chelle Posted August 16, 2004 Posted August 16, 2004 I got shut down today on a climb I'd thought about for months because of a particular little vermin that I simply cannot get my head around. I have climbed next to lizards, bats, snakes...I can handle them all. I cannot handle spiders! It appears that few people have recently climbed up Battered Sandwich at Index. I dealt with the occasional spider during the first 1/2 of the climb. I beat them away with my hand or a large size cam. I destroyed their webs. I thrutched my way up the lower part of the climb determined that I was going to get up this thing. And I made it up to that point without having to pull on my #3.5 cam this time. When I stood up at the little rest at the base of the chimney section I looked up and saw a maze of webs covering about 4 feet of the climb and about 15-20 dime sized (not including legs) spiders. They looked like tanish black widows. Eeek! I thought long and hard about what I was going to do. I really wanted this climb. I talked to my belayer about it. I took a few deep breaths and headed up a few feet, then decided I just couldn't do it. Ugh! I placed a piece and lowered. Bravely my belayer went up and without complaining cleared the way and then I got to climb up. All he said was man there are a lot of spiders up here. Thanks for understanding. What a great climb! Next time I am bringing my wisk broom to tape on the end of my nut tool. Anybody else have a particular kind of vermin that shuts you down? Quote
Billygoat Posted August 16, 2004 Posted August 16, 2004 Flying fish bum me out... And Spraylords have a deleterious effect on my enjoyment of the sport Quote
chelle Posted August 16, 2004 Author Posted August 16, 2004 You so funny! Sucks when they fly out of the frying pan for sure. Or hit you when you're on the deck of the boat. But I meant while rock climbing. Quote
chelle Posted August 16, 2004 Author Posted August 16, 2004 Maybe. But I can handle ticks. Strange but true. Ticks are slower and they don't spin webs so they don't creep me out as much. Quote
Billygoat Posted August 16, 2004 Posted August 16, 2004 I've never had it happen, but hornets or wasps would induce some adrenaline laced fear. Quote
chelle Posted August 16, 2004 Author Posted August 16, 2004 The wasps got me in Thailand at the top of the 1st climb we hopped on after dropping our bags in the room. Stuck my hand into this perfect pocket to the left of the chains and 3 black hornets came flying out stinging me. Got me twice before my belayer could get me lowered away from them. It all happened so fast it wasn't that scary. Knowing I had to climb up through that set of webs and that they could just lower down onto me, or that they'd fall on me when I knocked the web down was the creepy part. I gotta stop thinking about this or I won't be able to sleep tonight. Chao. Quote
Dru Posted August 16, 2004 Posted August 16, 2004 The ants are my friends, they're blowin in the wind. Quote
lancegranite Posted August 16, 2004 Posted August 16, 2004 Ahhh...this is a insight into the subtle techniques of the sandbagger.... "I'm worked, it would be a good lead for you, I'll belay... looks wide, want a 3.5?" Quote
Szyjakowski Posted August 16, 2004 Posted August 16, 2004 I know someone who is very very afraid of BATS! I always fear when on rapel, some little snaffle might decide to have a snack on my rope whilst me coming down. bastards. Quote
cman Posted August 16, 2004 Posted August 16, 2004 I think i would have felt the same way seeing a nest of spiders above me. there have been some pretty big spiders in my house the past couple of nights. i certainly don't relish the thought of them climbing all over me. Quote
bird Posted August 16, 2004 Posted August 16, 2004 My climbing buddies and I always say that spiders are part of the route. The climb could be rated 5.8, but it might climb like 10b/c if there are large, disgusting looking spiders occupying critical holds on the route. Quote
Mer Posted August 16, 2004 Posted August 16, 2004 But their webs are sticky, providing extra adhesion on marginal holds. Quote
ketch Posted August 16, 2004 Posted August 16, 2004 I don't know about gettin shut down but, several years ago I was climbin a fun .9 in Arizona just after thanksgiving. A little over 150' up I found a nice ledge that seemed like it would make a good belay. As I pulled over the edge I found a whole pile of hibernating snakes tucked in a little hole. Back down I went and created a .10+ alternate to go around I wasn't into that scene one bit. Quote
drater Posted August 16, 2004 Posted August 16, 2004 The wasps got me in Thailand at the top of the 1st climb we hopped on after dropping our bags in the room. Stuck my hand into this perfect pocket to the left of the chains and 3 black hornets came flying out stinging me. Got me twice before my belayer could get me lowered away from them. It all happened so fast it wasn't that scary. Knowing I had to climb up through that set of webs and that they could just lower down onto me, or that they'd fall on me when I knocked the web down was the creepy part. I gotta stop thinking about this or I won't be able to sleep tonight. Chao. You're lucky wasps were what you ran into in a pocket. My friend was climbing on the Thai Wand wall & a lizard was hanging out on a tufa next to him. All of a sudden, this 8 ft snake flys out of the crack he was climbing (about 6 ft above him) and munches that lizard down. He was just about to clip, had a bunch of rope pulled up + I had penalty slack out (since we were sport climbing a crack, penalty slack is sporting), he ended up taking a 20' on sketchy bolts to avoid the snake when it started heading back into his crack right at his handjam. Turns out said snake is deadly poisonous, can't remember name. Lotsa creepy crawlys on the rock in Thailand Cheers BB Quote
assmonkey Posted August 16, 2004 Posted August 16, 2004 Once I was climbing a really nice flake up on the Coberg wall. About a 1/4 of the way up the crack I got to spot at which everytime I put my hand in the crack, I would hear an angry buzzing from inside. I went up three times, heard the buzzing three times, then sheepishly backed off the third time. My partner gave me the "You fucking pathetic pussy" look as we exchanged the rack back at the belay and he prepared to go up. It was with much satisfaction that I broke down the belay and set up for a rap 5 minutes later. He backed off the first time. - a s s m * n k e y Quote
Dru Posted August 16, 2004 Posted August 16, 2004 i saw a snake chimneying up a finger crack once and i found a dead tarantula in a water-worn pocket at a "secret" granite area near las vegas Quote
selkirk Posted August 16, 2004 Posted August 16, 2004 Got chased off a crack in L-worth by a little baby rattler. He decided the sunny pocket about 1/3 of the way would be a nice place to take nap! Quote
Lord_Albert_Winchester Posted August 16, 2004 Posted August 16, 2004 My father is shown in this picture inspecting the head of a rather large Eunectes murinus . Anacondas usually do not grow to this size, but this chap managed to survive to ripe old age. Father Niles Remington, shown third from the left, kept the snake as a pet for many years, until the unfortunate morning when the good Padre found the snake eating his prize Carrier Pigeons. Dispaching the serpent with a single shot from his pistol, Father Remington became the new owner of a must unusual set of snakeskin boots. Quote
Dru Posted August 17, 2004 Posted August 17, 2004 found this guy on my keyboard this morning at work!! Quote
drater Posted August 17, 2004 Posted August 17, 2004 Got chased off a crack in L-worth by a little baby rattler. He decided the sunny pocket about 1/3 of the way would be a nice place to take nap! Buddy of mine got bit on the hand by a rattler bouldering up in the Okanogan. Reached up to big jug (ledge) and "WHAP". Snake was known to habitate large crack connected to ledge. I'd suggested "removing" said snake for a couple years before that but got denied with crys of "they're good for the environment, they keep the rodent population at bay, it's wrong to "remove" an animal from it's natural environment, ect" FUKKIN HIPPIES!!! $16,000 later, the snake has been "removed". BB Quote
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