The desert has been getting a bit of rain, which is kind of nice really. It forces you to take advantage of “plan b”. The 666 Clubhouse got its first route! This cave has very cool and very solid features in the ceiling. Stalactites, balls and tufas. I would say the first line is roughly 7c or so… but we will see…. I am just happy I got it started. There are PLENNNTY more to go up.
A little rainy day antics.
I know the VRG is one of the most annoying place you could ever climb. Its pretty pitiful that this is an actual destination for the USA. The highway is right there, the hang is pretty getto, but the climbing is some of the best in the country. I have been stoked on taking Pete to the various cliffs in the area and showing him what we got.
The VRG was a good idea, Pete got stoked on Horse Latitudes, 8b+. Isaac did laps on all the lower-end routes in his sneakers, and I hooked up Don’t Call Me Dude 8a+ 2nd go. I liked this route in particular because you don’t have any horrendous slab endings. I don’t know why I find that stuff so unpleasant but the slab routes at the VRG suck to me. It’s as if you do a move, then you just stand there, you do a move with shit feet and then you are standing again. LAME! I think its just me really… everyone else seems to love that stuff. Its barely “climbing” if you ask me. HA!
Clay Cahoun on Horse Latitudes 8b+
Isaac
Yesterday up at the Hurricave the bees next to my current project were going nuts! The warm conditions had them awake and full of energy. Needless to say the project was out of commission. This bee’s nest is the africanized bee that is also called the “Killer Bee”. I have been trying this goofy line for the past 2 years and each time I am ready to climb it the bees wake up and thats it! It’s pretty annoying but I think this year I will eradicate their asses. We have talked about this for two years as well and I gotta say… If they were gone and there was no danger in that cave, the better off everyone is. They have been known to kill horses in a swarm! Frightening. When it is cold however they are dormant and cannot physically move. That is when we will take action. Any suggestions or anyone have experience with this kind of situation?
You can see the beehive just behind me in the photo... its larger now.
I couldn’t climb so I did the next best thing. I ran down, charged my batteries, ran back up, and got busy on it! I bolted another line in the Hurricave. This one will be the best and the hardest…. I am SUPER psyched on this one. Stand by.
NEW line... VERY nice.
11 Comments
What about this?
Have camera dude on standby.
Spray bottle or super soaker filled with petrol.
Soak entire nest.
Flaming rag on a huge stick.
Bye bees.
DANG RIGHT!
Joe - I just asked one of my friends in entomology and she said use a product called “sevin”. i guess you can get it at the hardware store. it’s a powder, and it’s supposed to be effective for big nests and ground bees - they carry the stuff in to the nest and then all die.
thanks for the tip about black and tan. re: sniffing glue - how does it stack up against grading around NE (rumney, shagg)? i want to get on something hard, but no so bad i can’t make some legit attempts at in 1 week.
BURN ‘EM OUT JOE!!!!!!
Keith… Thank you for that info. I guess the only challenge now will be how to get it into a hive that is in a roof of stone. I will try this for sure. As far as the grades go at b&t. They are similar to Rumney routes. I think thats why I liked them originally…. The must do’s are. Smoking Drum, Sniffing Glue, Minus 5, and Old World Luluby. Have a great time man.. maybe see you out there.
Before you go around killing bees, read this:
http://www.fourthbranchofamerica.com/Importanceofbees.shtml
sweet. we’ll be headed out march 5 through the 13th. i remember climbing with you at shagg a couple years back. that place is still the bomb as far as i’m concerned.
happy bolting.
@ Mark: he’s not talking about honey bees, so the article is of no relevance…
For sure. They are not honey bees by any means.
Don’t use fire … it only makes them madder. There are foam spray products that kill nests instantly … The other option is to go up there in a bee suit, and stick your hand in the hive and find the queen bee. Move her ass out of the nest, and the bees won’t know what to do
re:andrew bisharat’s comment - if you do that, take video!