wasp or hornet nest in st andrews

[Nihoa]

there was a wasp or hornet nest (i didnt take the time to ask which) on the farthest right new route behind the big boulder up around the 4th bolt in a deep pocket. i dunno how i didnt get stung after sticking my hand in it but anyway. in the end i grabbed it and ripped it out but that doesnt mean they wont try to rebuild, take a peek in before jamming your hand in that pocket.

if the location wasnt clear this was the second route right of the big corner crack behind the big boulder. the pocket is the hold you reach for with a right hand after grabbing a sharp fin out left and you are moving up a sort of block, its the only deep pocket on the route and i think it was the 4th bolt but i dont remember.

markus

[Adam]

yup that's gusher.

jones and i actually climbed that route twice on toprope while cleaning before noticing the nest. i don't know how we didn't stick our hand in there but we got lucky. we then proceeded to play a game of 'shove the scrubbing brush in the hole and kill as many as you can then lower off REAAALLY fast and hope you don't get stung'. it was a lively game and we managed to pull off a flawless victory. 1 dozen dead hornets, no stings...

glad you didn't get stung... looks like it is prime hornet real estate.

didja get on scurvy?

[Nihoa]

nah, the rock was pretty slimy wet and i was worried if i didnt get up it i wouldnt get my gear off. ill give it a go next time.

[Adam]

well, rodney and i were there on the weekend and the hornet is still there. however it looks like it's just the queen (or whatever the hornet equivalent is) and she doesn't want to go anywhere. she was staying put on the nest and buzzing like crazy to try and scare us.

to climb past both rodney and i stuffed our chalk balls in the hole lol... but when i rapped off i took some grass/soil and filled the hole in. so either i plugged it so they won't want to nest there, or i've merely made the pocket more secure for them and there will be more in the coming weeks lol

oh, and we got on scurvy too on sunday evening after it had rained. gusher was too wet to lead (my feet would *NOT* smear without coming off)... but surprisingly scurvy was dry enough (though the traverse at the top was wet so i french-freed the last section to get up to the anchor). gotta say, what a WICKED route!!! i know i'm biased, but still!