Devil's Lake - Avoiding the Flying Death Squads

Sooooo I am allergic to bees. 

As a child I would swell up whenever I was stung. I haven't been stung in years with the last time being yellow jackets as a teen (I didnt need my Epipen/swell up outside of locally).

I carry an Epipen anyway and always tell my partners about all of this.  

But Devil's Lake rock this time of year in the sun is UNREAL. 

Don't get me wrong, I have shared more than a few ledges and holds with the angry beasts and they have always been docile enough to wait out/climb past. But this last week when I went up to the Devil's Doorway area to attempt Watermark, it was hard to see through the cloud of flying stingers and I just didn't feel comfortable with it for the first time. 

So I am kinda bummed that I let it get to me, but more to the point - I need some beta! 

tldr:

Where should i look into climbing at that will be shaded and not as attractive to the striped demons as those exposed faces that bask in the sun? 

My thoughts would be the West Bluff or the North Eastern Bluff area? - Anyone have any recommendations for climbs up in those directions?

Nice! Do you know if there are any concentrations of easy to moderate climbs along the west bluff? I have been loving the Balance Rock area recently and would love to find another small mini crag like that to hide out it when the bees come a buzzin..

Brian Carver wrote:
The best I ever found was the West Bluff. They stick to areas of the wall that are in the sunlight. Most of the lower parts of the crags on the West Bluff are in the shade so the bees tend to be higher up on the wall. I found that I was able climb on the north (left) side of the buttresses in the A.M. and then as the sun would come west I could slowly move to climbing on the south end. It doesn't seem like a legit method if you sit and think about it, but I found it to work very well. It does take some thorough planning ahead if you want to get in an efficient day of climbing. If I didn't feel like dealing with the headache I would just plan to climb btwn 4pm-8pm when the sun and temperatures were lower.

Cleo's Amphitheatre on the west bluff has some great climbs, and you can chase the shade to some extent. (For instance, King's Throne is east facing, so it's in the sun until late in the day, but once it goes into shadow, the yellow jackets move along pretty quickly.) Cleopatra's Needle has a number of lines up it, most of them 5.4. With it being a free-standing spire, I don't think it gets much bee traffic. Both times I've been up it, it was late in the day, and we didn't see any bees (even though we encountered many on the main bluff the same day).

The Railroad Tracks area on East bluff (including Railroad Amphitheatre and Birthday Rocks, etc.) also has some good options. The wall at RR amphitheatre faces west, and there's pretty good tree cover around, so you should be in pretty good shape for a large portion of the day. 

I second the suggestion to try Cleo's amphitheater. I'm not allergic but have been stung twice in Devil's lake by hornets and wasps, and the experience was very unpleasant. 

A small correction about the railroad amphitheater: it's facing west, meaning, afternoon it gets a lot of sun, although there are multiple trees around. The same goes for birthday rocks and horse rampart. Just last weekend we couldn't climb on horse due to swarms of hornets. 

You could also try pseudo-hawk's nest and hawk's nest on the East rampart - both areas are pretty shaded in the afternoon and I haven't seen hornets there. 

Maayan L wrote:

I second the suggestion to try Cleo's amphitheater. I'm not allergic but have been stung twice in Devil's lake by hornets and wasps, and the experience was very unpleasant. 

A small correction about the railroad amphitheater: it's facing west, meaning, afternoon it gets a lot of sun, although there are multiple trees around. The same goes for birthday rocks and horse rampart. Just last weekend we couldn't climb on horse due to swarms of hornets. 

You could also try pseudo-hawk's nest and hawk's nest on the East rampart - both areas are pretty shaded in the afternoon and I haven't seen hornets there. 

Oops, you're right, my mistake. I've corrected my typo.

Get up early (it's colder in the morning) and manage your east/west aspect. Even the East Rampart can be fine if you chase the shade to the shadier side of the buttresses or get there at sunrise.

I can report that until noon the Balance Rock area is BEE FREE! Even at that point we were just starting to see a few here and there - not the swarms that are around come 2pm. I am planning on checking out Cleo's next time!

Thanks for all the suggestions! 

I can't say I've seen a large number of bees/wasps/hornets on the bluffs but I will say that when the sun hits sandstone area they come out in force. At least they did last year. Perhaps that has changed. 

It isn't useful now, but you can laugh in the face of bees without risk if you just wait for winter.

I was just up at Balanced Rock Wall on my lunch break and the 58 degree temps, with overcast and windy conditions seems to have driven the cliff wasps mostly away. I did see a few rather lethargic guys hanging out near the top of Box Top, but that was it.

James Schroeder wrote:

I was just up at Balanced Rock Wall on my lunch break and the 58 degree temps, with overcast and windy conditions seems to have driven the cliff wasps mostly away. I did see a few rather lethargic guys hanging out near the top of Box Top, but that was it.

Lethargic ones, I can handle.

Climbing on Bill's Buttress last year, we encountered a nest. I was the second to climb the route, and stopped well below the nest (about 6 feet away from it) to assess whether I could climb around it. As I was contemplating my options, I had one dive-bomb my face. I saw it coming, and batted it away before it had a chance to sting, but it definitely spiced things up a bit. That was the first (and so far only) time I dropped an F-bomb in my kids' presence.

The joys of DL.

I always climbed through them carefully, never stung. 

James Schroeder wrote:

I was just up at Balanced Rock Wall on my lunch break and the 58 degree temps, with overcast and windy conditions seems to have driven the cliff wasps mostly away. I did see a few rather lethargic guys hanging out near the top of Box Top, but that was it.

Lethargic ones, I can handle.

Last year, we were climbing on Bill's Buttress, and discovered a nest about 3/4 of the way up. My brother bailed when he got stung. I climbed second, and paused well below the nest (about 6 feet away) to assess whether I'd be able to climb around it. As I was considering my options, one of them dive-bombed my face from the entrance to the nest. I saw it coming, and was able to bat it away before it had a chance to sting, but it definitely spiced up the route. That was the first (and so far, only) time I dropped an F-bomb in my kid's presence.

Don’t be the first one to a crag.  I led Brinton’s on a weekday last summer and stirred up a huge swarm from the hand crack after the traverse.  Needless to say, leading it on gear while getting stung sucked!

Ted Pinson wrote:

Don’t be the first one to a crag.  I led Brinton’s on a weekday last summer and stirred up a huge swarm from the hand crack after the traverse.  Needless to say, leading it on gear while getting stung sucked!

It builds character though.

Your gonna have to deal with the bees.  I have come ace to face with wasp nests, anchoring on a tree with yellow jacket nest, climbing next to and with bees. Never have been stung.  All they do is dive bomb you. Just don't swat at them, you should be good.  Enjoy the fall climbing!

My experience is that they are mainly an issue in may and September and maybe early October. Never had much to trouble mid June-August or after it starts getting cool in the fall. 

During the spring and fall just chase the shade  

Andrew Krajnik wrote:

That was the first (and so far, only) time I dropped an F-bomb in my kid's presence.

They get used to it after a while

spoken like a proud parent 

We were at Misery Rocks area today and no bees at all

James Schroeder wrote:

It builds character though.

Haha.  Definitely made it a more exciting climb!