Snakes in cracks???

I was climbing today in the Sandias on Clandestine Wall.
About 2/3rd's up on Skinwalker, which is about the most sustained part of the climb I tried to place a blue TCU in the narrow finger-crack. I heard a loud hissing sound from within the crack. My first thought was 'OMG a snake'. I freaked out a little, but since there was no good rest to downclimb to I hung on. The cam was not good so reset it a bit. Again a loud hissing.
Now my belayer, 90 feet below me, was shouting up 'Oh my god is there a rattlesnake up there?' Now the next move required my fingers jamming the crack about 5 inches above the cam. I could see a little bit into the crack but couldn't find anything, so I did the jam. Again hissing. I did the move and gained a jug. I calmed myself a bit telling myself it could have been another animal and finished the climb.

At home I could not find any other animal here in the sandias that makes a hissing sound.
As I said before this part of the climb was a finger-crack and steep. The whole climb spots no ledges. Furthermore the top of the climb is guarded by a roof. So it seems very improbable that snake would make it in there.

Has anyone ever had or heard of a similar experience?

I'm not sure if you have them in the Sandias, but at Pinnacle Peak and the McDowell Mtns here in AZ we have Chuckwalla Lizards that frequent cracks. They will generally hiss at you when you climb up to and pass them. First time I encountered one was on a finger crack. It didn't hiss at me until I touched it's tail.This wasn't intentional as I had no idea it was there until I touched it. Kind of freaked me out as I thought it was a snake. They can be pretty big and the way they squeeze into smaller areas is pretty incredible. Good luck figuring it out!

Yep. Bats!! They will hiss like crazy and creep you out a bit but there harmless. Unless you touch it and then you may get a little nip.
Regarding snakes high up in cracks, absolutely! They crawl up the crack hunting bats, lizards and mice.

Have had a couple of rattlesnake in crack episodes.
Was at some crag near Tahoe, a big boulder with routes, led a crack climb, heard some weird hissing noise, didn't think anything of it. Went to the other side of the boulder, did another climb and my belayer (wife) watched a snake slither into the crack below me! She wasn't thrilled to follow the route. Thought again about the weird rattling noise from the other side...

Another time we were at Bishop, (before anybody bouldered there) and there were a couple of steep crack climbs established on the bluff. I was TRing one, she was belaying me from above, can't remember why, and again, she saw a snake slither into the crack headed downhil towards me! Just calmly suggested I hurry up or lower down, didn't mention the reptile till I was up.

Also, as far as bat nips go, not benign at all. If you get bit and can't catch the bat for testing, you probably need rabies shots. A couple thousand bucks down the drain.

I thought about bats too. Just think that this particular section of the crack was too narrow for any, but then again I couldn't see deep into it.
There are several kinds of lizards in the sandias. Just have never heard of any hissing that loudly nor heard of any as big as Chuckwallas.
Also the crack does not connect to the ground so a snake would have to have gotten in trough the top.

All the time. Many species, three different continents. Rattlesnakes love cracks.

it was either a Skinwalker or a bat.

You would be surprised how small a crack they can get into...

I have encountered snakes a few times in cracks. Creepy for sure.

It is possible.
whodunit p3

Sounds like it's more like some sort of flying creature. A bat is a great guess; they can be pretty small.

I've also had swallows squawk at me too. But it's been more of a high pitched scream that a hiss.

I remember climbing in the Gunks a bunch of years ago in a party of three. I wasn't climbing or belaying. I got pretty bored so I started bouldering around the base of the crag. I was ~10' up when I pulled up on a horizontal and found myself face to face with a snake. Didn't even spend any time figuring out what kind. My instincts turned me 90 degrees and through me off the rock immediately. It was pretty spooky.

I've had a snake rattle at me at Tahquitz from inside a crack (I forget which route I was on), and I've had a lizard hiss at me at Mt. Roubidoux. At least the snake bothered to warn me before biting!

Willie Wilson wrote:It is possible. whodunit p3

I've run into (as in physically hand-jammed) a copperhead into a crack in Red River, 100' up a climb near a large ledge system. I was lucky it pinned him down and he couldn't get me right away... I moved as soon as I could but he was PISSED.

I have had bats in cracks before also. Very freaky having your mitts in the crack with squeaking chirping bats in there with you. I kept thinking they would fly out and go for my neck.Then I get rabies or become a palefaced vampire. Bonus is the crags are empty at night when vampires are out, no crowds.

THERE'S A MOTHER FUCKING SNAKE IN THE MOTHER FUCKING CRACK!