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Hoots
climber
Mammoth Lakes, CA
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Topic Author's Original Post - Sep 24, 2018 - 09:10am PT
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Hi all,
Just want to start a discussion about bees (and wasps) in Yosemite Valley, as it is that time of year when the little bastards seem to be quite active and stinging lots of people on approaches, descents, and popular routes.
I have had a series of escalating reactions, with a severe reaction yesterday while hiking down the Lyell Fork, and while I am carrying Epi with me now on all climbs, would rather not have to be stung and use it, so am trying to be strategic in the routes I get on while they are active.
Been avoiding the Cathedrals area for the past couple fall seasons due to the number of attacks I've heard about when people step on a ground nest, wondering where else folks have been seeing them- is it mostly a south side of the Valley problem?
Thanks for your input.
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ec
climber
ca
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Sep 24, 2018 - 09:41am PT
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I think that you might mean just those damn yellow jackets...it’s already a bad autumn for them in the Bay Area in Cali this year.
We got mauled at the base of the Prow one year.
Years ago, didn’t Bruce Brosman (spelling) survive a major wasp attack while retreating during a guiding-gig? I heard it was extremely bad.
 ec
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Sep 24, 2018 - 09:54am PT
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Be one with the bees, and watch where you step.
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nfox513
climber
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Sep 24, 2018 - 10:03am PT
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There are wasps just above the scrambling downclimbs above the first rap on Rostrum approach. It seemed like if you didn't lean on trees and walked quietly it didn't bother them.
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Jim Clipper
climber
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Sep 24, 2018 - 10:04am PT
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Reilly?! There are some that would accuse you of being antisocial. At least maybe some that disagree with your filliations.
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Alexey
climber
San Jose, CA
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Sep 24, 2018 - 01:31pm PT
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as former beekeeper, I can say that average person can hold 80 bees sting without dying. But if you have bad reaction one bee sting can kill you. Most of the humans build immunity to bee venom, but people with allergic reaction do opposite. No one dying from first ever sting, but consecutive stings become more dangerous for persons with allergy.
And yellow jackets and honey bees have absolutely different venom , so one allergy not related to other. I even do no know if anyone allergic to yellow jackets stings.
It is very distinct how to different sting from honey bees vs yellow jacket [ wasp]
Honey bees left sting and part of his body in your skin after the bite [ bee dies after one sting], while nothing left after yellow jackets bite.
People often confuse who bite them. This year in Yosemite a lot of climbers was bitten by yellow jackets on Rostrum approach [ including me] and I read some alerts on MP about bees on Cookie, but it can be yellow jackets too.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
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Sep 24, 2018 - 01:56pm PT
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ground hornets seem to be ones people step on a nest and then they aggressively attack in large radius of area from the nest. These are not wasps nor bees.
I've been lucky so far. Carrying Benadryl in the pack these days, just in case. Mrs Munge carries her epi.
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ec
climber
ca
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Sep 24, 2018 - 02:01pm PT
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Munge, ground hornets ARE wasps and closely related to yellow jackets.
ec
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Ksolem
Trad climber
Monrovia, California
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Sep 24, 2018 - 02:18pm PT
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I was never allergic to bee stings until about a year and a half ago. I got stung by a honey bee on the tip of a finger while I was gardening. At the moment I didn't really care. Pulled the stinger out and moved on, but in a short period of time my finger was purple and my hand was swelling rapidly. I drove to the nearest ER, walked up to the desk, held up my hand and said "bee sting." They took me back to a treatment room and got a Dr. in there stat, saved the paperwork for later. I got a shot of epinephrine and a bunch of prednisone. The Doc said I was lucky to get stung at the end of an extremity. If it got me on the neck, or up my shorts, I would have been in desperate trouble. Now the epi-pen goes with me everywhere I go.
FWIW, if you need epi-pens be aware there is a generic now. It looks and works exactly like the brand name, but it's under a different name. Make sure your pharmacist knows that's what you want, you'll save save a bucketload of money.
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StahlBro
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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Sep 24, 2018 - 02:35pm PT
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My brother and I were bitten over 40 times apiece after disturbing ground nesting hornets 🐝 while returning from doing Thor’s Hammer on the east coast. Had to run full tilt to a reservoir and dive in to escape. It took another 20 minutes for them to vacate our abandoned gear. Those things mean business.
Debbie and I had to bail from a CG below Big Bear and go to Mt Laguna because of freaking yellow jackets (meat bees) a few weeks ago. No bites, but annoying sun up to sun down at the campsite.
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High Fructose Corn Spirit
Gym climber
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Sep 24, 2018 - 02:38pm PT
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lol,
I don't know about Yosemite but so far this year I've had two encounters in the high sierra. Pretty remarkable as far as I'm concerned because I really haven't been doing anything different this year than years previous.
In the first encounter, in mid august, I was doing a mixed third and fourth class, pretty aggressive scramble up a south-facing ridge, body bent over, hands and arms helping with the ascent and suddenly, gazam! passing right under me and under my frame of vision a bustling yellow jacket nest firing on all pistons in the hot summer sun. How naive I was. For several seconds nothing and just as I started to think, Whew, that was close, that's never happened before! - I heard several sources of buzzing around my head. First thought, how naive, I thought, flies? then I felt a sting, then only then it occurred to me that there were many around me and giving chase! Youza!! Right away I turned - already I was 20 or 30 feet away from the nest - and started to run down the hill and ripped off my shirt and started whipping it around. Long story short, I was only stung three times hard and a couple times barely. Wow, what a wake up call that was. Never too old to learn. Or relearn!
Second encounter was the same day, this time on the descent, another ridge and a couple hours later. Venue was the same though, a burnt, heavily wooded field about 10 years removed from a big local fire. So that might be something to think about next time I'm moving through such a time and place. Also south facing and in the sun was this one. Descending quickly, and still feeling the stings from earlier in the day, too, I passed over another nest, this time revealed only by a half dozen or so flying yellow jackets. Reaction time was much quicker this time, thank goodness. Heard the buzzing around my head, again threw off my shirt, and while doing that crashed through some brush, had to be manzanita of course with the hard wood, but this might have ended up helping along with the rolling descent. Stung once and only barely. Sheesh, what an encounter.
Judgment from this day's encounters re-honed. Thankful. Could have been way worse, I think. Esp in the first encounter if somehow I had been constrained in place. Glad it wasn't 5th and on lead... or on belay. Wow, I can only imagine such a circumstance! In my book, yellow jackets are now right up at the top of this list together with mountain lions and shifting talus. "Dangers to look out for!" Be watchful out there. No scrambling without caution esp under circumstances with face close to the ground, lol!
All better now. No more encounters since. Yellow jackets. Yellow jacket nests. They do exist. RESPECT.
Such experience, when it turns out okay, could be helpful. In retrospect, it has reminded me, among other things, to be careful, not to freak out and lose control, or you just might find yourself running yourself over a cliff or some such.
Itchy, I was, at the bites (edit: sting sites) for a whole week.
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High Fructose Corn Spirit
Gym climber
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Sep 24, 2018 - 02:49pm PT
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Were they yellow, streamlined AF, and very mean looking? lol
...
btw, here's a new ST abbreviation to consider. WAF (Wild AF). Compare to TFPU (ekat).
Eg: Last week's experience at The Hulk was waf.
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Oplopanax
Mountain climber
The Deep Woods
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Sep 24, 2018 - 02:56pm PT
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wasps don't bite
just sting
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Matt Sarad
climber
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Sep 24, 2018 - 03:18pm PT
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Wasps acting like meat bees went after our string of freshly caught trout over the weekend. We hiked out of Lake Thomas Edison to Graveyard Meadow. The fish were biting, but nothing over 9 inches.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Sep 24, 2018 - 04:07pm PT
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Da bugs have had it! Y’all are on notice!
But I get along fine with my little friends...
(7’ from my front door)
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ec
climber
ca
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Sep 24, 2018 - 04:39pm PT
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‘Like looking at an enemy aircraft carrier.
Dingus, that’s why that climb is called ‘Wings and Stings.’
‘Had to attack three enemy carriers in the cool and darkness of night by headlamp and sprayed ‘em long distance, then knocked ‘em down in the daylight. My kid jumped-back when I lurched fwd to have him check one out. Boo! Showed him the ones left below the flight deck (dead).
ec
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Jim Hornibrook
Trad climber
Redwood City, CA
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Sep 24, 2018 - 06:09pm PT
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Last August my partner broke her tibia. It was a mere month before we were scheduled to climb El Cap, and she was quite distraught that her injury might scuttle our plans. I needed to get her back on the rock ASAP in order to regain her confidence. Thinking of a route with a short flat approach that she could do with crutches we did Aid Crack at Swan Slab. She was able to clean, using one foot, one jug, and a grigri.
I didn't notice the wasps as I led the 2nd pitch, but Akiko was reticent to clean a certain cam as it had wasps flying around it. Evidently the perfect pod for my .75 camalt was the home of a small wasp nest. They kindly let us clean the pitch, and we escaped unscathed. The only difficulty arose from the rap line ending several yards from the route's start. Akiko had to ask a passing tourist to bring her her crutches.
Evidently this nest has been there for several years as it is mentioned by a couple of different climbers on Mountain Project, wasps attacking causing lead falls. Glad I didn't read this before we climbed it.
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ec
climber
ca
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Sep 24, 2018 - 07:48pm PT
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Yeah, like it was so intense that he lost control of the rappel too. ‘Sustained like 90+ wasp stings; yikes!
ec
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john hansen
climber
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Sep 24, 2018 - 08:02pm PT
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I know this is about Yosemite but I have read at least a couple stories in the Accidents in North American Climbing about people dying from stings by africanized bees while climbing in Arizona.
https://www.climbing.com/news/arizona-climber-found-dead-from-bee-stings/
Edit: Two times I disturbed nest's. The first time we were lifting an old metal railing out of some old dead grass, They came up and we started running. Got stung behind the ear and on the neck and one went for my shirt and got inside for the third.
A couple years later looking for some wood in Yosemite picked up a 4 inch
log and up they came. Tore my shirt off as I was running away and ran my fingers thru the hair above my ears and got one out. Only got stung twice, and when I went back later for my shirt there was one dead one wrapped up inside. They know just where to attack.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
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Sep 24, 2018 - 09:52pm PT
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ground hornets aren't wasps! I assure you. They are evil, vile, dangerous, ill tempered, voraciously fuked up and should be exterminated in all cases with extreme prejudice.
I assure you! :)
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