So you're at the crag when someone shows up with a drone and begins flying it near you. Does this bug you? What do you do?

After enjoying the beach one day, I walked back to the car, and hidden between the dune and the car, changed out of my wet shorts and took a leak.  Mid stream I hear that faint buzzing of a drone.  I look straight up and see a drone maybe 100' above me.  Fuckin' kooks and their drones spying on me while I change and take a leak...   Never been a big fan of them despite their potential 'sick footy'.  

When we got married, we heard a rumor that one of our guests was planning to bring one.  My wife and I both find them to inhibit privacy and the outdoor experience in general.  We actually had to include a note in our wedding info page that we didn't want drones buzzing our guests.  Some people really don't get what the issue is.  It's like a giant mosquito that steals your peace instead of your blood.  

PS I wouldn't waste a QD on taking a drone down, but one of those old hand tied over the shoulder slings would do the trick.

TBlom wrote:

After enjoying the beach one day, I walked back to the car, and hidden between the dune and the car, changed out of my wet shorts and took a leak.  Mid stream I hear that faint buzzing of a drone.  I look straight up and see a drone maybe 100' above me.  Fuckin' kooks and their drones spying on me while I change and take a leak...   Never been a big fan of them despite their potential 'sick footy'.  

When we got married, we heard a rumor that one of our guests was planning to bring one.  My wife and I both find them to inhibit privacy and the outdoor experience in general.  We actually had to include a note in our wedding info page that we didn't want drones buzzing our guests.  Some people really don't get what the issue is.  It's like a giant mosquito that steals your peace instead of your blood.  

PS I wouldn't waste a QD on taking a drone down, but one of those old hand tied over the shoulder slings would do the trick.

If that drone could see your dick from 100' I would take that as a HUGE compliment. 

99 percent of the drones up there do not have mechanical zooms and they have wide angle cameras. Your penis was around 0.004 pixels small. 

We can't ban what we don't like there are more people following the rules then breaking them when it comes to drones for those annoying ones FAA fines are big enough that they won't do it again every drone has a flight log you can't alter so there is no problem if someones flying recklessly report them or don't unless it poses a direct threat to you that will be dependent on the situation. I mean we all want epic pics and video while we are sending

Nathan M wrote:

We can't ban what we don't like there are more people following the rules then breaking them when it comes to drones for those annoying ones FAA fines are big enough that they won't do it again every drone has a flight log you can't alter so there is no problem if someones flying recklessly report them or don't unless it poses a direct threat to you that will be dependent on the situation. I mean we all want epic pics and video while we are sending

Nice image. Almost none of that applies in the US. 

Nathan M wrote:

We can't ban what we don't like there are more people following the rules then breaking them when it comes to drones for those annoying ones FAA fines are big enough that they won't do it again every drone has a flight log you can't alter so there is no problem if someones flying recklessly report them or don't unless it poses a direct threat to you that will be dependent on the situation. I mean we all want epic pics and video while we are sending

Trust me, everyone in this country is currently aware of this.

BigB wrote:

I will....They have the freedom to take that knee in protest because people who STAND for the national anthem died for their right to take that knee

I stood for the national anthem when I went to a Celtics game in May. Was unaware I've since been dead.

The problem is, these things are clearly becoming more and more popular. Unless people take a stand and have discussions with the operators, this bullshit will be happening every time we go to any crag. 

 I find it difficult to understand how drone operators do not understand how creepy and intrusive operating one of these things around others is, especially without consent.

It’s like a very loud weedwacker/swarm of bees and is very distracting while on lead. Since the noise is constant and not variable like a dirt bike, it is even more annoying, by a lot. 

Also, I don’t want to be filmed without my permission by someone in an undisclosed location. How would you feel if I walked up to you with my cellphone filming and just kept filming you and walking around you. All the while farting ridiculously.  Wouldn’t that be weird?

I really dislike these things and really don’t care about the absolutely amazing footage due to the intrusiveness of the process...

Take em out!!!!

wankel7 wrote:

If that drone could see your dick from 100' I would take that as a HUGE compliment. 

99 percent of the drones up there do not have mechanical zooms and they have wide angle cameras. Your penis was around 0.004 pixels small. 

are you calling out my micropenis?

Mark Waterous wrote:

You don't think a piece of metal capable of sustaining a 26kn force would win against drone blades? Birds can take down jet engines, for scale.

Sure, but... the birds don't tend to survive those encounters either. 

It depends. I was soling a few months ago and got buzzed by a drone. it gave me a bit of a scare. initially i gave it the finger but then i wanted the pictures......  Last summer Isa and I were swimming in the saco river after climbing. a drone came and hovered right over us for about 30sec while we were skinny dipping. would gladly have shot that one down.

I am ok with the idea of an official photo shoot but that obviously needs to be limited.  random drones are creepy as Fck.

Em Cos wrote:

Sure, but... the birds don't tend to survive those encounters either. 

I mean, there's always hope right?

*feathers explode in all directions*

Birds don't need all their feathers, it could be alright.

*engine lights on fire*

I'm just going to look out the other window.

Mark Waterous wrote:

I mean, there's always hope right?

*feathers explode in all directions*

Birds don't need all their feathers, it could be alright.

*engine lights on fire*

I'm just going to look out the other window.

Don't worry. The blades of the quadcopter will shatter on impact with a biner.

The few times a drone came by when I was climbing I thought it kept a "respectful" distance. It was clear that they were taking video of me. I might have been more bothered if it came closer. Would have liked a link to to the video.

Ralph Swansen wrote:

Also, I don’t want to be filmed without my permission by someone in an undisclosed location. How would you feel if I walked up to you with my cellphone filming and just kept filming you and walking around you. All the while farting ridiculously.  Wouldn’t that be weird?

Great analogy, but you need to wear a Guy Fawkes mask so that you're anonymous and creepy.

wankel7 wrote:

Who are you to judge my hobby? Who am I to judge your hobby?

Assuming say....National Forest.....it is a land of many uses. If you want to climb. Do it. If I want to ride my two stroke dirt bike and brap brap. I will do it. If I want to fly my powered parachute around. I can do that too. Just like I can fire up my drone and do that also. 

If you want a private place to pursue your hobby where YOU get to make the decisions....then buy your own land. But until then...realize that sacrifices must be made to enjoy public land. Sacrifices such as.....sharing. 

I don't understand the folks that would bring down  or destroy an annoyance to them. If the annoyance was a dirt bike doing laps around a crag would you go over and destroy / vandalize / assault the rider? 

Yes I would do exactly that to someone on a dirtbike. Fuck that shit. 

Personally, I'm with the firs two responders. Have a conversation. Ask for his email, give him yours, and get some sick footage! Let them know that getting whacked with one of those (it's happened) while climbing could be very dangerous. Ask him to be aware of climbers space. But ultimately unless it's illegal there, he's got a right to fly it. I'm not sure why people are so uppity and weird about them. They're pretty awesome bits of technology. There are a few schmucks flying them around but by and large they are piloted by people just like you and me, but with a safer hobby :)

Daniel Batson wrote:

I'm not sure why people are so uppity and weird about them. 

Really? Try going up to people having a picnic in a park and without asking for permission just walk in circles around them pointing a video camera at them. Or get up on a tall ladder and video tape your neighbor and his kids playing in their pool without permission. Both are legally your right to do. See how that goes and how people generally respond to anonymous, and/or intrusive cameras in their life.

AndrewArroz wrote:

Really? Try going up to people having a picnic in a park and without asking for permission just walk in circles around them pointing a video camera at them. Or get up on a tall ladder and video tape your neighbor and his kids playing in their pool without permission. Both are legally your right to do. See how that goes and how people generally respond to anonymous, and/or intrusive cameras in their life.

Especially when some of them are marketed as "spy drones".

https://www.amazon.com/Striker-2-4GHz-4-5CH-Spy-Drone/dp/B00X6FMZTU