Mountain Goat stories

Got any cool goat pics or stories?  

Last Friday my friend and I reached the base of Snowcreek Wall in Levenworth to climb Outer Space. This goat was maybe 20 ft away and staring intently downhill. We both got the feeling like he was protecting us… a hundred yards away a brown bear wandered out. That goat stood his ground staring down the bear and didn’t move until the bear wandered off.  

 

Finally figured out how to get into this thread

Evan Jones wrote:

Finally figured out how to get into this thread

How did you do it? please help, I don't want to miss out on the fun.

Great thread! We were at a crag where some goats were hanging around. One of them tried its best to sneak in stealth goat mode close to our stuff over a period of 10 minutes. It then finally took its chance and stole a banana peel which it promptly devoured. I was a little bit concerned First but apparently it’s fine. Watching this was priceless. 

I hereby summon fritz to this thread

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Not mountain goats but on a trip to Jerusalem I took I was able to heard sheep and goats! The sheep went where we wanted to but the goats were stuuuuubbbboooorrn!!!! Anyways here’s a picture of a baby goat to compliment the story.

Russell Springer wrote:

….Anyways here’s a picture of a baby goat to compliment the story.

Looks like a baby sheep, not goat.  But either way, proof that not all babies are cute.

Coming down from a climb in Switzerland once, I was almost pushed off a cliff by a herd of sheep that was determined to not yield on the path.  That would definitely be an inglorious end for a climber.  Killed by sheep on the descent.  

Click on the name of the last person to reply on the Latest Forum Posts page.

Sorry for the title cluster… Apparently you can’t put Goat emoji in the header of a MP thread.  Lol. 

Way back before I started climbing, my dad and uncles and I climbed the east ridge of quandary.  due to poor routefinding, we got stuck between going back down before the summit (for a planned walk down the easy way) and a difficult and exposed icy traverse. We were planning to turn back when some dudes came by who showed us the way back to the ridge. They went ahead, and when we got to the summit we looked to thank them.  But, no one up there had seen them.  Many people had been there for a while, so we figured these people must’ve been spirits sent to guide us to the summit.  That day was so awesome, I think it led me to become a rock climber.  

In case this thread is about goat stories only:

My uncles got stoned on top, and on the way down were gawking at every mountain goat we passed

I have topped outer space out and come face to face with a goat.  I wonder if it’s the same guy?

Even without a title this is a way better thread than the free solo with a rope thread!

Princess Puppy Lovr wrote:

Even without a title this is a way better thread than the free solo with a rope thread!

Yeah. What idiot created that one?

Pete S wrote:

Sorry for the title cluster… Apparently you can’t put Goat emoji in the header of a MP thread.  Lol. 

As the OP you can go back and edit the thread title (meaning give it an actual title) so that it's clickable on the front page.

This season in Rocky Mountain National Park, myself and two others rapped down to the base after climbing the Petit Grepon, when an "invasive species" (to RMNP) rushed over to us.  Very curious and albeit friendly, the goat followed us around while we packed up, then continued to follow-us out for 45 minutes until eventually losing interest.  A rare/beautiful sighting in RMNP.

Climbing up in Teton Canyon 10 or 12 years ago we ran into some unruly goats who successfully kicked us off of their mountain. My wife and I were climbing some moderate adventuring route up there, and about a hundred feet up I started get showered by bits of rock occasionally. I was extremely worried that we had inadvertently started climbing below an unstable bit of cliff, and I made haste to a ledge that was just above me so I could rap off of a tree. As soon as I reached the ledge, I spotted a family of goats w/ kids that was another 20 feet or so up on a ledge above me. One of them was standing right at the edge, watching me, and periodically stomping its feet and sending the rocks down. I was both incredibly relieved that we weren't in immediate danger and also in awe by getting to hang out so close to them. We nabbed some picks that I'll have to dig out and then rapped down. My wife brings it up every now and then as one of our more memorable moments climbing

Another Leavenworth-adjacent story:

First time climbing Acid Baby, and I was leading the final pitch across the knife edge. Partner was well below, out of sight and sound. Part way across the hand traverse I get a nosebleed and have nothing else to do other than wipe the blood with my arm. It was a gusher. Blood all over my face. Total mess. Now to the goat part.

The point where the knife edge intersects the ridge and walk off was guarded by a big, mean looking old mountain goat. White beard and all, he was Gandalf and I was his balrog and he shall not let me pass. A whip into the fiery depths of Moria awaited me should he strike. I kept trying to climb closer; he would respond by lowering his horns and digging at the ground and not budging. 

I hung out on the knife edge for a long time, yelling to both the goat and my partner (who had no clue why I was taking so long and couldn't hear me anyway). Eventually the goat yielded enough that I could gain the ledge, build a belay and bring my partner up. The goat wasn't moving that far away, though, so I was preparing with the only self defense tactic I could: collecting sharp, hefty, aerodynamic rocks to start chucking should he continue to come closer.

He didn't, but I'd like to think my partner got a pretty funny image as he crested the knife edge muttering "what the fuck" when saw me, face and arm covered in blood, wielding a rock and having a staredown at high noon on a ledge with the big ass Billy. 

Hope you weren't expecting a dramatic climax to this tale. He probably just wanted to drink our piss.

^^^

Great story, Matthew!

Before the Enchantment permit season was extended, I would often go up there early season and camp out and climb Prussik Peak. One day camping by a lake in the core zone, a nice female goat became interested in us and spend the whole afternoon very close and enjoyed drinking our pee. As darkness closed in, the goat that we had named Jodie the goaty remained by our camp and we all had a good nights sleep. 

Early in the morning I woke up with the need to take a pee. I got out of my tent and walked a short ways away from our campsite and began taking a pee. I noticed many more goats had surrounded our camp, but I was used to seeing them so I thought nothing of it. Luckily my buddy Phin was awake, because all of a sudden he yelled "Look out!" and I turned around right as a male goat was charging me. I quickly turned around and lifted on leg up to take the impact and its horn went right into my leg! I charged at the goat screaming like a monster and started throwing rocks at it. I kinda wanted to kill the thing to be quite honest. After chasing it off, I realized that I had been punctured by something that spends most of the day rolling in its own shit.... Luckily my wife had a small first aid kit with alcohol wipes. I rolled one of the wipes up and inserted it into the puncture wound. 

We decided to still climb the south face that day and miraculously I did not get an infection from the goat horn.