My son is doing a science project on marmots and we still cannot figure out what these marmots eat on top of peaks such as Long's and Massive.

Anybody have a clue? I wondered this for years ...

Kevin

Pop Tarts. I was descending from Keyhole Ridge and found a marmot in the Keyhole shelter munching away on 2 individual packs of Pop Tarts. Another marmot thought he'd have a bite, and this guy went crazy vicious.

in all his glory Submitted By: rangerdrew on Feb 3, 2011

^^^ That's freaking awesome! Watch your stuff. The real question is what did they eat before we started feeding them...

He deserved it, or rather, you did, for letting him feed a marmot. Just saying!...How were the rabies shots?

Packs, boots, trekking pole handles, trail mix, etc...

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Marmots mainly eat greens and many types of grasses, berries, lichens, mosses, roots, and flowers.-Wikipedia

Way to go Phil, ruining a good thread with the actual answer.

Unattended backpacks

marmot damage Submitted By: Mitch Musci on Feb 4, 2011

They eat everything... And I mean just about everything.
During a bivy last summer at Chasm Lake, at night not a foot away from our heads they ate my hat except for the bill, they nibbled on the cork from my partners trekking poles, and they ate some of the cloth from my pole straps as well. But mainly my hat.. it was pretty much completely gone

I once left a Camel straight unattended for a second on a small rock as I packing a haul bag at the bivi under Mt. Alice..... yup he got it and seemed fine for it after ingesting it in a single gulp. They really like sweaty tee shirts too.

I wonder how much our intrusion in to the high peaks has impacted their ecosystems.

I mean they eat ANYTHING you have, even if you are mid-blink.

I laid down to take a nap on the summit of Long's one morning, hands behind my head, hat pulled down. As I was drifting into mid-dreamland, I could feel this strange sensation, like something was nibbling on my watch band. I jolted upright with a loud yalping sound, the little thief scampered away. Everybody on the summit was looking at me and laughing. I like to imagine this marmot's dwelling, filled with watches and other booty.

Side note: I've heard they will lap up our urine because their environment doesn't contain the essential nutrients and vitamins.

I wonder if putting a piece of a salt lick block next to your pack would lead them away from pack damage? Would the NP wildlife bioligists agree with such a tactic (if it would work)?

I think it's sort of comical to see them licking the human cut rocks at the tourist overlooks on Trail ridge in the Spring.Apparently the (relatively) fresh cuts on the rocks make mineral salts more plentiful,as well as providing a more easily lickable surface.
As Kyle Copeland said,"If you can't love a rock,what can you love?".

I've seen them eat lead


no wait, I didn't see anything

So, I apologize for dropping some dry, humorless knowledge bombs here, but Marmots probably forage mainly on the native species Alpine avens i.e., Dryas octopetala and Kings Crown, i.e., Rhodiola integrifolia. At least those are the 2 dominant species ive seen while hanging around on Broadway and Table Ledge. This is of course not their preferred diet these days which consists of destroying any and all sweat/salt incrusted gear available. My nice pack aint so nice anymore. Bastards.

Anyway, both species have info readily available on Wikipedia, although Im pretty sure his teacher will flip if he uses wikipedia as a primary source. Maybe just say you heard this from a park ecologist who happens to be a climber, which would MASSIVELY inflate my seasonal job status in RMNP, but what the hell, right??

Rappel Anchors...and everything else. Sorry, i don't have a real answer.

The really crazy critter is the glacial worm. They burrow through ice like normal worms go through dirt. They will overheat and die it you touch them, and their bodies have a type of chemical in them that keeps them from freezing.

They eat pollen and spores that blow onto the ice from the vegetaion below.

Evan

Marmots love Graham Crackers and singing~!

Graham cracker feasting mini-bear. Submitted By: Dave Hurst on Feb 4, 2011

Is the apple on a stick overhanging a boulder just out of reach, all that evil??

I THINK NOT!!!

I have seen a marmot just get their ass flat out smackdown-kicked by another marmot.

I still get chills at the screams.

They ate the rubber grips off my trekking poles in RMNP.

They're damn lucky they're cute.

I had a group run interference on me while backpacking in the Mummy Range. Had four in my campsite. While I would shoo them away, they would take turns munching on the leather band on the inside of my climbing helmet.