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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Topic Author's Original Post - May 2, 2009 - 05:27pm PT
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Have any of you seen this famous movie of the guys in Africa who toproped a huge 100 ft high granite boulder in Tanzania to study baboons who partly live on top. They used a bow and arrow to get the rope up. To do the route the climbers were doing something like 5.11 or harder. In fact it looks like the humans did not actually free it.
But the Baboons are roaring up the route at high speed It is incredible. Dynos, everything. Tiny pinches. They form a conga line even. Ultra high strength to weight ratio, so far beyond humans. They use the boulder to get away from the lions especially at night. They will even fight WHILE climbing it. They carry their babies too. It is all in this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42Px9N7jV7w
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HighDesertDJ
Trad climber
Arid-zona
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So THAT'S how they get the ropes up there.
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Peter, you're gonna get a reputation like Caylor here. . .
:-)
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hossjulia
Trad climber
Eastside
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That is rad! it does look like the baboons have to work at it, not a gimmie. but damn! How cool is that? Lucky guy to have seen this, and get spanked on the route!
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Dr.Sprock
Boulder climber
Sprocketville
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holy cow, junior decks out at 50 mph and walks away from it.
no blood or nuthin.
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rick d
climber
tucson, az
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very cool,
but the dude climbs: a different rock, by a different route that none of the baboons take.
some of the stuff the baboons are going for is pretty large- nothing like the long haired climber does.
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MH2
climber
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They used cracks but didn't jam. Weren't too friendly, either.
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Nice find!
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Mimi
climber
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Amazing! High end animal behavior project and the road is right there.
The climber-type had to take an easier route. Nice bow work setting the rope up. I wonder how many die in falls and whether the clan drags the body away or they leave it at the base for the birds or others.
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k-man
Gym climber
SCruz
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In the old Koa Phi Phi guide, there's a Wolfgang story about how he was working on a .12c. He put a banana in a pocket at the crux, just to see what the monkeys would do. A monkey climbed up to the crux, got the banana, and ate it while hanging off one hand (finger?), at the crux.
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - May 2, 2009 - 08:50pm PT
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Mimi, the baboons are up there partly because of the big cats in the region are hunting especially at night. No, baboons don't bury their dead but a mother may carry around a dead baby for quite some time. It is thought they do this, from an evolutionary point of view, to pass on their genes in case the baby revives. It is also proven that baboons (true they sure are bad-assed) will actually mourn:
http://www.ask.com/bar?q=What+do+baboons+do+with+their+dead%3F&page=1&qsrc=0&ab=0&u=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.softpedia.com%2Fnews%2FBaboons-mourn-their-dead-17250.shtml
But god help their enemies!
It's interesting to study their techniques too. Some even sidestep!
Oh and Kelly K-man, don't forget their tails. It looks like they are not as useful to them as tails are to monkeys.
StevieW: If I end up with Hankster's ST rep, it would be a good thing! The guy is fun!
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MisterE
Trad climber
One Step Beyond!
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Kudos to the first baboon to do that - now that's an FA!
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schwortz
Social climber
davis, ca
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friendly neighborhood evolutionary anthropologist chiming in...
baboons ARE monkeys - old world monkeys
only NEW world monkeys have prehensile tails - actually only ONE family of new world monkeys - atelidae - have prehensile tails
baboons have been studied extensively for about 50 years....they do lots of cool stuff and show abilities for really complex social interactions and recognition....
neat movie
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Double D
climber
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You can't fool me, that's an old Largo problem.
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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Peter-
Thanks! I'm going to use this in my Physical Anthro classes.
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Paulina
Trad climber
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What a great video, thanks!
Maybe the dude climbs a different rock nearby to avoid disturbing the baboons' habitat?
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - May 3, 2009 - 10:03am PT
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Thanks Schwortzie, for the informed points.
I gather the baboons we are watching here in the video from Tanzania are Olive Baboons (Papio Anubis) or maybe Yellow Baboons (Papio cynocephalus)? Please advise.
Anyway, I guess baboons vary from 30 lbs to 90 lbs (adult) depending on which of the five baboons we are considering. The ones in the video must be closer to the top of the scale. Do we know what their strength-to-weight ration might be, especially in comparison to humans? It seems so extreme!
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - May 3, 2009 - 10:52am PT
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Roge,
the next move for Dano would have been to have carried a baby with him.
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TradIsGood
Chalkless climber
the Gunks end of the country
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How can they climb that hard without even using a chalk bag?!
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Jingy
Social climber
Flatland, Ca
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Cool video.
The guy, the world renowned climber (never heard of'em) doesn't give the climb he completed a grade so that the humans can put the climb into perspective.
Good find and show, though.
All I can say is at lest the baboons climbing serves a purpose....
I've often wondered what made humans start or want to start climbing...
No evolutionary reason my little mind could think of, decided it was purely fun...
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Dr.Sprock
Boulder climber
Sprocketville
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Do you think we could train one of those baboons to clip biners?
What if you put up an FA with a baboon on lead, would it still count?
think of the rescue possibilities, a baboon could sprint up the nose with a bivy bag and food in nuthin flat.
way cheaper than a chopper, and if he falls, just get another one.
but he wont fall.
do you think we could train an orangatan to do that?
that would be the next logical step, it could haul the pig up the death slabs and sh#t.
The route map of El Cap would be solid red if you could import one of those trickass monkeys.
Some of those furry guys on the rock look like some freaks I saw in some old C4 photos.
I like the big guy at about 2:17 into the movie, he has to "wind up" a bit for the semi sideways dyno crux move, too much!
these guys look like they are skipping up the rocks, un real.
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - May 3, 2009 - 02:42pm PT
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Sprocky,
In all seriousness, we probably could train some baboons to lead climb, clip in and stuff. I don’t know about anchoring and belaying a second however, imagine.... what happens if they won’t stay on task while you’re following some hideous thing they totally fired and owned? Plus belay anchors?? They couldn't be bothered with them I bet. In all likeliness, they would also break down conditions and just effing lieback all the offwidths since heel-and-toe isn’t really available to them, at least in the size range we use it in. Plus it would be more natural for them and probably mostly like walking.
What would happen if you pissed it off too!! Holy Mother, imagine getting bitten by your leader---they have 2" incisors! Worse than belaying Kor or Sacherer in the old days. You know they would hog all the food and water too and there would be nothing you could do about it.
Here is a youtube of another group at about 9000 ft elevation in Ethiopia, different area, working moves in a group, eventually the adult overlaps the stalled-out inexperienced one and gnarls it for hesitating so long, moving up and owning the moves to finish out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tg65zn1XdNc&feature=related
check this last one out: here we have Geladas (closely related to baboons) in a giant troop, sometimes they exceed groups of 800. This particular version of baboon eats only grass. It is in this video that the narrator states they have the strongest fingers of any primate. This means of course, strength-to-weight since gorillas can weigh over 450 lbs. This group also climbing.
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - May 3, 2009 - 05:32pm PT
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Pate,
No wonder they are free-soloing; they're so bad-ass no one will date them. Do you have any bite-marks?
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Dr.Sprock
Boulder climber
Sprocketville
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You would not need any food or water with a baboon on lead.
He would top out so quick, you might want to leave him a cold beer while you spen the rest of the day jugging up the 1000 feet of 8mm line.
You could use static line, because baboons can take just about any fall factor.
I think a Misty Cadillac, the older ones of course, he would tear up a new one, would fit one of those guys just perfect. Pimp the guy out in hot pink, so the El Cap guy does not complain.
I will go against the Hubers And Hans and Frans in a speed climb up the nose if you give me Sparky on lead.
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jbar
Social climber
urasymptote
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Cool vid. Wonder wat the rating of that climb is. I bet the two males got into a fight over who claimed the FA
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MisterE
Trad climber
One Step Beyond!
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That's damn funny Pate
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Eric Beck
Sport climber
Bishop, California
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Thank you Peter
Some of the most amazing climbing footage ever. I have sent this to many of our friends. We feel a kinship with baboons as we were in Africa for 5 weeks a few years ago.
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 16, 2010 - 11:10am PT
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Bumpage for newcomers
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justthemaid
climber
Jim Henson's Basement
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Dec 16, 2010 - 11:38am PT
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cool vid. Thanks Peter.
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TomCochrane
Trad climber
Santa Cruz Mountains and Monterey Bay
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Dec 16, 2010 - 11:47am PT
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we didn't evolve from apes
we ARE apes
apes are people, too
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 16, 2010 - 11:56am PT
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True Tom. They are Fur People.
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Port
Trad climber
San Diego
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Dec 16, 2010 - 12:13pm PT
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naked freesolo huh? perfect style?
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 6, 2011 - 02:14am PT
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bumping this very fun thread.
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PhilG
Trad climber
The Circuit, Tonasket WA
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Great post, Peter. As a student of anthropology, I think it's interesting to contemplate how the first baboon got the idea to climb that rock.
Also, I have to agree with above comment. Kind of reminds me of some of the guys I climbed with in the 70's!
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this just in
climber
north fork
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Cool video- the baboon parts anyway. I've seen chipmunks do some pretty proud solos then turn around and down climb face to the ground.
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