Last Friday, September 11, an Arizona man in his 50s was scrambling on 2,704-foot Camelback Mountain in Phoenix, Arizona, when he disturbed a hive of Africanized honeybees. Trying to get away, the man became stranded on a high cliff and was stung over 120 times while waiting for help. The Phoenix Fire Department worked for three and a half hours to rescue the man before lifting him to safety.
Camelback Mountain, an easily accessible landmark peak towering over Phoenix and Scottsdale, is a popular hiking spot with trails up both the east ridge and jumbled west flank of the mountain. The northwest side of the peak offers looming red walls of Tertiary-age mud and conglomerate, including The Praying Monk, one of the most famous rock climbs around Phoenix.
This is not the first time climbers and scramblers have been attacked by bees on Camelback Mountain. The worst bee attack occurred on March 7, 2004 when Keith Abbe and Jeff Passage were climbing The Hart Route, a fun and easy three-pitch line up The Gargolye Wall above The Praying Monk. The climbers, belaying on a ledge below the last pitch, were attacked by a swarm of Africanized honeybees (AHBs) that had a hive 30 feet up a gully above the ledge. The climbers attempted to flee the bees. Abbe unroped and tried to downclimb but ended up falling 50 feet and was killed, the only known American climber whose death was the result of bees. Passage was stung over 100 times but survived.
Africanized honeybees, a hybrid species of docile European honeybees and a more violent southern African strain, are extremely dangerous. Accidently released in Brazil in 1957, the bees slowly migrated northward, reaching Arizona by 1993. The aggressive bees attack if provoked, follow people for over a mile, and sting a lot. It takes 500 stings to kill an adult male. The bees are most active on warm days and build hives in protected places like holes and under overhangs. Experts say to sneak slowly past beehives and don't flail your arms or swat at the bees since they're attracted to movement and any bees you kill secrete iso-pentyl acetate, a bee pheromone that inflames the others. A single bee sting injects almost 0.1 mg of venom. Best to avoid climbing routes with beehives altogether.
Read more about African bees:
Africanized Honey Bees
Treat Stings from Africanized Honey Bees
Photograph above: Climbers top out on The Praying Monk high above Phoenix and Scottsdale. Photograph © Stewart M. Green
Comments
Wow! Of all the hazards…..
I remember the incident on Hart Route. I’ve climbed it with the bees buzzing about but never had a problem, other than being very careful not to swat or stomp on a bee. There was also a hive on the 4th class arete approach to the Monk. Just walk softly and move quickly. Lots of AHBs all around AZ climbing areas. Good to be prepared arounde here.
I’ve climbed the Hart Route with the bees around. Had to move slowly and carefully. I also did it when it was cold and the bees were very inactive. Homestead, a limestone area near Globe, has a large hive next to a popular wall. Best to keep moving or wait for cold cold weather.
I hope the climber is ok. Coming across killer bees is probably the last thing on your mind when climbing.
Mount Everest The British Story
Yesterday April 20th a couple of girl friends and I decided to hike Camelback all they had never hike it. We are all in OK shape but we got off to a later start and it was hot and tiring. We finaly made it to the sumit as we ate out granola bars and guzzeled bottles of water happy that we did it out of no where a man start warning us and all the other people appx 15 others of a swarm of Bees coming at us! We ran down in all directions everyone was terified! I scapped me legs and arms and ran into a dead end slope and just waited finaly the word they flew over us, I felt very lucky and praised God no one was injured from the pandamonium.