Talk to me about lightening storms in the mountains

[pre6422hornet]

2018 I was above tree line in unit 74 CO, hiked in at Andrews Lake. My partner had shot a really nice muley and we decided he would be able to get the meat down to camp by himself on two trips and I would keep looking for elk. I went up top to the base of Needles 2 peak and walked around glassing the basin to the south west we had just seen elk in the day before. I started to eat lunch on a rock, enjoying the warmth of early September. I heard a rumble to the south west and a nasty black cloud was running right at me. I was probably close to 1.2 mile from the nearest tree. I made it to the tree line as strikes were happening all around me. I should have just hunkered down underneath a boulder instead of the trees.

I would be lying if I told you I wasn't scared. I was scared beyond life. I texted my wife goodbye actually. Not ashamed to admit it. Not fun.

 

[COEngineer]

Just for the record, it's "lightning," not "lightening." The one with an 'e' means to reduce weight, as in "Lightening your load."

 

[GoGriz]

Just for the record, it's "lightning," not "lightening." The one with an 'e' means to reduce weight, as in "Lightening your load."

Ahh - you are correct. I guess I was channeling my inner HUNT TALK MAN.

 

[longbow51]

Not only do the metal Phelps bugle tubes sound good, they come alive in the thick of electrical storms...Anyone else get caught in the remnants of that tropical storm that shot north and hit ID/UT/WY Septemebr 3rd last year?

I've had plenty of fly rods vibrate on me, when I worked for Sage a customer sent us his rod that had been struck by lightning. All of the resin had been evaporated out of it so it was nothing but loose strings of fiberglass with the wraps and guides and cork/seat intact. If you ever tour the factory it's worth checking out.

Was picking huckleberries with the dog some years back and a tree just a few hundred feet above us got whacked by lightning and and split. Little close for comfort.

Did he get a new rod?

 

[Duck-Slayer]

2014 - Aug. 14th - scouting deer, 2 miles from wheeler, nasty one rolls in, fairly open with one slight depression with no trees around it, put rain gear on and curled up in the low spot…. Worst storm I’ve been in, while in the mountains. Poured rain/thunder/lightning/40mph wind/a little hail…. I think I went partially deaf on that afternoon…. Lasted about 20 min… one of those days I could have died….
Matt

 

[Pucky Freak]

I’ve been in a few alpine thunderstorms. Best advice is try and read the skies beforehand and avoid being in a vulnerable spot if you can. Personally, I like to be about 25 yards from a sizeable tree, if possible. If there is a strike, hopefully it attracts to the tree and I’m far enough away for it not to arc. Of course this means losing elevation to get to where the trees are big enough though.

I had my hair stand on end once. A bit unnerving.

 

[hank4elk]

Been thru many high & low country storms. Just had one hit on the 4th 800 yards from here as I watched the storm, another hit between me & my neighbor.
Get off the ridge ,before hand if you can. I've sat out hundreds of heavy storms in the Sierra,Cascades and all over NM.

Got knocked out by one that hit a rock next to me in a deluge in Skullvalley AZ.

 

[kwyeewyk]

 

[Huntin' Fool]

Old Timber Cruiser here - Nearby hits - several times.

Watched a bolt hit 100 yards away, blew a 150 foot tall ponderosa pine completely apart.

Working tree heights in thunder...

My closest was walking from a golf course club house to my car near St Cloud, Minnesota many years ago. Unlocking the door, I felt it starting to buzz, then hit in the parking lot 75 feet away. Ka Boom!

 

[David658]

I worked on a survey crew carrying a 15' metal rod, or a bundle of pin flags and often we got caught in lighting storms. That rod will buzzz, or your hair will stand straight up before a strike. So I did some research. If caught in the mountains in a lightning storm, do not get into a drainage like a stream bed, with or without water in it. Once, I watched a strike come down right next to me while I was descending on the adjacent trail, and the lightning followed the drainage down. Friend of mine was killed by lightning while on a trail in a drainage. Stay away from barb wire fences: they also conduct the current and have killed many a string of cows. Also, get off the top of the mountain of course. The safest place to be is in the middle of the mountain, and not under the tallest trees. Hunker down, be small, and wait for it to pass.

I was at Philmont Scout Ranch in 1974. Our first night we camped in the bottom of Rayado Canyon - deep canyon with thick, tall trees. Four scouts had died a few nights before from a lightning strike in the canyon.

 

[JohnBud]

I was at Philmont Scout Ranch in 1974. Our first night we camped in the bottom of Rayado Canyon - deep canyon with thick, tall trees. Four scouts had died a few nights before from a lightning strike in the canyon.

I also was at Philmont Scout Ranch in 1974 shortly after those deaths. It weighed on our minds. When we climbed to the summit of the "Tooth of Time" we were required to get off the peak before 11:00 am because of the frequency of those lightning strikes. Get low, stay low.

 

[dirtclod Az.]

Been thru many high & low country storms. Just had one hit on the 4th 800 yards from here as I watched the storm, another hit between me & my neighbor.
Get off the ridge ,before hand if you can. I've sat out hundreds of heavy storms in the Sierra,Cascades and all over NM.

Got knocked out by one that hit a rock next to me in a deluge in Skullvalley AZ.

Been there, done that. Just gotta ride er' out!

 

[dirtclod Az.]

I have watched multiple trees struck near our camp
up on the Mogollon Rim in Az....Open another cold one
and hide in the tent, or as I did under a table.
It suck's the air out of your lungs on every strike!

 

[mxracer317]

I’ve been in a few alpine thunderstorms. Best advice is try and read the skies beforehand and avoid being in a vulnerable spot if you can. Personally, I like to be about 25 yards from a sizeable tree, if possible. If there is a strike, hopefully it attracts to the tree and I’m far enough away for it not to arc. Of course this means losing elevation to get to where the trees are big enough though.

I had my hair stand on end once. A bit unnerving.

Garmin watches have storm alerts.

 

[mxracer317]

View attachment 229216

It’s not all that bad. This guy has been hit sixxxxx-siiiiixxxxxx-siiiiiiixxxxty six times in the head.

 

[elkduds]

During high school we were backpacking above timberline, and a thunderstorm came up from below us. Nowhere to hide on talus. When our metal packframes started to hum and we could smell the ozone we ran down the trail through the storm, lightning striking w instant thunder crash, no echo or rolling sound to it.

Keep a weather eye on this



GFO when it does this

 

[RobG]

Someone caught a bolt hitting a truck the other day. https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/07/07/lightning-video-flash-car-explained/

 

[mtmiller]

I was never that worried about lightning until it killed my brother in ‘98. Now it scares the crap out of me.

Currently sitting in the middle of nowhere Montana surrounded by thunderstorms.

 

[dirtclod Az.]

It is amazing, standing on a mountain top and watching lightening
storms in the clouds below you!

 

[daltrix99]

Had a gnarly one roll in on us in the Bob Marshall a few summers ago. We were right at tree level and those that were around were sparse. Our only goal was to descend, and we were literally running down the mountain as the storm was starting to light up the mountain. Not fun. We got low enough into some timber to feel comfortable and rode it out.