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Chockstone Forum - General Discussion

General Climbing Discussion

 Page 1 of 2. Messages 1 to 20 | 21 to 24
Author
Weird black tar poo stuff at Araps...

Timfreddo
11-Apr-2014
3:49:44 PM
Anyone know what this gross substance is? Tends to lurk in deep cave type breaks around Araps..
Ithomas
11-Apr-2014
4:02:09 PM
It's almost certainly a substance formed by marsupials pissing on their own droppings. It's actually very interesting and I would be very happy if you could tell me the location of any deposits. Before it sets, it acts as a trap for pollen and spores floating about in the atmosphere. Animals such as possums and wallabies tend to utilize the same spot for defaecation for quite some years and then abandon the place in favour of another. By radio carbon dating many deposits it's possible to build up a little picture of ecological change over even thousands of years. Similar stuff deposited by Hyrax in South Africa has been used very successfully to understand local plant community changes over quite long periods of time. Interesting? Shit yeah!

Crushed Lollypop
11-Apr-2014
4:10:12 PM
I came across a large (very large) amount of this stuff on the second pitch of Bard last weekend. It was right where you need to stick your head and shoulders in to the horizontal crack for the traverse.
climberman
11-Apr-2014
4:35:06 PM
Shit, palynlogy geekism!

stick nest rats nests are used similarly.

I stuck with the traditional bogs.
Ithomas
11-Apr-2014
4:41:47 PM
I remember that deposit. Sometimes it may be small marsupials who start the deposit, sometimes big ones. Quite often they are abandoned and may have been for centuries. There are some spectacular, almost stalagmitic deposits of the black material in the Buyaduk lava tubes down near Warnambool and plenty over in the Buchan Caves as well. Often you can see polished rock, especially in fine grained stone such as limestone at the entrance to caves, where the animals have been rubbing, sitting and hopping over the same place for aeons. The one on 'The Bard' could be from 1st time leaders shitting themselves.
Ithomas
11-Apr-2014
4:46:32 PM
Exactly! However, the Stick Nest Rats are rather messy compared to many of these laminated deposits. Good to see another Eco-Geek though. I am a bog person as well but always on the look-out for a novel story!
climberman
11-Apr-2014
4:56:44 PM
Funny! I did a snowy mtns swamp for my honours, back in what is now the dark ages of the 1990's.
Decoy
11-Apr-2014
5:09:48 PM
Interesting...
I always thought it was refuse from the bee hives or something (but I stand corrected).

Here's some near a bee hive in the small cave on Smooth Journey(?), just to the left of Aggamemnon:


Eduardo Slabofvic
11-Apr-2014
5:26:50 PM
On 11/04/2014 Timfreddo wrote:
>Anyone know what this gross substance is? Tends to lurk in deep cave type
>breaks around Araps..

It means Stugang was here

Duang Daunk
11-Apr-2014
5:40:48 PM
On 11/04/2014 Eduardo Slabofvic wrote:
>On 11/04/2014 Timfreddo wrote:
>>Anyone know what this gross substance is? Tends to lurk in deep cave
>type
>>breaks around Araps..
>
>It means Stugang was here

Nope, it's actually euro rosin poff from Estuardo attempted ascents.
I had some analysed for martini residue, but it didn't show any, so I can rule out a barf at that point.
Ithomas
11-Apr-2014
6:09:34 PM
Some deposits may well be from bee or other insect colonies. It may even be that mammals are attracted to the bee colonies to feed and perhaps defaecate on adjacent ledges. If there is a long standing bee colony, who knows? There are a number of possibilities, not all of them derived from animals.

Duang Daunk
11-Apr-2014
7:03:05 PM
On 11/04/2014 Ithomas wrote:
>Some deposits may well be from bee or other insect colonies. It may even
>be that mammals are attracted to the bee colonies to feed and perhaps defaecate
>on adjacent ledges. If there is a long standing bee colony, who knows?
>There are a number of possibilities, not all of them derived from animals.

You calling my mate Eduardo an animal?
Ithomas
11-Apr-2014
7:20:39 PM
From what I have read - yes.

E. Wells
11-Apr-2014
8:01:16 PM
Theres lots of it in Blueys too. Climb a route called 'Bitumen Roof' at Goats Meat Cave and you can examine it all you like.
Wendy
12-Apr-2014
9:57:24 AM
On 11/04/2014 Ithomas wrote:
>It's almost certainly a substance formed by marsupials pissing on their
>own droppings. It's actually very interesting and I would be very happy
>if you could tell me the location of any deposits. Before it sets, it acts
>as a trap for pollen and spores floating about in the atmosphere. Animals
>such as possums and wallabies tend to utilize the same spot for defaecation
> for quite some years and then abandon the place in favour of another.
>By radio carbon dating many deposits it's possible to build up a little
>picture of ecological change over even thousands of years. Similar stuff
>deposited by Hyrax in South Africa has been used very successfully to understand
>local plant community changes over quite long periods of time. Interesting?
>Shit yeah!

There's a massive amount of it under the start of Women's Weekly World Discovery Tour. I see it quite a lot, if you really want, I can try and remember to let you know where each time.
Ithomas
12-Apr-2014
5:19:56 PM
That would be great. A little list would be the start of a local inventory which could prove quite valuable for environmental reconstructions. It's amazing where little bits of history are hidden and this is one of the more obscure but reliable sources. I might be up in a week or so and will make a point of looking at the climb you mentioned.
Thanks Again
Ian

Eduardo Slabofvic
12-Apr-2014
6:39:46 PM
On 11/04/2014 Ithomas wrote:
>From what I have read - yes.

Well, I am neither mineral, or vegetable. Further to that, I'm pink, therefore I'm Spam.

timfreddo
14-Apr-2014
9:05:29 AM
thanks for the answers... if it looks like shit, it probably is ay!
threres good ammounts on bard traverse, and a cave full of the stuff on the 17/18 on the left of hum up in the far northern group...

Climboholic
14-Apr-2014
9:16:21 AM
Great discussion guys. Between this and the Sh1t happens thread, the discussion on Chockstone has turned from figuratively to literally talking sh1t!
kieranl
10-Sep-2014
2:13:33 PM
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-10/researchers-link-possums-to-flesh-eating-bacteria/5733056

Something to contemplate when grovelling around through this stuff.

 Page 1 of 2. Messages 1 to 20 | 21 to 24
There are 24 messages in this topic.

 

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