Discussion Topic |
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| Messages 1 - 44 of total 44 in this topic |
Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Jun 28, 2012 - 01:34am PT
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Thank you - that's awesome!
[Click to View YouTube Video]
(Posted a1r31M5JM10 in the "post video" blank - essentially, the identifier.)
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Willoughby
Social climber
Truckee, CA
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Jun 28, 2012 - 01:55am PT
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That is fugging awesome!!!! A good day, indeed.
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ionlyski
Trad climber
Kalispell, Montana
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Jun 28, 2012 - 02:03am PT
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Chewy, is that you Ben? Wolverine Dan said he ran into you at Sperry and you'd scored the wolverine encounters.
Arne
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Risk
Mountain climber
Olympia, WA
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Jun 28, 2012 - 02:05am PT
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fantastic
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Charlie D.
Trad climber
Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra
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Jun 28, 2012 - 08:35am PT
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Wow!
The most bad-ass per pound creature on the planet, wild! TFPU
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argus
Trad climber
Vegas
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Jun 28, 2012 - 09:36am PT
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Cool photos. I saw one about 5 years ago at the top of Mount Jefferson on the Montana-Idaho border. We had skinned to the top and skied down 100' from the summit . We looked over and there was a wolverine 15 yards away or so. We watched it for a couple minute, then determined that might be a little too close and skied away. Definitely a rare treat.
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Jun 28, 2012 - 10:03am PT
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What an incredible treat--thanks for sharing!!!!
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little Z
Trad climber
un cafetal en Naranjo
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Jun 28, 2012 - 11:54am PT
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"He saw the Wolverine" a worthy inscription on any gravestone.
That's luck. Did you buy a lottery ticket when you got back to civilization?
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Jun 28, 2012 - 11:59am PT
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The only way it could have been better would have been to see them couple!
I bet that is some rough sex.
BTW, when you're shooting against a bright background put yer camera on
'spot metering'.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Jun 28, 2012 - 01:58pm PT
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I knew that the Cubans would never get them all.
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moacman
Trad climber
Montana
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Jun 28, 2012 - 02:38pm PT
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Was on a ski trip at Lake Louise about 25 years ago and was lucky enough to see one up close, that was the only one I have ever seen...Way cooool...
Stevo
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Chewybacca
Trad climber
Montana, Whitefish
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 12, 2012 - 12:13pm PT
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Thanks for the comments and suggestions everyone. Every time I come to this forum I learn something new.
I've returned to that area several times but all I've seen of the wolverines is foot tracks.
Thanks again.
@Ionlyski- no, I'm not Ben. My name is James but I go by Kelly. Maybe we can make turns on Big Mtn some time.
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tarek
climber
berkeley
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Aug 12, 2012 - 02:05pm PT
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Thanks! A treat indeed.
They look to be in gluttonous condition, nice to see.
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BASE104
Social climber
An Oil Field
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Aug 12, 2012 - 02:47pm PT
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Wow! Those suckers are hard to see. I know a fair number of people in Alaska who have never seen one, and there are a lot up there. I have a wolverine fur parka ruff that I bought from an eskimo hunter. Any self respecting eskimo will only use Wolverine surrounded by wolf fur on a parka.
I have seen only one. I was toiling along up this fairly wide valley a little ways north of the Boreal treeline and saw this wolverine in front of me. We were both wandering around a series of little ponds and on the same course, so I followed it for a while before it took off in a different direction. It stood up once and looked at me, but other than that just slinked along. Their gate is much like a skunk, being a big weasel.
Very cool. You see their distinctive tracks fairly often, but seeing one is a big deal. One wolverine covers an incredible amount of country. I don't know anything about their attributed visciousness, but it couldn't have cared less about me.
There is a great show that you can watch on Netflix about the Wolverines in Glacier. They don't go around things. They will take a direct route right up over a mountain and cover an amazing amount of ground. They mainly scrounge carcasses and crack the bones for marrow. In Alaska, you see a lot of wolf and bear kills, so they have lots to eat.
Trapping one is very difficult. The eskimos hunt them on snow machines. They go up into the mountains in winter pulling big sleds with tents, stoves, a barrel of fuel, and the like. When they come across a fresh track, they unhitch the sled and take off at high speed and run them down.
Not very sportsman like, but that is the way they live up there.
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jaaan
Trad climber
Chamonix, France
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Aug 12, 2012 - 02:55pm PT
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What is a wolverine? How big is it? What's it related to? Sorry about that, Europe doesn't have these animals. Thanks.
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jaaan
Trad climber
Chamonix, France
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Aug 12, 2012 - 03:13pm PT
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Thanks for that Tami.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Aug 12, 2012 - 03:23pm PT
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What is a wolverine?
In addition to what Tami said, a wolverine is something you do not want to be stuck in a small space with.
This one was found in Yoho National Park at the base of a waterfall. It had apperently tried to cross above and been swept over and killed. Now it resides in a visitor center.
Edit to add that there is no known material that those claws cannot dig through. You can wrap your cache in a magic ball of 3-inch thick stainless steel with no door, but it there is something in it that a wolverine wants, it will soon have it.
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Anastasia
climber
InLOVEwithAris.
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Aug 12, 2012 - 03:27pm PT
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That is incredible!!! Awesome! Nicely done!
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hotlum
climber
Oregon
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Aug 12, 2012 - 03:29pm PT
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Saw one within 66' while cruising timber in the Targhee N.F. outside Afton, WY about 6 weeks ago. There have to be WAY more than what wikipedia states in the northern Rocky Mtns. Encountered a 175+ lbs cougar in the same area last fall.
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Roadie
Trad climber
Bishop, Ca
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Aug 13, 2012 - 09:30pm PT
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Thank you Chewy! Amazing day for you I'm sure. I lived in northern Wyoming for many years and met many critters who might just kill me out of spite: grizz, moose, lions (mom and two cubs) at dusk with a fresh kill... but I never got that lucky! Cherish those moments. Roadie
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matty
Trad climber
under the sea
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Aug 13, 2012 - 09:50pm PT
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SWEET!!! Bonus that you had your camera.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Aug 13, 2012 - 09:51pm PT
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Saw fresh Wolverine tracks in the Bob Marshall a couple of weeks ago.
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OR
Trad climber
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Aug 13, 2012 - 10:09pm PT
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Awesome encounter.
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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Oct 17, 2012 - 08:12pm PT
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I am watching a documentary on Wolverines and they said that a Woverine climbed Mt. Clevland in 90 minutes in January no less. That is 4900ft of vertical. I wish I were a wolverine.
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telemon01
Trad climber
Montana
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Oct 17, 2012 - 08:39pm PT
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I missed this thread the first time around.
Chewy, my family and I were skiing in that same area on the fourth of July, and while on the ridge, we watched a wolverine run across the base of the snowfield. It was an awesome sighting, made our day.
Great photos and video.
GNP- gotta love it.
Hey Mike, I think I have a contender for your 5.8 thread.
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grover
climber
Northern Mexico
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Oct 18, 2012 - 01:31am PT
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Nice score indeed!
Have only seen tracks once, in the Valhallas.
Anyone remember the movie 'Red Dawn'?
WOLVERINES!!!!!!!!!!
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hossjulia
Social climber
Eastside (of the Tetons)
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Oct 18, 2012 - 04:13am PT
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Saw one cross the road coming out of Mammoth 2-3 years ago. Unmistakable gait and coloring.
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Patrick Sawyer
climber
Originally California now Ireland
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Oct 18, 2012 - 07:12am PT
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I understand that Michigan is full of Wolverines.
Chewybacca, great pix.
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dee ee
Mountain climber
citizen of planet Earth
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Oct 18, 2012 - 12:26pm PT
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Rad! You are lucky.
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Chewybacca
Trad climber
Montana, Whitefish
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 18, 2012 - 05:33pm PT
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Thanks for all the fresh comments everyone. It's good to see so many people interested in these awesome creatures.
The Wiki data I posted earlier was wayyy off. After talking with some local biologists a more accurate population estimate would be around 300-400 individuals in the three states and up to 50 in Glacier NP. So much for Wiki-facts.
Here is a recent article about wolverine trapping.
http://www.flatheadnewsgroup.com/hungryhorsenews/outdoors/article_fe339628-1868-11e2-b6ec-001a4bcf887a.html
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feynman
Trad climber
chossberta
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Oct 19, 2012 - 12:20am PT
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This probably doesn't fit in too well with the thread, but I'll pass it along anyway...
Back in the 30's when my grandfather was surviving by working a trapline with some of the last old time mountain men, his partner, Levi, found a wolverine in one of their traps. After putting it out of its misery, the old timer strung it on the back of his pack and started snowshoeing back to the cabin. Apparently the .22 bounced off the animal's skull rather than killing it. It woke up strapped to Levi's relatively empty trapper nelson pack.
Needless to say, it wasn't too happy. The claws quickly ripped through the pack, the jacket, the sweater and most of the ropes holding it on. Levi couldn't reach around to get his gun and was stuck running around in circles with his old 6 foot snow shoes on his feet yipping and hollering. He didn't want to drop the pack because he would have a free wolverine on his hands who would quickly kill him. But he couldn't keep it on his back as it was squirming up trying to get in his face to get the kill.
After a minute, the wolverine was getting pretty conscious, extremely agitated, and increasingly strong. Levi finally managed to throw his pack off and jump on it with his snowshoes before the wolverine had a chance to right itself.. This delayed the animal, but it managed to squirm around and start to quickly rip though Levi's snowshoes, shoes and feet. To get away from the claws he tried lifting his feet, but every time he did the wolverine started to squirm out of the snow.
Being old school, my grandfather watched from a safe distance, laughing at the conundrum. Plus, with all the jumping around, he figured he couldn't do anything without shooting Levi, who had already taken a round in his ankle back in Galipoli. He also mentioned something about revenge for getting treed by a moose for 4h earlier in the season while Levi stood by laughing.
The ending wasn't good for the wolverine. Levi managed to risk an arm and got his rifle out from next to the wolverine. Levi spent the rest of the season with ripped clothes and sole less boots. No money for any other kit. His back and feet healed in a few weeks, although a couple of cuts required some sewing thread.
This was up in the Kishenina in BC / Alberta
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Roxy
Trad climber
CA Central Coast
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Oct 19, 2012 - 12:33am PT
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Beautiful eye kicks!!! Wow, such rad pictures!
...thanks hooblie for that link
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Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Oct 19, 2012 - 12:55am PT
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Thank you for the photos and all the stories!
I've never seen a Wolverine or noticed tracks in the Idaho backcountry.
In the early 90's I visited with two U of Idaho reseachers with radio-tracking gear that I encountered along a ridge-road on the southern edge of the Frank Church Wilderness.
They were tracking radio-collared Wolverines in the area.
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KabalaArch
Trad climber
Starlite, California
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Oct 19, 2012 - 01:11am PT
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Amazing, and a very lucky sighting.
You know, back in the '70s my partner slipped me a rumor that there were still a pair hanging out on the backside of Daff Dome. Which, of course, is pretty improbable.
Still, though, to this day I can't seem to rid myself of the notion of this pair living in the col between Daff and Cottage. There was a post not long ago about the "Monster of the Yawn." The OP described an large pod about half way up the 2nd pitch OW, which appeared as a bear den, except the alcove was too small to accommodate a bear.
I'd give it less than a 1% probability. On the other hand, we've seen quite a few Big Cats lurking within less than 1/4 mile from our house, and these sightings are considered to be pretty rare.
During the winter months, one of my nordic tours runs out our front door, and up to the apex of an alluvium which cliffs into an upstream gorge.
And speaking of gorge, right at the alluvium apex lay a fresh kill - a doe. Couldn't have been more than about 20 minutes fresh. Cslled the wife up to witness "life processes." Having done so, we were majorly out of there in just a few. Interrupting a cougar at his kill makes it, generally, not such a grand idea to linger too long.
Once I was leading an old SF buddy up the same draw,under a full moon bright enough to read a Victorian novel under, had we any such reading to catch up on during the short 5 mi R/t.
As we skiied through a minor bottleneck of cliffbands (with some caves), and pointed out some cat tracks in the snow. which were all over the place, usually on the spoor of some
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couchmaster
climber
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Jul 24, 2016 - 09:26pm PT
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Wolverine bump. Sighting in Truckee. Same one they saw in 2008, in fact, the only one in Calif. How rare is that? Snapped a trail cam shot of it. http://www.sierrasun.com/news/22915169-113/rare-wolverine-turns-up-again-near-truckee-same
" The wolverine detected eight years ago (by graduate student Katie Moriarty in the Sagehen Creek Field Station) sent shockwaves through the scientific world, as it was the first such sighting in the state since the early 1920s. Simply put, prior to 2008, the wolverine’s existence in California had not been documented for 82 years, as fur trapping in the early 1900s wiped the species from the state. The 2008 wolverine — nicknamed “Buddy” — migrated to California’s Sierra Nevada from Sawtooth Range in Idaho, Stermer said in a recent interview with the Sierra Sun. "
Chewbacca, great shots man!
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rottingjohnny
Sport climber
Shetville , North of Los Angeles
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Jul 24, 2016 - 09:42pm PT
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Wolverines arise...
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overwatch
climber
Arizona
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Jul 24, 2016 - 11:18pm PT
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that was an awesome story by feynman.
nothing messing with those guys
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martygarrison
Trad climber
Washington DC
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Jul 25, 2016 - 08:07am PT
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Only seen one Wolverine in my life. Lake Clark area of Alaska. I was amazed at how cool and fast they were moving across the tundra.
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Fossil climber
Trad climber
Atlin, B. C.
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Jul 28, 2016 - 05:05pm PT
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Just for fun doggerel....
Observations on Precoital Play in the Wolverine
(Gulo violentus)
The amorous style of this little menace is
A powerful case for parthenogenesis.
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