Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Marmots - problem or not?

I have heard mixed comments on the Whitney resident marmot population. Some say if you turn your back on your pack for an instant, they will rip it to shreds (the pack, not your back) and possibly invade your tent also. Others say they are no better or worse than any other critter and you just need to take sensible precautions. What is the truth?

The truth is that they are great seasoned with Lemon Pepper, and even better Barbequed. Honestly though, if you take proper precaution and not leave stuff just laying around, you should be fine.

First time I was on the Whitney trail, a big fat Marmot ripped off one of our sandwiches at trail camp...Sure was funny...leave out your stuff for a moment and they sneak right in for the kill....

We lost a sandwich to a marmot, but it was up on Half Dome...Can't blame them..leave out a sandwich for the taking and they will thank you. Otherwise, they are not that aggresive.

Same as above.

All you really need to do is to make sure that all of your bags and tent are closed if you're not around or are doing something else. I'm convinced they use teamwork. If you're just sitting around your camp, one will jump up on a rock near you. When you turn to look, and think to yourself, "Don't you dare try to grab my food," chances are his buddy is already trying to find a way into your pack. Am I the only one who notices this?

They won't "rip open" your pack, but they will climb inside if you leave it open. I've never seen one actually inside a tent, but they do investigate.

Marmots are not super agressive, but they do seem to know people won't hurt them. They don't run off like squirels or mice at the first sign of a person. I have never known them to take a person on or anything. But stuff open & unattended they certainly won't mind taking off your hands. I have never had them chew into my pack, like a mouse would at night. Just don't leave your food out in the open. No reason to carry food all that way, just to let them get it.

If you have dealt with marmots in other areas you probably have found them to be very shy and not at all aggressive. The one's at Trail Camp and on the summit are very aggressive for marmots. Just make sure all the food and smellies are in a canister at Trail Camp and that your pack is with you at all times on the summit if it has food in it.

Bill

Too bad you can't wip out your wrist rocket and send a small message to keep those pesky marmots away. They could learn.

> Too bad you can't wip out your wrist rocket and send a small message to keep those pesky marmots away. They could learn.

The problem is, they learn the wrong thing. For every person who yearns for a wrist rocket there are a dozen who feed the "cute animals", sending the wrong message.

Now if you are talking of aiming your rocket at the people who feed them ...

I once left my T-shirt on a rock to dry in the sun. I walked away for a moment and on my return one of the little rascals had my T-shirt stuffed in his mouth. The damage was done though. It looked like it had been in an explosion, laden with shrapnel holes to prove it!

on the summit, a marmot snatched an apple right out of a friends hand. in full disclosure, my buddy had been taunting the little rat, holding out the apple and then pulling it back, but the second he glanced away the thief struck. we did also have to constantly shoo them away from our packs.