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skywalker
climber
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Feb 26, 2013 - 12:57am PT
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Well I got hit once. Myself and two friends hiked up 4th of July trail. We reached the saddle between South Arapahoe and ??? Peak. We were looking down into I think Tabernash or at least toward Frasier Valley (you can see my geography isn't that great). We didn't have much ambition that day, just a stroll. It was calm but cloudy but no typical sign of "Thunderstorm". I snapped a few photos and was still gazing when suddenly an orange "ball" appeared in front of me and suddenly I felt I was in an intense electric field. It was difficult to recognize what was really happening because there was nothing to put us on alert. But it sort of forced me to duck as if under a helecopter and I began reaching for a boulder or something to kinda keep balance and "snap"! Think over the course of a second or so but in slow motion.
I saw the brightest white flash of light you can't ever imagine! At the same time my arm was blown back as if I touched a "force" for a lack of better words and at the same time my muscles flexed and I was now on my back while hearing the most deafening "Bang" I've ever heard. My friends were also blown off their feet and on their backs.
Sort of still in a fog I tried to get up but the electric field kept me "under the helecopter". At that point I just ran, and ran, and ran down hill faster than I could at sea level much less at 12,000ft.
The kicker was that when the adrenalin wore off and I stopped I had left my pack (camera and all) at the saddle. Yes I sheepishly went and got it all.
I used to walk around like the surf lovin captian in Apocolypse Now. But now I run at the sight of a thunderstorm.
Never will forget that!
S...
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Feb 26, 2013 - 01:04am PT
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There are no atheists in foxholes or electrical storms.
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limpingcrab
Trad climber
the middle of CA
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Feb 26, 2013 - 01:30am PT
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Does getting electrocuted trying to climb a radio tower count? Sorta like a 10 inch lightning bolt.
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rottingjohnny
Sport climber
mammoth lakes ca
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Feb 26, 2013 - 01:30am PT
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Lightning and Jesus are not to be taken lightly...I have had the devil scared out of me one too many times and don't think twice about running for it before the clouds start swirling....I was skiing one night on the local trail system when a freak electrical storm appeared...I looked at my carbon poles and quickly decided to head for lower ground....
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skywalker
climber
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Feb 26, 2013 - 01:32am PT
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Amen, hallelujah, and all that good sh&t. Damn scary!
S...
well said reilly!
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Gary
Social climber
Right outside of Delacroix
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Feb 26, 2013 - 08:40am PT
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From an old post:
I don't know. If I was struck by lightning, or not. Sure seemed like it, but I didn't die or anything.
I was descending a ridge in early afternoon last weekend. A storm had moved in. It was raining, and some hail. There was some thunder, but not a lot, or continuous or anything. Mostly it seemed up in the clouds, never saw a flash.
I was moving along a contour line, 150 feet or so below the ridge itself, so figured everything was OK. Then the contour intercepted the descending ridge. I crossed the resulting saddle to continue to descend.
As soon as I stepped onto the saddle, all in the briefest part of a second and simultaneously, I hear a crash, a thin, plumb, straight as an arrow bright white-blue light appears in front of me, and something slaps me on top of the head, knocking me right on my ass.
I sat there for a second to see what might develop, decided it was not the best place to be, got up and hiked on out.
On the way down I took stock. All senses working, nothing hurt. Examination later showed no burn marks, no lightning shaped scars, and no super powers.
So it might have been just a compression wave, but why the slap on the head.
So, was it a case of struck by lightning, or just a lightning related event?
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10b4me
Boulder climber
Somewhere on 395
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Feb 26, 2013 - 12:05pm PT
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Crunch, that video is very cool
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Don Paul
Big Wall climber
Colombia, South America
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Feb 26, 2013 - 01:50pm PT
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I never experienced any of this, closest thing was hearing thunder all around me in a whiteout snowstorm on Longs Peak. Before then I had never experienced a snowstorm with lightening but they often go together there.
Heard a story second hand from Craig Smith, British sport climber I knew in Boston, who described a time when his partner was struck by lightening and killed while leading a pitch. Craig was around a corner and couldn't tell what happened. After a long time of nothing happening, and in the middle of a storm, he just followed the pitch up to his dead partner, grabbed the rope, and escaped. I believe that's a true story but don't remember more details, would have been like 25 years ago.
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skywalker
climber
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Feb 26, 2013 - 02:08pm PT
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Don,
I believe the same may have happened on the Casual Route maybe 10 years ago? Partner had to leave his buddy hagging and get out of there. How grim is that??? I know that something happened but can't remember if it was confirmed lightning. That jacket at the trail head ranger station is also a sobering reminder.
I also remember climbing Chasm View wall and topping out right when a storm beared down. We ran for the Camel's Descent and got to our bivy cave just as all hell broke loose. There was a party high on Jack of Diamonds who we'd been watching all day (well all morning). They disapeared in the clouds and lightning went richter, the most incredible/ terrifying display I had ever seen! An hour later someone yelled from Chasm view to the climbers (rangers?) if they were O.K. (still couldn't see them). We heard a very scared, childish reply, yeesss...
Oddly I told that story at Camp 4 at a picknic table and one of the guys on that climb was one of my listeners! He had a lot more to add about THAT experience!
It is a fascinating topic.
S...
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Snowmassguy
Trad climber
Calirado
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Feb 26, 2013 - 03:36pm PT
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Multiple encounters with lightning but the scariest was probably on Lumpy ridge in RMNP. Started early to avoid the t storms. Storm came out of nowhere at about 10AM. Huddled in the cave on near the top of Pear Buttress thinking we were relatively safe. Lightning was obviously striking the water soaked formation. Felt that repeated buzz from a lightning strikes. Huddled on the balls of our feet trying to touch as little of the rock as possible. Felt totally helpless. Of all places, I likely thought I was going to fry on a moderate outing on a popular 5.8 route.
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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Feb 26, 2013 - 03:43pm PT
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hey there say, crunch...
yes, as to your quote, i've seen and heard some folks'
stories, as well,.... whewww:
Wow, I don't think I'd heard or read that story before. I have heard tales of unpleasant, strange, long-term effects from others
thanks for all the share, folks...
powerful scary stuff, no matter where or how you view or experience it...
as kids, we'd all watch from 'hopeful safety'...
*did not of a 'stance'... curious about that now...
will read, later...
thanks again, all...
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Gary
Social climber
Right outside of Delacroix
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Feb 26, 2013 - 04:00pm PT
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Found out once how Thunderbolt Peak got its name. Not cool.
Last year on the JMT, there was some thunder and lightning going on, and I was terrified to walk across Bighorn Plateau.
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StahlBro
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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Feb 26, 2013 - 04:24pm PT
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Topped out on Catheral Peak in a cloud with Tom Burke. We were standing there looking at each other and our hair (which was pretty long at the time) was standing straight up (for those who knew Tom, this was now mean feat ;-). Then the air started to buzz. Then the gear we had on started making these really awesome humming noises.
At that point we dropped everything and bailed as Thor started tuning up his hammer. We tried to find a spot to minimize our attractiveness as a discharge facilitator, but it wasn't easy. After a half hour we were almost deaf and our nerves were petty much shot. We eventually got back up and grapped our stuff, but it took several hours of heavy drinking to finally restore some amount of calm.
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Don Paul
Big Wall climber
Colombia, South America
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Feb 26, 2013 - 04:27pm PT
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Suddenly everyone from Colorado comes out of the woodwork, lol.
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deschamps
Trad climber
Out and about
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Feb 26, 2013 - 06:05pm PT
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Yup, same here, still terrified of lightening to this day. I was on a crosswalk a couple of years ago with about 20 cars facing me. A bolt came down miles and miles in the distance behind the cars but still scared the bajesus out of me. I pretty much hit the pavement and all of the drivers must of thought I was nuts.
Even in a house I am still terrified.
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BrassNuts
Trad climber
Save your a_s, reach for the brass...
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Feb 27, 2013 - 03:19pm PT
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Some scary stories here for sure... In November of 2004 I was climbing at Cochise for a week. While camped on the west side, a nasty storm rolled in one afternoon. As the storm gathered ferocity the lightning was coming down all around, we sat on the sofa of my pop up camper away from the walls just in case. Sure as she-ite, a few minutes later a bolt of lightning hit (or partially hit) the roof of the camper and a large blue arc jumped from the roof perimeter frame to the main frame of the camper. It's about a 30" gap and I believe it takes about 40,000 volts of potential to jump an inch of air, so maybe 1.2 million volts and about an inch thick as I recall... Scared the burritos right out of us. We figured we were safe since lightning never strikes twice, right? Just to be sure, we stayed frozen in place. Well, 2 more strikes with similar results in the next 15 minutes proved that theory wrong! It was quite scary. A little later the storm abated and I was amazed that there was no visible damage to the camper... pretty wild.
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philo
Trad climber
Is that light the end of the tunnel or a train?
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 7, 2013 - 04:12pm PT
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Snowmassguy
Trad climber
Calirado
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I learned long ago to hide or bail if lightning is in the air. The Colorado " Alpine" start of just never going to bed and starting any alpine'ish climb at 11pm or 12am became my main way to deal with lightning fear. Up and down .....EARLY. The number of times I have turned around driving to RMNP in the middle night is numerous. When you see the lightning still cracking in the middle of the night, it is time to go back to bed.
I had a massive bolt strike my yard while watching out of a large window "safely" inside. Thought it was all good until about 2 week later I realized most of my yard was wilting in the dry summer heat. The bolt totally fried my irrigation system...more specifically the wires that run from the valves to the main control box. Kinda a big problem when all of those wires are buried under a couple feet of dirt.
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crankenstein
Trad climber
Louisville, CO
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June 1988. My ex and I on our honeymoon from Austin to Colorado. Early start hiking to Petit Grepon in RMNP. We waited out a gentle rain for an hour on the big ledge below the crux and then went for the top. Thunder was nearing as I topped out and set the belay a few feet below the summit. As I belayed, the rope was crackling with static and the summit started to hum. The humming got louder and our hair started standing up. We were moving as fast as we could to set the rappel and get off the summit but in our haste we didn't manage the knot properly and the rope got stuck as I pulled from below.
Fortunately, we had both ends so I tied off one and started prussiking up as the hail and lightning and wind battered me. I got to the top and had to move the knot about 6 inches over the edge to get us going again.
That was the same day that some fellow Austinites got hit on the Naked Edge in Eldo with a much less happy ending.
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