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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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Topic Author's Original Post - Oct 4, 2011 - 06:14pm PT
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At Devil's Tower this weekend. Anyone been bitten while climbing. The guy I was climbing with said he found one on a ledge about 150ft up this summer.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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A friend was in the Valley. He was flamed and running it out to the ledge.
Unbeknownst to him the ledge was occupied by a non-sharing sort. When Dan
slapped the ledge he got slapped and then whipped for about 50'! The fall
didn't bother him but by the time they got him down and to the hospital his
hand was pretty gnarly. It was so gnarly that I believe it ended his climbing.
I saw him a year later in a bar in Seattle and it was all he could do to hold
a pool cue!
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Brokedownclimber
Trad climber
Douglas, WY
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Nasty little bastards! I recall walking over the boulders on the way up to the start of the Durrance and hearing them buzzing down in the rocks.
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Seamstress
Trad climber
Yacolt, WA
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They are all over Tieton, Leavenworth and Smith. My little girl found a family of rattlers living in the stairs approaching Cinnamin Slab, a very busy beginning area at Smith. I don't know anyone who has been nitten, but I've seen a few who were asking to be bit.
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aliebling
climber
San Francisco, CA
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We ran in to one sunning in the middle of the path right below cookie cliff a few weeks ago. My partner nearly stepped right on it.
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Trusty Rusty
Social climber
Tahoe area
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Here's an aggressive one on a trail above Big Pine from last month. Buzz worms are synonymous with climbing in most of CA, we typically see 3-4 a year and that's when we're sober enough to look. Sketch to think how many we've all stepped over or walked right by unnoticed.
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StahlBro
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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Treat them with respect
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stevep
Boulder climber
Salt Lake, UT
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Them's good eatin. Tastes like chicken.
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Friedo
Trad climber
South Lake Tahoe
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I saw 4 in one day at the Leap this past spring. My next day out at the Leap we saw two more. One was a baby right on the main trail. The other was at the base of "It's Better With Bacon". As I was walking up to the belay I heard a rattle. I jumped back and then realized I had a rack of nuts on my harness that brushed the rock. I laughed it off and then my partner went ahead of me. Then he jumped about 16 feet into the air and said..."Nope,You were right the first time, there's a snake under that rock..."
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steelmnkey
climber
Vision man...ya gotta have vision...
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Climbing near Phoenix in 2007, my buddy heads up a vertical crack. About 3/4ths of the way up, he says there's something in the crack. He carefully climbs around it. When I came up, I can get a good look at it, and there's a small (baby?) rattler in this crack. I almost soiled myself. Needless to say, I was less than amused. How 'bout that action?
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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At least rattlers give you some warning sometimes. A lot of the world they
just bite yer azz. At least 50,000 a year die in Asia and Africa.
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Capt.
climber
some eastside hovel
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Always wondered if the Mojave Green thing was just an old wives tale.If there was such a thing I was positive we didn't have them this far north.About this time of year two seasons ago saw one sitting in road out by roadsides.Young one but a definite Mojave right in front of my eyes.Super deadly.They say about seventeen times as toxic as a western diamondback.Uhhh yeah,they're real,and we have them this far north.
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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On the approach to Mission Gorge in the summer, it was a freaking gauntlet of rattlesnakes. I mean wtf. And it was like that all over San Diego county. I stepped on a rattlesnake once while walking out from my living room into my backyard. Pretty much saw at least one rattler every time I went climbing in San Diego. Saw a monster rattler bouldering at Santee with my son a couple of years back. Almost killed off white during an approach on Mt. Lemmon, climbing a steep talus field, almost stepped on a big black red-striped sucker, jumped out and away while twisting and my elbow clocked him in the noggin. That was a close call. Rattlers. Love 'em and hate 'em.
Oh right, almost got bit by a rattler that was sliding down the crack on leapin' leaner (sp?) at Josh. Got a picture of that somewhere.
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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hey there say, reilly... how awful about your friend's hand, :(
glad he is alive, though...
say,as to those that die from snakes in asia and africa... i always was wondering how mom's could keep their little ones safe from things like that--toddlers are so curious and vulnerable... :(
thanks for sharing...
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steelmnkey
climber
Vision man...ya gotta have vision...
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Down in Cochise Stronghold nearly 20 years ago, we had some friends up climbing and they were late coming down. We were drinking beer while we waited for them, so by the time we could sort of hear them coming, a lot of stuff was sounding pretty funny. So we decided to wait behind some trees and scare the crap out of them. They nearly levitated when we jumped out and yelled. Turned out, they'd been dodging rattlers for nearly three hourse that had been laying out on the still-warm boulders in the drainage that they had to come down in the dark. Ooops. :-)
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Captain...or Skully
climber
Where are you bound?
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Only one encounter this year. It worked out.
I don't mind rattlers, mostly. It's all good.
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TomCochrane
Trad climber
Santa Cruz Mountains and Monterey Bay
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they belong in the wilderness (do you?)
they are highly aware and highly motivated to avoid you
for every one you see, there are many more you don't see
respect them and use the fact of their existence to hone your awareness
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mongrel
Trad climber
Truckee, CA
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Beautiful and marvelously evolved creatures. Would you prefer to be overrun by rodents? Having always ended up with the duty of dealing with a problem snake, I suppose it's natural to come to appreciate them. Once, hiking in carrying big packs with camping gear and water for a weekend in the S. Sierra with a rather snake-averse partner, we encountered a beefy one scrunched in a trailside nook, rattling up a storm. No reasonable way to bypass uphill (slippery, didn't want to slide down on top of it) or downhill (steep), so it fell to me to roust it out of the hole with a stick and shoo it off somewhere but the trail. Now that was one really mad rattler. Prudently, I never mentioned the two I later saw cruising by our tent - but I did make sure it stayed zipped closed all the time.
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doughnutnational
Gym climber
its nice here in the spring
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I live in the foothills east of Fresno, fortunately our Northern Pacific Rattle Snakes are quick to rattle an generally docile. That said they still scare me (part of the reason the picture is lame is my shaky hand)
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Studly
Trad climber
WA
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Can you see the snakeskin under the overhang? Right where the dead skin is, is where the snake is. This is on the descent to the anchors off Royal Columns at Tieton, and the snake was cool and didnt bite me, but the sound of my voice is what set him off, not me walking by, which I found interesting.
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FinnMaCoul
Trad climber
Green Mountains, Vermont
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I was teaching a group of teens at Table Mountain in Colorado my first summer out there. I was belaying one kid on a TR and several more were lounging waiting their turn. I noticed one kid fooling with something. Knowing this kid's interest in herpetology I asked him what he had (knowing that rattlers are rare in the Front Range; it never occurred to me to be concerned). He replied that it was some kind of small snake but he couldn't figure out what it was.
After I lowered the climber and was off belay I went over to take a look at what he'd found. Turns out it was not a small snake after all... it was a baby rattler. When I asked him where he'd found it he pointed toward the access trail to the top of the crag. His response, "They're all over the place up there."
I carefully picked my way up the trail, noting several young snakes along the way. Up on top, in full sun, there were MANY dozen adult snakes sunning themselves on the rocks. I have never seen so many snakes (of any kind) in one place.
Turns out we'd arrived early enough in the morning when it was still cool, that we were able to set the anchors undisturbed. Over the course of the early spring day, the snakes had emerged to take advantage of the sun.
Needless to say, I sent the kids (carefully) down to the van with my staff and waited until full dark to drop the anchors. Turns out that Table Mountain in Golden and Rabbit Mountain in Lyons are two of the only places along the Front Range where rattlers are plentiful.
We were a bit more choosy about going to Table Mountain with students after that.
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TYeary
Social climber
State of decay
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TY
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Rhodo-Router
Gym climber
the f#%*!n couch.
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Lots of 'em for sure in the lower Merced canyon. Ollie got popped in the face last spring..talk about swole. His face looked like a furry bloodsack.
Sean Jones took one on the hand bouldering with a bunch of kids near El Portal.
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labrat
Trad climber
Nevada City, CA
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Reily are you sure about the "50,000 killed" number? 50,000 snakes perhaps?
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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labrat,
50,000 is a very conservative figure. Of course, Africa and Asia aren't
known for their public health statistics.
"We estimate that, globally, at least 421,000 envenomings and 20,000 deaths occur each year due to snakebite. These figures may be as high as 1,841,000 envenomings and 94,000 deaths. Based on the fact that envenoming occurs in about one in every four snakebites, between 1.2 million and 5.5 million snakebites could occur annually."
The Global Burden of Snakebite: A Literature Analysis and Modelling Based on Regional Estimates of Envenoming and Deaths
Anuradhani Kasturiratne1, A. Rajitha Wickremasinghe1, Nilanthi de Silva1, N. Kithsiri Gunawardena1, Arunasalam Pathmeswaran1, Ranjan Premaratna1, Lorenzo Savioli2, David G. Lalloo3, H. Janaka de Silva1*
1 Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Ragama, Sri Lanka, 2 Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, 3 Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, United Kingdom
http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.0050218;jsessionid=66B81B3E56F5DABADB52D86E51BE334F
Some would take issue with the authors' 1 in 4 envenomings figure.
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Tony Bird
climber
Northridge, CA
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this subject has caused me some concern recently. reference:
http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=1597345&msg=1597367#msg1597367
this young feller at least seems to have had the right insurance (treatment=$700,000!):
http://www.rattlesnakebite.org/
this study found antivenin to be generally safe, despite my acquaintance's fears:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1071493/
other notes:
Since the most common mechanism of death from rattlesnake bite is circulatory collapse, IV support and monitoring for signs of blood pressure drop are very important. Fluids may be started at a relatively slow rate if the patient is stable but should signs of impending trouble occur, circulatory volume replacement is as easy as opening a drip set valve. Twenty four hours of observation post-bite is a prudent observation time with IV fluid administration all the while.
Antivenin is expensive (at least $400 per vial) and a large dog with a severe bite is likely to require several vials. Because the product if of horse origin, often a scratch test to the ear flap is used to test for immunological sensitivity (i.e. to predict whether the patient is likely to have anaphylactic reaction to the antivenin once it is administered intravenously. The patient will likely always be sensitive to equine products after administration of antivenin which makes future snake bite treatment problematic.
A newer, more purified antivenin of sheep origin has recently been marketed (“Cro-Fab” antivenin) but this is even more expensive (approximately $700 per vial).
Antivenin is very helpful in the inactivation of snake venom but there is a narrow window during which it must be used. After about 4 hours post-bite, antivenin is of minimal use.
(from http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_rattlesnake_bites_in_californi.html);
just remember, it's a horse serum, and there could be an allergic reaction:
Before administration, read Precautions and Systemic Reactions sections below. Since the possibility of a severe immediate reaction (anaphylaxis) exists whenever a horse-serum-containing product is administered, appropriate therapeutic agents, including a tourniquet, airway, oxygen, epinephrine, an injectable pressor amine, and corticosteroid, must be available and ready for immediate use. Constant attendance and observation of the patient for untoward reactions are mandatory when Antivenin is administered. Should any systemic reaction occur, administration should be discontinued immediately and appropriate treatment initiated.
(from: http://www.kiessig.com/drugs/druginfo.aspx?id=1065);
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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just remember, it's a horse serum, and there could be an allergic reaction:
We only have to worry about that if we're already a horse's azz, right?
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Rattlesnakes are okay, more predictable than most people.
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labrat
Trad climber
Nevada City, CA
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Reily,
Wow! I had no idea it was so high. I did some more reading and read it might be as high as 100,000 people.
Erik
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justin01
Trad climber
sacramento
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I have had way too many interactions with rattlesnakes.
Couple years ago, I was on a great kayak run called the waterfalls section of Dinkey creek. It is 2 days of walled in granite gorges. There are not many flat spots on or near the river, except for one mostest granite ledge/bedrock slab above a large drop. It is really the only good camping near the middle of the run. You hike in 5 or so miles down to the river, swimming through Manzanita, and then run untold numbers big scary drops. By the time we got to camp that first day were totally spent and our adrenaline completely drained.
When we pulled up late in the day, there was a half dozen rattle snakes with the same camping plans as us. We were not in the mood to share our ledge, so we grabbed our paddles and pushed them into the river above a large drop. None of us really thought much of it at that point, we were all just happy to be alive and to have had a carnage free day.
It probably goes without saying though, that we did not unfurl our sleeping bags until we were ready to get in them, and in the morning we all diligently checked our gear.
Same thing happened to me when kayaking through Tehipite. Although there, we had plenty of camping options, there are snakes everywhere, so there was no point in removing them or moving someplace else.
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Studly
Trad climber
WA
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Oct 15, 2011 - 07:35pm PT
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Oct 15, 2011 - 07:53pm PT
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Such a sweet face begging to be petted!
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Oct 15, 2011 - 08:10pm PT
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Had to kill 3 in 36 years of desert climbing.
Killed one with a Snakecharmer while attempting to breach the tamarisks below Abbey Tower and having him only start to rattle at about 2'.
Another with a rock (much harder than you would think. Use a gun) when we both found ourselves on a small ledge and he seemed to insist on MY end.
And Finn, baby rattlers ARE small snakes.
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Chaz
Trad climber
greater Boss Angeles area
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Jul 23, 2016 - 08:04pm PT
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Went to get a lime for my tequila, and I saw this guy. Southern Pacific Rattlesnake ( not to be confused with the Union Pacific Rattlesnake ) in my orange trees. Hanging out, just being a snake. He looks pretty happy, like he just ate. Maybe he'll find something to eat tomorrow.
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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Jul 23, 2016 - 09:10pm PT
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hey there say, chaz... :O
ohhhhhhhhh my... good you were 'vigilant' :)
is there really TWO different 'pacifics' as to the specifics of these
snakes...
wow, he sure is big, oh my...
i remember my ex brought one home from his work, one night, that
the night watchman killed for some reason?
and, i got to skin it and cook it...
we had the skin for a long time, until my son moved it from drying, and the dog chewed it up, :(
it was as long as one of the kids, :O
man oh man...
say, DO THEY or have they EVER bothered your dogs, or do
your dogs know 'better' ?
happy good eve, to you...
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zBrown
Ice climber
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Jul 23, 2016 - 09:26pm PT
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I am afraid of rattlesnakes.
Really.
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High Fructose Corn Spirit
Gym climber
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Jul 23, 2016 - 09:34pm PT
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Hanging out, just being a snake. He looks pretty happy
Great find.
Curious if he uttered anything. You know, like, "Vote Trump for President" or "Obama's been a disaster" or "Eat this here Orange from this here Tree of Knowledge" etc.?
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limpingcrab
Trad climber
the middle of CA
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Jul 23, 2016 - 10:16pm PT
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Fishing down by forks of the Kern last week when my buddy, who's more afraid of snakes than anyone I've ever met, almost stepped on this big boy.
Snakes are awesome.
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Scott McNamara
climber
Tucson, Arizona
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Jul 24, 2016 - 08:04am PT
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Sidewinders are very common where we live.
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Brokedownclimber
Trad climber
Douglas, WY
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Jul 24, 2016 - 08:16am PT
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I have a population of Buzzworms on my ranch, and seldom allow my dog her freedom during "snake season." She's had the rattlesnake vaccine, which according to my vet, reduces the severity of envenomation from "possibly fatal," down to "serious veterinary emergency." The same vaccine manufacturer has also begun selling a similar vaccine for horses, and they would have an excellent market in my neighborhood. One of the neighbors has 360 horses.
I keep a "snake hoe" handy by the front deck--just in case.
I recall seeing one big Buzzworm sighting on the way down from the base of El Cap; 2 Brits were fascinated by one who was simply "passing through, and were sorta' bent over looking at "a big fukkin snake," as they put it, and asked what it was. I told them to get the H*ll back because it was a rattlesnake. No, it never stopped travelling to rattle at them, but simply minded it's own business. Probably about 4 1/2 feet long, and rotund.
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Fossil climber
Trad climber
Atlin, B. C.
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Jul 24, 2016 - 09:19am PT
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I seem to recall that Roper was aiding a route to the right of Bridalveil Falls and got struck at by a snake back in the crack. He bailed. I also heard that someone tried the crack again months later and it was still there and still defensive. They can go a long time without eating - but maybe he picked up some lizards or something in the meantime.
I once guided a couple up the regular Royal Arches route. I had finished the lieback above the Rotten Log pitch and was bringing up the guy, who suddenly let out a shout, jumped off and said there was a rattler in the crack. I had climbed right past it completely unaware. Had a helluva time getting him and his wife past the roadblock. It would have been quite an event if the guide had been hit that far up.
Also took a guy off Lower Yosemite Falls who had been hit in the finger. At the time the first aid wisdom was apply a ligature and spray the bite with ethyl chloride to cool it. Probably did more damage than the bite.
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dee ee
Mountain climber
Of THIS World (Planet Earth)
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Jul 24, 2016 - 11:07am PT
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I was birding and stepped (in sandals) within 2-3 inches of this rattler several times before I saw him. Glad he was mellow.
Aren't the tongues awesome?
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zBrown
Ice climber
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Jul 24, 2016 - 11:37am PT
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'Fraid of Black Mambas too.
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tuolumne_tradster
Trad climber
Leading Edge of North American Plate
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Jul 27, 2016 - 08:42am PT
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Flip Flop
climber
Earth Planet, Universe
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Jul 27, 2016 - 08:52am PT
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Lots of buzzworm encounters at 7000' now. I blame Obama.
Word on the PCT is that strikes are up and earbuds were the common denominator.
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skcreidc
Social climber
SD, CA
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Jul 27, 2016 - 09:05am PT
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Same species (Southern Pacific Rattlesnake) in the same area (Mission Trails), but two different colorations. I have not seen very many red diamonds (Crotalus ruber) this year for some reason.
Word on the PCT is that strikes are up and earbuds were the common denominator.
Well, they don't take well to getting stepped on by dog or man.
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Flip Flop
climber
Earth Planet, Universe
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Jul 27, 2016 - 09:34am PT
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I got the clear message on the Loch Leven Trail last week. Totally black snake. I'm keeping my ears open.
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WyoRockMan
climber
Grizzlyville, WY
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Jun 17, 2017 - 06:52pm PT
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One of the reasons I don't wear ear buds when out hiking.
I would have stepped right on him, had I not heard him one step sooner.
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Charlie D.
Trad climber
Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra
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Jun 17, 2017 - 07:18pm PT
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Flying into Bozeman I struck up a conversation with the big tall burly Montanan seated next to me. I asked him what he does and so goes the conversation:
Him: I have an unusual job, I rid people's property of snakes.
Me: Rattlesnakes?
Him: Yep.
Me: How do you catch them?
Him: In the fall I attach a transmitter to a snake in order to find their den.
Me: Really?
Him: Yep
Me: Then what?
Him: Well I locate the den and cement it in with mortar with a PVC pipe coming out so when they come out in the spring I can gather them up in a bag.
Me: How many do you catch?
Him: Hard to tell but maybe 60 or more depending on the den.
Me: Holy sh*t, what do you do with them....kill em?
Him: After giving me a hard stare, "why would I do that...a man's got to make a living".
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Jun 18, 2017 - 08:51am PT
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Olde Blighty sucks for a herp lover - not snake one in over two weeks! :-(
It doesn't 'elp that they've only three species!
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Fritz
Social climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Jun 18, 2017 - 11:20am PT
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Speaking of Montana, my world speed record for seeing a rattler was on a butte north of Great Falls. It was a Sunday in early April & I had all day to get to Kalispell, so I thought I would go for a hike & do some fossil-hunting. I got out of my car about two-hundred feet from the butte's summit, after driving up a pretty-good road that ended at a communications array. Grabbed a rock hammer and took about 10 steps, before I noticed a Huge coiled rattler that did not rattle. I retreated & thought about how many rattlers there could be around, if I saw one in my first 30' of hiking. Then I left.
A redneck outdoor shop employee in Billings once told me a good way to know you were close to a rattlesnake den, was when you started seeing a lot of empty cartridges, especially shotgun shells. He said the locals had lists of dens that they would shoot up every spring, without affecting the long-term quantity of rattlers.
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Charlie D.
Trad climber
Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra
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Jun 18, 2017 - 01:34pm PT
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^^^love snakes but must say a dozen or more rattlers like that creeps me out.
As kids in junior high we kept snakes (gophers and king snakes) in aquariums, fed them mice we raised. My buddy a fellow snake enthusiast catches a rattlesnake brings it home to his aquarium. Within a week it escapes. He lives in a big house with his mom and dad + 8 siblings. His dad was a tough SOB who would kick your ass so he didn't dare tell anyone. They found it under the couch downstairs in the living room some time later all dried up. We later moved on to climbing and more foolery. That wasn't the only incident the old man was unaware of but the one that was snake related.
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StahlBro
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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Jun 18, 2017 - 06:20pm PT
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Waiting to congratulate you on your top out.
Fortunately it was cold and it was not that enthusiastic.
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ontheedgeandscaredtodeath
Social climber
SLO, Ca
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Jun 18, 2017 - 06:49pm PT
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Used to see them all the time on fires in the desert. One time this guy on our crew startled one and it tried to strike him. Total dumb luck but it hit the shovel he was carrying instead of his leg. He was pretty shaken up but the rest of us had a good laugh!
Anyone climb at Sugarloaf on a hot day? What a nest of vipers!!!
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Jun 18, 2017 - 07:00pm PT
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Landscape with Reptile; Rattlesnakes in an Urban World by Thomas Palmer is a thoughtful read.
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fgw
climber
portland, or
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Jun 19, 2017 - 08:47am PT
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midway up pitch 2 in El Potrero:
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Jun 19, 2017 - 09:09am PT
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Anyone climb at Sugarloaf on a hot day? What a nest of vipers!!!
Good to know! Is it the same deal at the Leap? Heading there later this summer...
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thegermandude
Trad climber
Paderborn, Germany
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Jun 19, 2017 - 11:41am PT
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Almost stepped on one a few weeks ago at Leap on the hike down, and heard that a few days before there was one right at the top out of The Line.
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Willoughby
Social climber
Truckee, CA
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Jun 19, 2017 - 02:15pm PT
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Is it the same deal at the Leap?
Springtime at the Leap is the buzzwormiest place I know, but I think by summer they spread out a bit.
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Jun 19, 2017 - 02:37pm PT
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Sigh, f*#king lovely...
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Charlie D.
Trad climber
Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra
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Jun 19, 2017 - 07:53pm PT
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For what it's worth Healyje I've never heard of anyone being bit by a snake at the Leap or Sugarloaf for that matter, perhaps Petch knows of an incident? It is true as pointed out spring gives one the best odds of seeing them as they emerge from their dens near approach trails.
What's interesting from my experience at the Leap is that your chance of encountering one has most definitely increased over the years from the late 70's when I first showed up. I'd say it is directly related to the number of climbers. The biggest pest there are ground squirrels (not the one who runs the store) which have increase in population with the increased presents of climbers who don't stow their packs from feasting squirrels. Increase population of climbers equals increase population of squirrels equals increase population of snakes, nice how we're part of the ecology eh? You'll enjoy your time there, what a wonderful crag.....I seriously doubt you'd end up the first victim at the Leap of a snake bite.
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originalpmac
Mountain climber
Timbers of Fennario
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Jul 21, 2018 - 10:51am PT
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Skull of a buzzworm. Was a 3.5 footer. As awesome as I think the are, I like my dog and my legs a lot more. I kill them on sight on my property. 3rd one this year. I have an oak tree over run with ants that were kind enough to remove all of the flesh of the skull for me.
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originalpmac
Mountain climber
Timbers of Fennario
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Jul 21, 2018 - 10:55am PT
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Same snake. Damn thing was lunging at a friend of mine who BARELY dodged it. Was close. Super close.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Jul 21, 2018 - 12:51pm PT
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I’ll put the Tumwater and Icicle Cyns out of Leavenworth, WA up against anywhere in the spring.
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aspendougy
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Jul 21, 2018 - 01:43pm PT
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZkiGihELdI
This is a short YOUTUBE clip about a rattlesnake "snake bagging contest"
The moderator is a World Record holder, being involved for 35 years or so; he sounds like the "Royal Robbins" of rattlesnake bagging. Every sport has its icons.
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micronut
Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
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Jul 21, 2018 - 02:03pm PT
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Just watched that little video. Awesome.
"And if you get bit.......its a five second penalty."
#realmen
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BigB
Trad climber
Red Rock
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Jul 21, 2018 - 02:10pm PT
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Red Rock Cyn a few weeks ago
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Chaz
Trad climber
greater Boss Angeles area
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Aug 28, 2018 - 08:18am PT
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Found this one in the garage this morning.
I appreciate the mouse control, but I need to get at that sprayer.
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dirtbag
climber
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Aug 28, 2018 - 08:22am PT
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^^^Yowza!!!^^^
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dee ee
Mountain climber
Of THIS World (Planet Earth)
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Aug 28, 2018 - 08:31am PT
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Saw this little (2.5+ ft.) guy a couple weeks ago on a mtn. bike ride near Holcomb. This year has been a good one for rattler sightings. I've seen at least 8 already and the first one was in February (in Laguna) which was very early in the year.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Aug 28, 2018 - 08:32am PT
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Chaz, that’s the end of going out to the garage in flip flops, huh?
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Batrock
Trad climber
Burbank
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Aug 28, 2018 - 08:37am PT
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Almost stepped on this guy on the way down from Snake Dike. Overtime I have been anywhere near Half Dome I have seen rattlers.
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dee ee
Mountain climber
Of THIS World (Planet Earth)
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Aug 28, 2018 - 08:41am PT
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In April I saw snakes on 5 rides in a row although on one it was a 5 ft. Gopher Snake. On one ride I saw 2 rattlers.
Batrock's snake looks like it just ate!
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Aug 28, 2018 - 08:43am PT
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Batrock, did ya ask that little gal why she went thru the buffet line twice!
What a piglet!
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dee ee
Mountain climber
Of THIS World (Planet Earth)
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Aug 28, 2018 - 08:51am PT
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This one was really pissed off. He was just laying out in the shade.
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Pete_N
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, CA
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Aug 28, 2018 - 11:22am PT
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A friend was paddling kayak support on a river trip in the Grand Canyon a few years ago. They found a dead rattler in the water, and coiled the body up on the seat of another friend's kayak at a lunch stop. After a lunch and a short hike, the pranksters were eagerly awaiting "the surprise". Sure enough, back at the boats, the intended victim calls out to everyone, "Hey, everybody! Check out the f-ing rattlesnake IN my boat!" The pranksters thought they'd scored a good one until they realized that it was very much alive. Apparently the snake was so hypothermic from prolonged immersion that it was completely immobilized and just needed some sunshine to "wake up". Could have ended really badly!
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Aug 28, 2018 - 11:40am PT
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Yes it could have especially in view of the fact that a truly dead rattler can still bite yer arse.
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Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
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Aug 28, 2018 - 11:47am PT
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I heard a story about a group backpacking in the Grand Canyon. Someone woke up to see a rattler coiled on top of a sleeping person, they had to flick it off with a stick without waking the person up.
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Pete_N
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, CA
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Aug 28, 2018 - 12:53pm PT
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Reilly: That depends on how you define "dead"! ;-)
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StahlBro
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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Aug 28, 2018 - 01:00pm PT
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Ran into this lil’ fella coming around a corner on MTB patrol last week. Didn’t rattle much, but the hissing and loud wheezing were really impressive.
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AP
Trad climber
Calgary
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Aug 28, 2018 - 01:15pm PT
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Encountered a sizable rattler while hiking with family and dog in the Escalante area years ago .
The snake was hiding from the sun in a small alcove when we passed by. It started rattling and my dog did the sensible thing watching the snake from 10 feet away. He was probably thinking "I don't know what that is but he does not sound friendly"
The encounter went the way it was supposed to and everyone was safe
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BigB
Trad climber
Red Rock
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Aug 28, 2018 - 03:56pm PT
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Red Rock a month or so ago
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Vegasclimber
Trad climber
Las Vegas, NV.
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Aug 28, 2018 - 05:02pm PT
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Climbing at Swan Slab last Spring - I told the gal that she might want to wait a few minutes before grabbing her harness. Eventually it wandered off towards the bike path.
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10b4me
Social climber
Lida Junction
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Aug 29, 2018 - 07:37am PT
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over the years I only saw two rattlesnakes in Joshua tree
same here, but have certainly heard more.
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kaholatingtong
Trad climber
The fake McCoy from nevernever land.
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Aug 29, 2018 - 10:05am PT
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Edit : 11 Rattles I believe on this beauty, right next to the Merced in Little Yosemite Valley.
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Nick Danger
Ice climber
Arvada, CO
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Aug 29, 2018 - 11:11am PT
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I've encountered so many rattlers as a geologist working in the desert that I have come to think of them as family. Seriously, if it weren't for rattle snakes and ravens I would have nobody to talk to in the field.
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clode
Trad climber
portland, or
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Aug 29, 2018 - 11:49am PT
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Nick, that's why I always have two women at a time. That way, if I fall asleep they have someone they can talk to!
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steelmnkey
climber
Vision man...ya gotta have vision...
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Aug 29, 2018 - 12:33pm PT
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over the years I only saw two rattlesnakes in Joshua tree
same here, but have certainly heard more.
Saw two pretty good sized rattlers on the same day, both up at Keys View crawling around. There was a lady tourist strolling down the sidewalk that they were next to and we did our best to give her a heads up that there were two snakes very near, but I guess she felt we were impacting her wilderness experience, because she pretty much fully ignored our attempts to save her from a possible bite, staring and walking straight on. She was completely oblivious, and stayed that way all the way to the parking lot.
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Tobia
Social climber
Denial
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Aug 29, 2018 - 01:15pm PT
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Eastern diamondback's (Crotalus adamanteus), cousins to the western diamondback (Crotalus atrox), have slowly migrated southward into FL in my lifetime, at one time they ruled all of the southeastern states.
Over the years timber or canebrake rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) have seemingly taken over. My experiences with them is they will slither away, rattle constantly or feint striking before resorting to a full fledged strike. Good thing since their venom is highly toxic. It is also the snake that is displayed on the Gadsen Flag.
The sneakiest pit viper I deal with is the copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix). They turn up everywhere - houses, barns, horse stalls, boats, boots, etc. Not as large as rattlesnakes and seem to blend in with leaves, trees, boards, and everything else. One good habit they have is dry biting.
Since I don't roam the woodlands as I once did either for sport or cruising timber, I have less encounters, except for the copperheads. They just like people or their habitats it seems.
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aspendougy
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Aug 29, 2018 - 03:37pm PT
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My Grandmother used to take the family backpacking into Pate Valley back in the 1930's. She said that when Hetch Hetchy was filled with water, all the rattlers moved up to Pate Valley, and so it was full of them. One of the people on a trip woke up in the morning with a rattler inside the sleeping bag, it had crawled into the tent and into the bag at night.
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thebravecowboy
climber
The Good Places
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Aug 29, 2018 - 05:35pm PT
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the buzzworm that lives in the trail register at that one trailhead is pretty chill during the day, just hiding in there away from the blazing hot treeless expanse. get up to pee in the dark though, and you'd best tread mindfully because that f*#ker owns the night.
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AP
Trad climber
Calgary
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Aug 29, 2018 - 08:23pm PT
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There is a route at Skaha called Ready to Strike. During the first ascent the belayer watched a sizeable rattler crawling into the depths of his pack. They had to shake it out.
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Fossil climber
Trad climber
Atlin, B. C.
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Aug 30, 2018 - 05:56pm PT
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When I was a kid my buddy and I killed a rattler (haven't done that since} and brought it to town in a paper bag. Buddy's sister worked at a soda fountain. (Remember those?) So we ordered Cokes and she turned away to get them and we laid the snake out on the counter in front of us. When she came back to set the Cokes in front of us - well, there was Coke all over the room.
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Chaz
Trad climber
greater Boss Angeles area
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Aug 30, 2018 - 06:12pm PT
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Next one I find I'm going to put in an Amazon box and leave it by the front gate for whoever is stealing packages around here.
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Q- Ball
Mountain climber
but to scared to climb them anymore
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Aug 31, 2018 - 08:51am PT
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My family was up on the mountains, when my little three year old brother sat next to one. My father caught it and stuck in a minnow trap.
Some guy showed up asking,"what are you going to with it?" Dad told the fellow, " The preacher has been needing some". Haha! Sums up my dads typical response to strangers.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Aug 31, 2018 - 09:38am PT
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BITD when everyone knew everybody in the Washington climbing world the word got out that a certain worthy was going to try the FFA of an overhang on Lower Castle Rock near Leavenworth. A couple of wags, perhaps well known to many here, went over the day before. They found a worthy rattler, a blind deaf person could do that in the Tumwater, killed it without a lot of gore, and rapped down to the ledge just above the overhang and neatly coiled it. They knew said worthy would come to no physical harm as there was a bomber fixed pin right at the business. The next day the wags joined the unenlightened spectators and awaited the show. The show went off beyond their expectations with a worthy scream and flight and much ooing and ahhing by the unenlighted who were enlightened by a horrified
“THERE’S A RATTLER ON THE LEDGE!”
Needless to say, the wags’ laughter gave them away and they had rather a time of it convincing the worthy to give it another go.
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Brian in SLC
Social climber
Salt Lake City, UT
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A couple of pic's from July this year...fishing in Red Canyon outside Lander...
I see this feller jump in the pool across from me and swim right towards me...
I tried to steer him away with the tip of my fly rod (sent in for repair afterwards...ugh...), but, wasn't haven't it. Just kept on coming. I moved...(!).
I grabbed a nearby stick (as the fly rod proved ineffective at any response) and finally got it to coil up. I snapped a couple of pics and left it to continue on its journey. I did have a heightened awareness of my bare ankles hiking back up to the car...ha ha...
Good times...
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Did somebody say Prairie rattler?
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EdBannister
Mountain climber
13,000 feet
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blacktail rattlesnake
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Radish
Trad climber
SeKi, California
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This is a subject I'm pretty passionate about since at work I have to always watch where I put my hands and feet. A good habit to have in the mountains!
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originalpmac
Mountain climber
Timbers of Fennario
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That is a GREAT story, Reilly. Hilarious.
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10b4me
Social climber
Lida Junction
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Brian, I also have been fishing, and had rattlers swim toward me.
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justthemaid
climber
Jim Henson's Basement
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That's kinda weird^^^ I had to step around one a couple weeks ago at Lovers Leap. Didn't even rattle at us.
I had an ex who was a rattlesnake researcher. Living in the Santa Monicas- he'd go out and collect them in the yard with some regularity. I'm pretty inured to them at this point if I run into one hiking. Most of the time they run away or curl up and try to hide. You have to be really unlucky or incredibly stupid to get bitten.
Edit to add rattlesnake bite statistic: apx 75% of all people bitten are males between the age of 20-35. Alcohol consumption is often a factor.
The remaining % are small children who don't know any better and people who step on them accidentally.
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StahlBro
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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Had to relocate this one back down to the bottom of the yard where he belongs.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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DAYUM! Pretty sure I’d relocate a Mojave a bit farther afield. 😳
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Tom Bruskotter
Trad climber
Seattle
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When I surveyed in the Mojave for a couple years and walked many miles through Rattler country, I learned a way to spot snakes faster. Project an image of a snake, like a heads-up display, on the ground you are about to walk. Your brain recognizes the snake much faster this way. When my projection overlayed the real thing it lit up and flashed.
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Brian in SLC
Social climber
Salt Lake City, UT
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Mojave or Southern Pacific? That's quite the colorful buzz worm!
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Chaz
Trad climber
greater Boss Angeles area
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JTM writes:
Edit to add rattlesnake bite statistic: apx 75% of all people bitten are males between the age of 20-35. Alcohol consumption is often a factor.
The remaining % are small children who don't know any better and people who step on them accidentally.
I heard from a doctor at Fort Irwin, who's treated dozens of snakebites, that every soldier he treated had been bitten on the hand.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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A Mojave hit the brim of my ball cap, but it was a dry bite, aka a courtesy strike.
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10b4me
Social climber
Lida Junction
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most snakebite victims are suffering from the 5 tees.
teenager
testosterone
truck driver
tattoos
tequilla
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paul roehl
Boulder climber
california
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Walking back to camp 4 along the Merced after climbing most of the day a friend and I came on a rattler lying at the base of a tree and my friend just reaches down and picks the thing up like it was no big deal and proceeds to squeeze it behind the jaw so its fangs were exposed all the while explaining how the injection of poison works and all and then just puts the snake down, again, like it was nothing and we walk on. Damn I was impressed!
Use to see some really big ones in the Ventana wilderness, thick as your leg. Yikes.
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Ward Trotter
Trad climber
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At Tahquitz last year on the trail back to the base of a climb on the west side I almost stepped on a rattler curled at the base of a rock because I couldn't see it, I was walking downhill. You can see rattlesnakes in such typical positions easily while you're walking uphill, but if you are going downhill they are usually under the rocks or their base and therefore screened out of your vision by the angle and by the rocks.
Capiche?
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thebravecowboy
climber
The Good Places
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those suckers blend in a bit too well for us all, most of the time, seems to me. why no bright poison arrow frog DO NOT ToUCH coloration? (besides the fact that you whack em with a stick and they are dinner.)
I suspect that the swimming towards shoremen is a kinda seek the trees or other landly highpoint whilst escaping water death thing.
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Radish
Trad climber
SeKi, California
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Last night on our every Wednesday ride. This is actually a fast downhill and my buddy almost went over the snake and stopped to warn me before I rode over it and had it wrap in my spokes.......Big Wow!!
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