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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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Topic Author's Original Post - Sep 23, 2010 - 01:25am PT
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I was on the Spire One Conn route in a 110ft chimney which is a huge gash that you fully submerse yourself in and pinches off after about 50ft that makes it feel overhanging which is strange for a 5.5. But any way I am at the crux squeeze and I look down and by brother and his buddy are freaking out and I honestly thought they had farted or something they were acting so weird when I look up and there is this fairly large animal running up and down the crack looking very angry above my head. It was fairly large, like the size of a medium size racoon with longer arms really sharp looking claws and a blackish devil head that looked like it wanted to eat my guts. It was running up and down the chimney to within what seemed like inches on several occasions and freaked teh sh#t out of me. We looked on the net for a long time but Pine martins seemed like the most likely candidate but the animal I saw seemed bigger than most of the descriptions I could find. How big do they get and they must climb fairly well as this was on a ledge that by for the easiest way up to is the climb I am on. Any way needless to say I backed off the route and have never seen one since. This is in the Black Hills Needles
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mark miller
Social climber
Reno
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Sep 23, 2010 - 01:40am PT
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Their Awesome as most wild animals are. My favorite memories are of being in the Valley a pitch or 2 up and seeing a bobcat walk through, awesome. We get to see Bear's frequently but a bobcat doing his rounds is stunning.
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Wayno
Big Wall climber
Seattle, WA
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Sep 23, 2010 - 02:15am PT
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Wolverine. Pucker factor four.
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bringmedeath
climber
la la land
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Sep 23, 2010 - 10:15am PT
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It was probably a Fisher by what you describe. They are bigger than pine martens. I don't think that pine martens live in the Dakotas anyways... google it as I'm too lazy too.
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Maysho
climber
Soda Springs, CA
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Sep 23, 2010 - 11:06am PT
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Here ya go, these are from open access sites, we use these photos in our youth forest science programs.
American Marten
Fisher, yes it is super cute, but one of the fiercest hunters in the woods, one of the only creatures that can kill a porcupine, it flips it over and rips out the stomach.
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TKingsbury
Trad climber
MT
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Sep 23, 2010 - 11:11am PT
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Wow, that sounds wild Mike!
The chances of you seeing a wolverine in the lower 48 are nil.
Saw one here in Montana last summer...just sayin
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TKingsbury
Trad climber
MT
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Sep 23, 2010 - 11:14am PT
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Aye, guess I forgot MT doesn't qualify as lower 48...
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Greg Barnes
climber
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Sep 23, 2010 - 11:29am PT
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Martins are really wary of people, it's pretty rare to see one in any way other than high-tailing it away from you. Except in Tuolumne, there was one that would hang out near the top of Cathedral and check people out (in late season). And there was one that runs around hunting and totally ignores climbers (actually ran around us up the wall and back down) at the base of Drug Dome and nearby domes.
The chances of you seeing a wolverine in the lower 48 are nil. My brother and I got a good look at one in Idaho in the late '90s, some back roads not too far from City of Rocks.
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bringmedeath
climber
la la land
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Sep 23, 2010 - 11:30am PT
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Wolverines have been known to make their way into California...
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Tony Bird
climber
Northridge, CA
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Sep 23, 2010 - 11:39am PT
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martens are about one-fourth the size of a fisher. they're doing a study in wisconsin where the fishers seem to be crowding out the martens. the key seems to be undergrowth--the martens do best in really thick growth.
i flushed a pine marten while skiing mt. piños in southern california last winter--barreled out of a ponderosa and scampered away downslope. i tried chasing it, but it started going through thick growth and that was that. i looked 'em up after that--not supposed to be this far south, but my identification was fairly positive. i took it as a good omen. why not?
btw, it's marten, and it's a species of weasel. a martin is a large swallow and apparently getting endangered because starlings kick 'em out of nesting places.
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hooblie
climber
from where the anecdotes roam
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Sep 23, 2010 - 01:50pm PT
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t-bury, if it's any consolation, back before montana was discovered by hollywood and the trophy home moguls, my sister thought it was quaintly quizzical that i would take up residence in MT. she assured me that it was nothing negative.
in fact, "when people think of montana, they generally think pleasant thoughts." she said,
"it's that they generally don't think of montana."
i'm not saying she was a futurist.
in the alaskan interior, salmon are hauled out of the rivers all summer, destined to be fed to teams of huskies, which are are either raced or run on traplines (or both)and the winter's production of pelts, primarily marten is the measure of the season's success. the above is the typical style of the hat that is the end result of all that effort.
there's no arguing with something that does the job so well.
of course i had to be different, so i went with beaver.
marten is softer, less ticklish, and not so ... big.
over at the hanger i was reworking my survival kit after relocating to the southwest, i decided to take the hat over to the house so my gf could see it and without a thought tossed it on her table.
i was right behind her when she discovered it. WOW, did that ever precipitate
an electrifying screamfest. even the second hand jolt was intense.
pretty clearly, i was not in alaska any more
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TKingsbury
Trad climber
MT
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Sep 23, 2010 - 01:54pm PT
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Interesting how it turns out eh?
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Wayno
Big Wall climber
Seattle, WA
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Sep 23, 2010 - 02:10pm PT
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A good friend has seen a wolverine in the Sierra. Rare, but they are out there.
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 23, 2010 - 04:52pm PT
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I remember it as bing the size of a fox, but it was very good at climing. I sure it was not a wolverine unless it was a juvenile as I would say it weighed 15-20 pounds. i will try to post a pic of the climb as I am sure it is the only way it got up there as it is basically a boulder that is 11o feet tall that then has two more huge boulders on top of that and it turns into a spire. It is all stone up there as well there is not turf dirt or any kind or reason I could figure for it to go up there. Definately not spirle size. Mike
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Sep 23, 2010 - 07:53pm PT
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My dog treed a fisher in the woods near our house, a few years back. It was a tough-looking critter with long claws I could see from the ground, 20 feet below. Heavier-bodied than its weasel family relatives.
I was really glad that fisher decided to climb instead of make a stand and fight it out with my dog.
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G_Gnome
Trad climber
In the mountains... somewhere...
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Sep 23, 2010 - 08:09pm PT
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THere is a pine marten that tours the far side of the Tuolumne across from A loop in the campground. They pester the people who over winter looking for food.
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hossjulia
Social climber
Eastside
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Sep 23, 2010 - 08:11pm PT
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Pate, you need to get out of Colorado.
The chances of you seeing a wolverine in the lower 48 are nil.
The only reason I think you probably did not see a Fisher is that they only live on the far Northern border these days.
Uh, negatory dear, while not common, both have been spotted in the Sierra within the past few years. See Pine Martin all the time in the winter.
We also have River Otters and Beaver.
Wow, to see a Fischer up close, teeth, claws and all would have been awesome, and a bit scary.
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johnboy
Trad climber
Can't get here from there
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Sep 23, 2010 - 08:36pm PT
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Hey Mike. me and a buddy swear that it was a pine marten we saw off a spur canyon in Camp Remington last year. The pics above of one looks just like what we saw.
Maybe were being invaded or could be someone let some loose.
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scuffy b
climber
Eastern Salinia
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Sep 23, 2010 - 08:47pm PT
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Pate's photo surely does not look like a Marten.
Martens are not at all rare in the Sierra, but I'm not sure of their range.
There used to be one habitually spotted near the Jenny Lake ranger
station in the Tetons.
A Fisher came within 35ft of me, twice, in Mt Lassen Nat'l Park, though
that was nearly 20 years ago.
Martens can climb pretty well, on rock as well as tree.
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bringmedeath
climber
la la land
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Sep 23, 2010 - 11:03pm PT
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Oh I am an idiot, I never have made my way to this rad looking climbing area, and didn't fully realize where it was located, so martens probably occur there. But I doubt you would bail from seeing a pine marten. They aren't really that intense to instill fear in one.
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Maysho
climber
Soda Springs, CA
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Sep 24, 2010 - 10:54am PT
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I stand corrected! That photo of the cute creature that I posted above is a mink! Thanks to Dr. Will Richardson (Willoughby on Supertopo), I will no longer be miss-informing hundreds of school kids! (or old climbing buddies for that matter)
The Fisher:
The Mink:
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Sep 24, 2010 - 11:11am PT
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That must be an old photo of Minks. I've heard he has white fur now.
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 24, 2010 - 12:05pm PT
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I would say that last picture of the Fischer was it. it definately was not that cute cuddly little black thing below it. I have been thinking about it and i wounder if it would have been inside the chimney when we came up on the ground and then had to climb up as it might have felt trapped unknowing to us. This is the other side of Spire One from the picture at the start of the thread. the crack is on the lower block of of the three teird spire on the right and there is a person barely visable at the top of the first pitch belay. The spire on the left with people on top is spire two.
By the way how heavy can a Fischer get? Pine Martin as well?
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hobo_dan
Social climber
Minnesota
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Feb 12, 2011 - 05:46pm PT
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Did it have a very long tail? Fishers have long tails
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Ricardo Cabeza
climber
All Over.
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Feb 12, 2011 - 05:56pm PT
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A fischer cat prowls my 'hood in NH. It killed many cats a couple of years back, including mine.
Ironically enough, he was named Fischer, due to my employment at Fischer Skis.
Ever hear them scream? It's creepy.
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mongrel
Trad climber
Truckee, CA
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Feb 12, 2011 - 07:40pm PT
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Interesting sighting, whichever species. For more information on both animals, go to http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/zielinski/uncaptured/psw_zielinski026.pdf. Unfortunately it's a scanned rather than exported pdf, so may take a few minutes to download if you do not have high speed.
From the range maps, it would appear that marten is more likely, and it's a bit more of a climbing species. But either looks like an uncommon beastie to see in the Needles. A full size marten is about 2 feet long; fisher about 3 feet. But the fisher is much chunkier and heavier. Furry critters like either of these tend to look a lot heavier than they really are, but either would be a tough customer in a dispute inside a chimney, if it felt cornered.
There are all manner of rodents in the crevices on cliffs; witness all the laments about rats raiding the food stash halfway up the Salathe Wall. Plus, at the right time of year, nice juicy sleeping bats. Perfect place for a marten to go hunting.
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Feb 14, 2011 - 09:32pm PT
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A buddy of mine spotted gulo gulo in Yellowstone NP a couple of
years back. . .and one was spotted in Cowlowrado knott too long
ago. . .
I was fortunate to see a pine martin kill in Yellowstone one
morning years ago--driving slowly down one road and something flashes
across the road and gets a br'er bunny. . .
then it pulls the thing over it's shoulder and climbs 5.11 to
take it for a safe breakfast. . . amazing!
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rottingjohnny
Sport climber
mammoth lakes ca
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Feb 14, 2011 - 10:31pm PT
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Richard Head...can you get me a pro form from fisher..?
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Captain...or Skully
climber
The Seas of Stone.
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Feb 14, 2011 - 10:35pm PT
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Mink, cute & cuddly? Hehehe. Try again.
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 14, 2011 - 10:51pm PT
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Never saw the tail and I was in a precarious position to say the least. I even thought about leaving my #6 but I think we would have had to go rounds to give that up. Tammy could probably make a good cartoon for that one.
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 15, 2011 - 12:55am PT
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After seeing this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-rDumZ77lE I am sure what I saw was a Fisher or Fisher Cat. There are a bunch of Videos on there one where there is interviews with people that saw one attack a small child.
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 9, 2012 - 11:06pm PT
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I am now pretty sure it was a honey badger.
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couchmaster
climber
pdx
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Maysho said: "Fisher, yes it is super cute, but one of the fiercest hunters in the woods, one of the only creatures that can kill a porcupine, it flips it over and rips out the stomach."
Damn, if it's giving lessons on how to avoid the quills Peter, this Pit Bull will pay extra for some.
Mike, (or anyone who unexpectedly encounters wildlife) at the base of the climb, I'd suggest that you chalk out a "NO CLIMB" with a big "DO NOT" European style circle on it. Date it. This is where actual chalk blocks do well, and not those Eldo Prancer (stolen from Russ) pounce pads called sacs.
Most likely that critter is protecting young or their home. It helps the animal but it also helps the rest of us. The next person might get up even higher and actually get attacked, bit and fall. Bad place to fall ...chimneys. Bad shots to get: tetnus and rabies.
My last somewhat similar experience surprising wildlife while climbing was was a nesting goose. I was belaying but we were both startled. It was back out of sight on a ledge. We backed off as fast as we could, grabbed our gear and chalked "NEST", the no climbing thing with an arrow pointing up at the base in big letters in a place where it wouldn't wash off easily - then got the hell back and made room for her. Hopefully she returned and got back on the eggs fast enough. Hunters got to eat too ya know. I've never known a goose to nest on a cliff, but I'll admit its a great anti-coyote strategy. BTW, this thread needs some needles climbing shots:-)
Something to consider. Regards to all:
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 10, 2012 - 01:00am PT
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Honey badger didn't seem to give a sh*t.
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Willoughby
Social climber
Truckee, CA
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Jan 10, 2012 - 01:36am PT
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Geese are pretty clever, and they'll nest in all sorts of high and precarious spots to keep safe from would-be nest robbers. University rooftops, abandoned hawk nests, broken-off tree tops, etc. They commonly nest on cliffs along rivers, and then the challenge for the goslings is getting down without breaking their necks. All the cavity nesting ducks (Wood Ducks, Bufflehead, both goldeneyes, all the mergansers, etc.), face the same problem. Luckily the chicks are squishy, so they just huck their meat and bounce:
[Click to View YouTube Video]
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Jan 10, 2012 - 01:43am PT
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Bad shots to get: tetnus
Not at all - as outdoors people, we should all get tetanus shots every five years. They're no trouble.
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Willoughby
Social climber
Truckee, CA
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This poor guy got nailed on the road right near Tahoe City this afternoon. Sad, but it will make an incredible addition to TINS' education/outreach materials
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little Z
Trad climber
un cafetal en Naranjo
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nice photo Will, looks pretty intact for a roadkill.
that's quite a bump for this thread. So you've been waiting 2 years for a Marten encounter so you can post up?
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 5, 2014 - 03:48pm PT
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That could have definitely been the animal I saw in the Chimney. Looks like he could do some damage to you in tight quarters. Well not that one ...
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Willoughby
Social climber
Truckee, CA
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that's quite a bump for this thread. So you've been waiting 2 years for a Martin encounter so you can post up?
I actually saw one up Blackwood Canyon a few months ago, chasing a squirrel in the middle of the day. Unfortunately, he spooked as soon as I stopped the truck, and despite trying to ply it out of a burn pile with bacon, I wasn't able to get any photos. It did snarl/scream at us pretty good, from deep within the pile. Crazy sounds.
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 8, 2014 - 08:02pm PT
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Chupicabra
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johnboy
Trad climber
Can't get here from there
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Mike,
Minks and Pine Martins are small, around 3 pounds.
Could it have been a Fisher? They are larger, dark black faces. The wife and I have seen them in the Hills some what regularly around Remmington. Not that far really to the Spires.
Pine Martins are around to, but your weight description (15-20 lbs) kind of eliminates them in the wild.
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little Z
Trad climber
un cafetal en Naranjo
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thebravecowboy, way to go with the photo of a live one! but wouldn't that be a fir marten rather than a pine marten?
Edit: oops, thanks Q-Ball, I'm an ornithologist so my auto-pilot spat out Martin
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james Colborn
Trad climber
Truckee, Ca
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Trapped this little guy while on a backcountry yurt ski trip. The bugger was not happy.
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Q- Ball
Mountain climber
where the wind always blows
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A pine marten seems most likely. It has been several decades since a fisher has been verified from Wyo. (last I heard was in the bighorns 80 years ago).
They (Martens) climb and love to eat squirrels , neither fishers or wolverines are truly arboreal hunters considering the situation you described (rock wall/chimney).
Just thinking of other possible mustelids in the territory
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thebravecowboy
Social climber
Colorado Plateau
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Wyoming is, after all, pretty tame.
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Q- Ball
Mountain climber
where the wind always blows
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Do you guys realize how "Marten" is spelled? No i's are involved.
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thebravecowboy
Social climber
Colorado Plateau
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Could it have been a bath salts badger?
It wouldn't be a rock climbing forum if people could read or write properly, man.
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Q- Ball
Mountain climber
where the wind always blows
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No worries, I am a biologist and just wanted to help you out. I have looked dumb spelling it wrong!
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hobo_dan
Social climber
Minnesota
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Mar 23, 2014 - 06:31pm PT
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I saw a Fisher yesterday while driving to a ski area-it was in N. Wisconsin but definitely not what I would consider wilderness. This is only the second one I've ever seen. Made my day.
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HighTraverse
Trad climber
Bay Area
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Mar 23, 2014 - 07:07pm PT
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The chances of you seeing a wolverine in the lower 48 are nil. This was posted in 2010. About that time, or possibly 2011, a Wolverine was spotted near Lake Tahoe. No Wolverines had been seen in California for something like 100 years. Of course most were rightly skeptical of the sighting (I believe it was on a game camera).
So of course the naturalists went all out to confirm it. And yes, there have been a few Wolverines now confirmed around Tahoe and in the forests to the north.
They are very elusive so in one sense, the quoted post was true.
A couple of posters to this thread certainly know much more about the Tahoe area Wolverines than I do.
Martens
I saw one in winter at Ostrander Ski Hut in Yosemite in the early 80's. Of course I wasn't certain but the hut warden said he'd seen the lovely little guy several times.
Fishers
I believe I saw a Fisher at the top of Symmetry Couloir in the Tetons last summer. It was large, dark, very bushy tail but he had seen (or heard) us and calmly clambered over a boulder and vanished. They are occasionally sighted in the Tetons high country.
Willoughby. What IS that marvelous mammal you're holding up? Too big for a Marten? Too brown for a Fisher?
Wolverine?
Inquiring Minds must know.
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hobo_dan
Social climber
Minnesota
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Mar 23, 2014 - 08:42pm PT
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I wouldn't even know where to begin if I saw a Wolverine!
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HighTraverse
Trad climber
Bay Area
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Mar 23, 2014 - 08:50pm PT
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Chief
awesome pic
Sam Mack mdw eh?
hobo
how about standing tall and quiet yet inoffensive? Look him in the eyes (non threatening dominance).
At least that's supposed to work for mountain lions.
(or were you trolling?)
And get out your camera very very slowly.
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hobo_dan
Social climber
Minnesota
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Mar 23, 2014 - 09:09pm PT
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Standing tall and quiet? More likely I'd just pee my pants!
no question it would be cool to see a Wolverine.
Might be even cooler to see a Troll.
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Chewybacca
Trad climber
Montana, Whitefish
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Mar 23, 2014 - 11:23pm PT
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I've been pretty lucky with the wolverines the last few years. The best sighting was two years ago in Glacier NP. Here is a shaky clip with two wolverines in it.
[Click to View YouTube Video]
Last year we had three wolverine sightings, but only got shots of one. This was on Siyeh pass. It climbed up from Boulder ck, crossed the pass, and dropped into Preston Park.
We see pine martens two or three times a year but I've never managed to get a decent photo of one.
All the wildlife around here helps make up for living in the land of choss.
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 23, 2014 - 11:27pm PT
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Cool video. I would not want to run into one of those in a tight chimney. If Tammy does not have a cartoon of that she needs one. Tossing an avipoodle grenade at that time seems to be appropriate if you happened to be carrying one to keep the wolverine busy.
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Willoughby
Social climber
Truckee, CA
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Mar 24, 2014 - 04:19pm PT
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HT - that's a standard issue American Pine Marten in my arms - Martes americana. On the big side, but that's what it is. He's currently in Ron's shop.
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 4, 2018 - 03:51pm PT
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Cool old memories. Have not seen one since.
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Gilroy
Social climber
Bolderado
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Tough love for the Barnacle goslings. Wish I bounced this well.
[Click to View YouTube Video]
Bad luck for the marten, Willoughby. Good luck for your program. Do you do the taxidermy?
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ionlyski
Trad climber
Polebridge, Montana
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Wolverines are indeed alive in Montana. Helped out on this project a few times. My job was to see that a grizzly didn't come in until after the anesthesia wore off.
Arne
yes my photo
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Charlie D.
Trad climber
Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra
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^^^awesome, pound for pound the meanest bad ass in North America.
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aldude
climber
Monument Manor
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Excellent wildlife thread...more!
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Fishers are probably as fierce as Wolverines pound for pound. A friend saw one rip the throat of a Doberman open on a trail in Canada. He said it happened so fast he wasn’t sure what happened until the dog keeled over dead.
I saw a Pine Marten take a squirrel up by North Dome. That didn’t take but about 2 seconds.
Isn’t Pine Martin a cousin of Steve Martin?
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Risk
Mountain climber
Marooned, 855 miles from Tuolumne Meadows
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Two weeks ago we saw two martens in Yosemite. One was up the trail along Gaylor Creek about a mile from the road. The other met his demise and came to rest right on the double-yellow line at Porcupine straightaway between the North Dome Trailhead and the campground. I turned him in to NPS, as he was freshly hit.
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