*** Confirmed owl nest discovered at North Shore... Likely imminent wall closure ***

[Matt Twyman]

All,

Today, a very large owl (4+ ft wingspan) dive bombed a climber while pulling the lip of the cave on Hill Country Hobo, a relatively new route on Insanity Wall at North Shore (see Austin Climbing Guidebook page 164, route is right of "Bulimia" & "Insane Tree Hugger").  The climber confirmed hearing owlets.

I strongly suspect much of Insanity Wall will be closed off until at least mid April when typical owl nesting season ends.

I am sorry to inform you of this so close to the Limestoner.  

Please take this not only as a request to avoid the route only to appease the county but also as a legitimate warning.  The climber involved is very experienced and well travelled and was rightly sketched out. The cave is much larger than the hole where the prior owl was seen on Lord of the Dance.  This is likely a mothering owl and possibly a Great Horned Owl, which are reportedly very aggressive when defending their young.  These aren't the cute little ones that just look at you.

I will update you when I have details on actual closures.

This is a very new thing for our community to be contending with and I foresee it becoming a regular seasonal occurrence.  It should be stressed again that this is another great opportunity for us to work with the county on an issue that is very important to them.  In my 23 years of climbing in central Texas, I have been stung by bees, bitten by squirrels, seen snakes in holes, had giant milipedes crawl out of a foot I'd just stuck my bare big toe into and almost bailed directly on top of a cotton mouth while pumped out of my mind on a DWS, but I have never heard of a climber encountering an owl like this.  The large holes & deep ledges in limestone offer great nests for these owls.  If anything, it's probably surprising that such encounters have not been reported before.  It behooves us to become comfortable with these events and associated temporary seasonal route closures.  This is part of the package we need to accept for the right to climb in a natural area.  Honestly, it's rather awesome that we share a crag with raptors.

Regards,

Matt Twyman

President, CTM

512.289.8357