Rattlesnakes on Tahquitz?

Don't know if this was mentioned already, (we were in Idaho the last three+ months), but yesterday, we scrambled around on Tahquitz. Ran into couple of folks from Utah, who asked us about snakes...

They tried to start the Left Ski track and later Fingertrip, only to encounter several rattlers. Showed us pictures taken by their I-phone. Not just one snake, several on the ledges, lower down at or around these routes. 

From my experience, this is fairly new on Tahquitz, I know of couple sightings (over the years) on Suicide, but this is quite something. Just want to mention it as heads up guys...

Is this something unusual this summer? Any comments?

Alois Smrzwrote:

Don't know if this was mentioned already, (we were in Idaho the last three+ months), but yesterday, we scrambled around on Tahquitz. Ran into couple of folks from Utah, who asked us about snakes...

They tried to start the Left Ski track and later Fingertrip, only to encounter several rattlers. Showed us pictures taken by their I-phone. Not just one snake, several on the ledges, lower down at or around these routes. 

From my experience, this is fairly new on Tahquitz, I know of couple sightings (over the years) on Suicide, but this is quite something. Just want to mention it as heads up guys...

Is this something unusual this summer? Any comments?

Sure those pics weren’t of the lizards?

I get your "joke", but I wished it was lizards. There were several pictures of rattlers. The young couple was so concerned about this, they decided not to climb on that side of the rock.

Since so many people frequent that area of the rock, has anyone had similar experience lately?

Alois Smrzwrote:

I get your "joke", but I wished it was lizards. There were several pictures of rattlers. The young couple was so concerned about this, they decided not to climb on that side of the rock.

Since so many people frequent that area of the rock, has anyone had similar experience lately?

Not a joke, people commonly mistake lizards, that they can partially see, as snakes.

I have seen snakes around the base on almost all sides, so yes, pretty common but never on the actual climbing.

Young couple from Utah here. Fairly certain lizards don't mutilate chipmunks @Tradiban

Andy Stokelywrote:

Young couple from Utah here. Fairly certain lizards don't mutilate chipmunks @Tradiban

Whoa! That’s on climb??

Welcome to So Cal Andy!

Wow wa wee wow!

In a climbing context, I’ve only ever seen a rattler up close, at the base of reeds pinnacle. sacred the bajeezus out of me. Never in Tahquitz.

hopefully they don’t reclaim the rock from us. That’s too much spice for this spicy 5.6 trad dad.

Epic photo

Ya! There was at least one other one (maybe two) hunting in the rocks. We waited for about 90 minutes and they wouldn't leave, so we decided to bail. 

Whoa.  Pretty crazy.  My grandmother, who also warned me to 'watch out for snakes on the rocks', would feel very vindicated by this.  

Oh hey Andy.

Yeah I’ve seen a handful over the years. Saw one Saturday and it was cold out. Kinda weird.

Greg 

My partner almost stepped on one last month in the middle of the descent trail after it flattens out and is wrapping around the West side of the rock. 

I almost took a shit on a sleeping one around base of Whodunnit.

Hey Tradiban, you sure it wasn't a Lizard? 

I'd estimate I see a rattlesnake at Tahquitz about 1/3 of the time I'm there. Same at Suicide. That photo of one eating a chipmunk is awesome. 

looks more like a bull snake(?)  i gotta say though, the comments on flower about snakes striking out of the crack make me shit my britches a bit.  me no like...

i haven't seen any snakes at tahquitz, suicide, holcomb, keller peak, fairview dome, horsemans, jtree, corte, cajon, mission, woodson.  i haven't seen shit.  but i am always on red alert!

(edit) wait - did see a little bull snake crossing the road a year or two ago after driving down the road after hiking to the fire tower.

Alois Smrzwrote:

Hey Tradiban, you sure it wasn't a Lizard? 

Yes, it was coiled up and when my went to squat it lifted its head lethargicly (it was very cold in the morning) def a snake. My pucker was within a foot and I spotted it between my legs.

slimwrote:

i haven't seen any snakes at tahquitz, suicide, holcomb, keller peak, fairview dome, horsemans, jtree, corte, cajon, mission, woodson.  i haven't seen shit.  but i am always on red alert!

I see them everywhere.  Seen them at Lovers Leap, Yosemite Valley, The Happys, the ORG, Holcomb, Fairview Mountain, Joshua Tree, Red Rock, Mt. Lemmon and probably other places I'm forgetting right now.  My eyes are like laser sights on constant lookout for rattlesnakes and poison oak.

As I'm reading this thread, my cell phone buzzed in my pocket----I jumped!!!!!

The first buzzworm I ever touched was on Consolation. And on what was to me a very cold day. It was in the crack just above where Snakes on Everything takes off right.  That was prolly 1990!!! I realized then to be on the lookout, because snakes are on everything...

slimwrote:

looks more like a bull snake(?)  i gotta say though, the comments on flower about snakes striking out of the crack make me shit my britches a bit.  me no like...

i haven't seen any snakes at tahquitz, suicide, holcomb, keller peak, fairview dome, horsemans, jtree, corte, cajon, mission, woodson.  i haven't seen shit.  but i am always on red alert!

(edit) wait - did see a little bull snake crossing the road a year or two ago after driving down the road after hiking to the fire tower.

It was definitely a rattler (fairly certain it was a southern Pacific rattlesnake but I could be wrong). You can see it's rattle in this pic if you zoom in. 

Tradiban wrote:

There has to a word for spray that indicates how long one has been climbing.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m also guilty but it would be nice to have some slang for it.

Also, no one caught my “snake” joke earlier!?

haha, i was going to say you didn't see a snake, you saw a small earthworm.