Climbing While Armed

This weekend, I fould a 22 caliber bullet (unfired) at the base of Blind Faith in Eldo. I usually carry a Glock 9mm (lighter) when I climb this route, and am locked and loaded prior to getting to the route, so I found this curious.

yes, indeed. the 9mm is a much better choice for personal defense while getting your traddy on.

Reminds me of a time we went for an overnighter at a place called Dragon's Tooth near Virginia Tech when I was in college there. Dragon's Tooth has some OK bouldering and it's a fun place just to hike in and camp. We ran into a couple of other backpackers one of whom was sporting a .357 on his waist. They were friendly enough so I asked him what was up with the pistol. "The Griz" was his rather somber reply. I learned that he wasn't joking despite the fact that grizzly bears have never lived in Virginia or any other east coast state. Yikes!

I feel you, NSFOD.

We've always carried loaded guns; from the snake hunting days out in the remote desert to the bottle digging days in seedy downtown areas in, and around LA, to runs to Stockton which I think was the worst of the worst; YIKES! The funny times we experienced; prostitutes that looked like they were working hard all night, with pimp in tow would ask us, "Watcha lookin fo?" Sometimes we would just ignore them, but if they were persistant, we'd reply, "Diggin for old bottles." They'd sometimes ask if they could watch, and we'd be like, "Uh, please don't." Because they were cracked out, they'd usually get restless, and walk off after a few minutes which was just fine. I miss those days. Boy, I have so many stories but I'll spare you climbers. Anyway, you'd be surprised on the number of clowns that will stumble upon you when in certain areas. A loaded gun is good pro.

My best hiking, and scrambling partner Nan-Cat carried her loaded 9mm in a waist pouch when we were scrambling which sometimes made me nervous when we were squeezing in chimneys. I think that was a bit overkill, but I can't blame her as she had worked as a prison guard for years and didn't trust anyone, not even those smelly climbers (as she'd call them) that we'd bump into in Red Rock. ; )

an armed society is a polite society.

I prefer climbing with a Machete. You don't run the risk of a mis-fire, and it is much more useful in those "time to cut the rope" scenarios.

what about a bolt-gun like sly stones? is it accurate enough 2 hold a decent group?

the ones I'm more concerned with are the guys that tell me to go ahead and try the gun..

I had a hiker story with the .357 in the splatte area. I may have already posted on this site -- told him to file the site off. he was puzzled.

45ACP for me. Thank you very much.

Wow, it never occured to me that I'd need to bring el pistola. Do you need a license to carry here? (I'm new in town) Anyone ever need to use it against something bigger than a rope-chewing chipmonk?

Richard Radcliffe wrote:Reminds me of a time we went for an overnighter at a place called Dragon's Tooth near Virginia Tech when I was in college there. Dragon's Tooth has some OK bouldering and it's a fun place just to hike in and camp. We ran into a couple of other backpackers one of whom was sporting a .357 on his waist. They were friendly enough so I asked him what was up with the pistol. "The Griz" was his rather somber reply. I learned that he wasn't joking despite the fact that grizzly bears have never lived in Virginia or any other east coast state. Yikes!

Ha ha, "the griz" at Dragon's Tooth! That's funny. I recently ran into a couple of armed dudes in fatigues at the McAfee's Knob trailhead (near Dragon's Tooth on the AT) who were getting ready to go hiking. I mentioned something about seeing a snake and they turned tail and headed for their car. What, you guns no worky against snakes?

DrCindie wrote:Wow, it never occured to me that I'd need to bring el pistola. Do you need a license to carry here? (I'm new in town) Anyone ever need to use it against something bigger than a rope-chewing chipmonk?

No prob. Eldo has a joint vehicle day pass/concealed firearm permit available at the self-serve station at the entrance. You just have to declare a valid reason for your need to carry on a climb. Some climbs are so notorious for needing self-protection (such as Bastille Crack) that the reason is self-evident and you just need to just write down the name of the route and that will be sufficient.

While you are climbing they do a Colo Bureau of Investigation background check on you. If you don't pass for some reason, then they put a ticket on your windshield, and you may have to appear in court to get it taken care of.

It's pretty casual, though.

Carrying a firearm is a standard deal here in the south when you climb. Most people have holsters custom sewn into there harness. I love shooting at bail biners. Firearms also help keep your butt safe from all the indiginous folks lurking in woods waiting to violate you.

"I said slack you knucklehead!" would be far more effective if you are pointing a .357 at your belayer.

Uh, Kateri, I hope I am not giving you any ideas....

Bolt choppers would be shooting out hangers with M40s...

I must admit I'm having a hard time differentiating those that have their tongue firmly planted in their cheek from those that don't.

Little known fact: it's legal in Texas to hunt wild hogs with fully automatic machine guns.

A note to any brand-new climbers: don't bring guns when you go climbing. Please.

Nate Oakes wrote:Little known fact: it's legal in Texas to hunt wild hogs with fully automatic machine guns.

Another little known fact: it is also legal in Texas for the blind to hunt.

I think that i would rather wear a bullet proof vest than carry a side arm while climbing. At Vedauwoo someone was using a machine gun nearby.

Another time at the Nautilus, locals were using shotguns. When I confronted them they said they were just target shooting, but once I heard a load go overhead.

On a long, long bouldering traverse on a Dakota hogback in Colorado, someone started shooting at me. They were a ways off, so I don't know what thier motive was.

Scott M. Mossman wrote:I must admit I'm having a hard time differentiating those that have their tongue firmly planted in their cheek from those that don't.

I was thinking the same thing. I really hope that there is more tongue and cheek than seriousness. I love the gun holster sewn onto the harness bit.

Kevin Friesen wrote: On a long, long bouldering traverse on a Dakota hogback in Colorado, someone started shooting at me. They were a ways off, so I don't know what thier motive was.

There is a shooting range there. Where were you bouldering? Of course, there's no excuse for shooting above the target range.