches of my hands.
My scariest encounter was in 1968, climbing with John Ewbank on one of his test-pieces in Australia. A huge spider, as big as my hand came out of the flake. Between the A4 and the spider, my adrenaline surge was at an all-time high.
Also, copperheads in the Gunks and plenty of BATS. Be careful of bats. If you get bitten, DON'T IGNORE IT.
My brother died of Rabies from a brown bat bite, which he ignored.
Little known fact: the rabies virus can remain dormant in your system for even years until it manifest itself with deadly results.
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neversummer
Trad climber
30 mins. from suicide USA
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a few months back we were at big rock trying rat crack i had just set my buddy up on top rope he was getting his hand jammed for the start crux and calmly said "lower right now theres a snake in the crack"....so i dropped him ran up the side soloed out grabbed my shite and started warning the other couple of guys that were out there about the fat ass rattler we just saw...then one final exam before leaving...the lizard moved, i hung my head and walked away
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adam d
climber
The Bears, CA
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Posted before but...at the start of the corner on OZ we were lit in the golden glow of a September sunset and looked to the base to see this cat which watched us for at least 5 minutes then sauntered off towards the walkoff (to wait?). Just had a p&s and the long thick tail is hidden but you get the idea...
Edit: Followed shortly afterward by this:
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Seamstress
Trad climber
Yacolt, WA
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Snake Tails:
We built a nice staircase at Weissner's Slab at Ragged, and a family of copperheads happily took up residence on the stone steps. For my first lead ever, a black snake poked its head out of a crack at my eye level on Weisnner's Slab. Hyperventilation ensued. At Cathedral Ledge in NH, my husband called out "look out for the snake". I asked him where is it just as it crawled out of the crack and around my fistjam. Its mate was waiting at the belay ledge for Funhouse. My daughter pointed out lovely rattlesnakes at Smith near Cinnamin Slab. Snakes are everywhere.
Siinging Insects:
I was swarmed by wasps and stung 13 times in one leg at Pinnacle in Plainville. Though I felt OK at the time, the venom caused havoc with my running race the next day. Got to see exactly how my husband was put together when he decided to change from tights to shorts at Ragged's Main Cliff. He stepped onto a hornet's nest in the middle of the change. I saw him running naked through the forest.
Assorted Creatures:
WHile jamming, I impaled a toad of some kind - little hard to tell - at the top of Tabu at Cathedral. Pigeons and kestrels have buzzed me at various cliffs, most memoprably at Devil's Tower. The tarantula migration at JT was amazing to see.
The millipedes at the Gunks are truly the grossest and juiciest creatures.
The mountain goats in Leavenworth were the cutest creatures - just get off the opening pitch please...you are making a mockery of my climbing.
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adam d
climber
The Bears, CA
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Wes: It looked full grown to me! And NOT hungry...
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emu
climber
SF Bay area, CA
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This little guy popped out of the crack at the base of La Cosita Right at the base of the captain in December. I'd bet my friend that the noises we were hearing from the cracks were frogs, so this little guy earned me $5 by putting in an appearance.
That's one slippery lieback, by the way.
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Nate D
climber
San Francisco
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There's often one of these King snakes mulling around at the base of Chiquito Dome in the Sierra Nat. Forest. Saw him twice and both times had no camera. The first time he was slithering thru my rope piled at the base and for a split second I thought my rope was alive. Would have been a cool pic...
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Inner City
Trad climber
East Bay
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I thought "the creature" was a shortish fellow seen around Berkeley who could do a one finger pullup on all but one of his fingers....extra terrestrial?
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HighTraverse
Trad climber
Bay Area
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That's one slippery lieback, by the way. from all the frog sh@#t
Base of El Cap, Little John Right, midway up the first pitch, just as it gets wide, my young(er) partner was on his first trad lead. Discovered a large rattler at the perfect fist jam. Hollered down to me "What do I do now"?
I considered a couple of really obnoxious retorts, thought better of it and suggested he traverse right onto the 5.10ish face. He did, finished up at the bolts just fine. When I seconded and cleaned below the Snake Crack, no snake was to be seen. Wait. I looked deep into the crack and there he was, safely for both of us, in retreat position.
Walking back to car at Red Rocks, came across a BIG FAT GREEN Mojave Rattlesnake across the trail. It was approaching dusk and there was a family with kids about 15 minutes behind us so we picked up stones and chucked them at the rattler, not hard, trying to get him to move. No luck. He just coiled, glared at us and rattled. He was definitely not intimidated. More rocks, no retreat by that ornery snake in the grass. We backed up a bit to consider our options and then he wandered off to slip down his hole right next to the trail. I presume the family got home safely.
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bhyde
Trad climber
Ogden, Utah
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I found this snake while scouting a new crag up Weber Canyon. Luckily it was a cold day cause I stepped within about 2 inches of his head. On a warm day he would have bitten me for sure. I ran into two more snakes this same size on the hike out. I probably wont be spending much more time up that canyon. Looks like a nice habitat for these creatures. I've seen lots of snakes in the Wasatch, but none that had 6 or 7 sections on their rattles. Impressive little guy.
-Brian
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GOclimb
Trad climber
Boston, MA
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The millipedes at the Gunks are truly the grossest and juiciest creatures.
They sure do grow 'em big. This one's horny for my rope, I think:
Got bit by a bat in a crack at the Gunks once. On Try Again.
Grabbed a flake at Rumney once, felt the whole thing come alive with buzzing. Knowing I had a good bolt below me somewhere I just hopped off without even a thought. I think the buzzing never even needed to get to my brain. The sensation got as far as my brainstem and my brainstem sent the message to hands "LET GO NOW".
But the weirdest was an albino frog. Totally white, and in a crevice in the middle of a sheer cliff in MA. No idea what it was or how it got there.
GO
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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GOclimb, very artful shot!
But that Gunks millipede would be an appetizer for the ones at Hueco Tanks.
I crawled into a cave there and sat down in the shade. Then I saw movement
in my perifpheral* vision - I'd sat down next to a millipede/centipede (didn't count 'em)
as fat as my thumb who was lunching on a lizard about 4" long! The fact that
the 'insect', and I use the term loosely, was otherwise engaged checked my
initial impulse to hurl myself onto the rocks below.
*yes, I was stuttering at that point
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hooblie
climber
from where the anecdotes roam
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while we fixed a couple of pitches one of the biggies in the beartooths, my partner rathole and i left a scattering of gear laying where we started the route. that left us pretty exposed to whatever kind of havoc a beautiful mountain goat could have wreaked upon us. as it turned out, the stuff all got pretty thoroughly inspected, the goat was really non-chalant about us just above him, and he eventually kneeled down amongst our debris for a long period of rumination, a sweet bond of trust developed in which we were able to continue with our project
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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At first I thought that was an outtake from "Night of the Living Dead".
SCAREY!
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