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caughtinside
Feb 14, 2006, 6:09 PM
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Greetings all!
One of the neat things about climbing is the size of the community. If you climb often enough (ie, a 'Real Climber' durrrr), you keep running into the same people over and over.
I was cragging at Church Bowl in Yosemite on Sunday, and stopped to chat with a nearby party who was aiding Church Bowl Tree. I knew I had seen one of them somewhere before, and after a few moments I'd figured it out. He was in one of the parties I had bumped into on Matthes Crest in Tuolumne the season before.
http://www.rockclimbing.com/...p.cgi?Detailed=58354
I'm sure this link won't work. But if it does, photo cred and cred for putting up with my nonsense to davidji
Now, Matthes Crest has been one of the highlights of my climbing career. Just a super fun route, a mile long traverse with a sheer drop off on both sides. A long day in the backcountry.
So I said something. "Hey, I saw you on Matthes Crest last summer."
His response? "Yeah, in July? Oh yeah... I remember you. Was it you or your partner who had to take a dump?"
I was crestfallen. I thought about blaming my partner, but that just wouldn't be right. Miserably, I fessed up.
"That was me."
Man I was bummed. Sure, I had to drop a dookie, I was at DefCon 5 out there! But on such an incredible route on a sunny day, after chatting for just a few minutes, this guy remembers a dump I took 8 months ago. Beautiful memory tarnished.
In my defense, I'd like to point out here that I downclimbed off the route a ways, buried the evidence, and burned the TP. No one is going to find that deuce unless they're looking for it.
Definitely, a Low Moment in Trad Climbing History.
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maldaly
Feb 14, 2006, 6:50 PM
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As climbers we need to accept the fact the there are way more of us out there than the resource can handle and start carrying WAG Bags. They're basically one-shot poop-tubes and will keep the shit off the rocks and the rangers off our backs.
Mal
http://www.wagbags.com
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fishbelly
Feb 14, 2006, 6:51 PM
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That stinks
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davidji
Feb 14, 2006, 8:14 PM
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In reply to: I was cragging at Church Bowl in Yosemite on Sunday, and stopped to chat with a nearby party who was aiding Church Bowl Tree. I knew I had seen one of them somewhere before, and after a few moments I'd figured it out. He was in one of the parties I had bumped into on Matthes Crest in Tuolumne the season before. http://www.rockclimbing.com/...p.cgi?Detailed=58354 I'm sure this link won't work. But if it does, photo cred and cred for putting up with my nonsense to davidji
That was a great day on the rock. Seemed like so much terrain zipped by. Small world that day too: On the approach to Tenaya Peak that morning we passed by my friend Roger.
Burying the feces & burning the paper is probably OK in that case, since you did go way down below the route and found dirt. A lot of the time when I dig a hole, I find someone else's paper there. When I've been climbing I've always burned or packed the paper out.
I think Malcom is right though. There are definitely times when you can't get to an appropriate place to dig, and judging by how often I find old TP, the good places are often overused. Also we hear the occasional stories of people "frosting the rock" on popular climbs.
Edited for clarity.
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strongerthanyesterday
Feb 14, 2006, 8:22 PM
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it sounds like you guys have had some good trips despite those moments.
please don't hate me for butting in, but just wanted to comment on the TP: there are so many people out there now it's really best to pack out your TP. i do. like davidji said, there's a ton of it in the ground already. plus, it's slow to decompose, and animals often dig it up.
for more on minimum impact techniques visit lnt.org
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caughtinside
Feb 14, 2006, 8:37 PM
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In reply to: please don't hate me for butting in, but just wanted to comment on the TP: there are so many people out there now it's really best to pack out your TP. i do. like davidji said, there's a ton of it in the ground already. plus, it's slow to decompose, and animals often dig it up.
I prefer to burn it. Takes 30 seconds, and then you don't have to carry it. Gotta be really careful though.
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strongerthanyesterday
Feb 14, 2006, 8:41 PM
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yeah, i agree that starting a forest fire would be the main concern with that, especially since, as one of my profs puts it, the Sierra is "like a tinderbox" since in the past they didn't let fires burn themselves out. it just concerns me that some folks may not pay careful attention the way that you do.
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davidji
Feb 14, 2006, 8:47 PM
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In reply to: please don't hate me for butting in, but just wanted to comment on the TP: there are so many people out there now it's really best to pack out your TP. i do. like davidji said, there's a ton of it in the ground already. plus, it's slow to decompose, and animals often dig it up.
Not in favor of burying the paper. It's very common, but I think it's a bad practice. Like you said, it stays around a long time. Burying the feces is OK to a point, but there are issues there too. Overuse, proximity to water, and proximity to trails or routes come to mind. I expect there are others.
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slavetogravity
Feb 15, 2006, 4:38 AM
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Registered: Jan 9, 2003
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In reply to: His response? "Yeah, in July? Oh yeah... I remember you. Was it you or your partner who had to take a dump?" I was crestfallen. I thought about blaming my partner, but that just wouldn't be right. Miserably, I fessed up. "That was me." Definitely, a Low Moment in Trad Climbing History.
Oh I wouldn't be so quick to say that.
I think it says a lot about our community and the comradery between climbers that are willing to tolerate each others most intimate necessities.
Where else can two men be standing side by side, and have one accidentally urinate on the others shoe, and the only response be.
Climber one "Sorry buddy." Climber two "No problem bro."
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bloodyhands
Feb 15, 2006, 4:57 AM
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Registered: Nov 29, 2005
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I got to give you double props for fessing up to the climbers and posting the story. As for the deed itself, dogs poop all the time, and it doesn't piss anyone off if as long as it's cleaned up. You cleaned it up (and I assume, didn't get any on the rock) so no fowl.
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