More Whips and Snakes Than an Indiana Jones Movie

Halfway up a dihedral, Kati stood to clip a bolt and came face to face with a baby rattlesnake, shaking its rattle like a Polaroid picture. She bailed on the climb and lowered down, noting “Tiny Angry Killer Rattlesnake” among the objective hazards in her topo. There’s still a quickdraw hanging on that climb, but to any pirate in search of booty: bring yer snake harpoon.

Group rope gun and snake charmer Brandon climbed hard over the weekend, even while wearing a silly hat. He sent more than a few 5.12’s, including Killer (5.12c), a Sinks classic. It was fun climbing with Brandon because it allowed me the opportunity to impress the locals with some top rope flailing. He also suggested some challenging leads so I could enjoy my fair share of sinus clearing whippers.

I was sitting in the shade on Sunday, kneading the lactic acid out of my forearms, when along came a snake. The following video needs no explanation. Except, perhaps, that Brandon is crazy.

showQTMovie( ‘/media/web08x/rb_snake_vid.mp4’, 480, 360);

I would like to put forth the motion that we rename the climbing area. “Snakes Canyon”, anyone?