fattrad
Mountain climber
GOP Convention
|
|
CMac,
Check with ec, he's been zapped a couple of times according to my memory banks.
Jody's evil twin.
|
|
TradIsGood
Chalkless climber
the Gunks end of the country
|
|
Rattlesnake.
:-)
Sound travels at 1100 feet per second. Time the interval between flash and thunder, divide by 5 and you get the distance in miles.
Fastest way down is probably best.
Wind on clothing?
|
|
Matt
Trad climber
primordial soup
|
|
that weather sh#t moves way too quick up there
one time at phobos it came to us from way behind tenaya peak in a matter of minutes, like 4 minutes tops
being on the cables descent would be about my last choice
we were driving back from bishop on sunday afternoon and could see that system stretching out way up and down the sierras
i would say it's not how much thunder and lightning there was, but how much there might have been
|
|
Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
|
|
Paging Werner Braun. Is WB in the Topo?
My guess from your description is that you were in 1/100 - 1/10 bracket. Fairly significant.
|
|
dirtbag
climber
|
|
The one time I heard it I was just below a summit ridge. I decided to downclimb quickly instead of continuing and rapping down the other side. It was good thing too because within minutes the summit was getting zapped. Tough to say if I would have been close enough to get hit but I sure don't regret my decision.
|
|
L
climber
The salty ocean blue and deep
|
|
Chris,
I think you made a very wise decision. A friend of mine was hit by lightening and the buzzing wasn't even audible yet--just the hair standing on end. Next thing he knew--boom! On his back. Burnt fingertips, but alive.
And many of those lightning stikes at altitude stories I've read, where someone survives and someone dies...it seems it's never too early to get the hell outta Dodge if you have anything abnormal going on. (BTW...buzzing would be abnormal.:-))
|
|
Tez
Mountain climber
|
|
The first time I got to the top of Longs Peak in Colorado, my partner said he needed a quick break. There was a small thunder head about 5 miles away. We sat down and began to eat. Then a guy nearby said "Hey, my hair is standing up!" The way he said it indicated he had no clue (like it was something normal that happens due to the altitude).
I yelled that a lightning strike is immanent and we tore out of there. About 10 minutes later there was a lightning strike on the summit.
A few months later, I was on top of another 14er belaying my partner. Static electricity really started to build (things were buzzing). Once he got past the 5th class section, I had him stop and joined him about 80' below the summit. After a while, the static charges dissipated. We then went over the top and headed on down. There never was a lightning strike that day.
I probably would have done the same thing you did and rappelled on down. There was a chance that you could have been hit if you went up and over the top. It is really hard to quantify the odds, but they were high enough.
The other thing you could do is remove all metal from you, and squat on your pack with your feet together. Try to do this off a ridge line – the best spot is in a shallow depression. Lightning sometimes follows the surface of rock, so it is best to avoid cave entrances where you could become part of the path. The idea is to wait out the storm and then go down. Out here in Colorado, the storms are small enough that they blow over relatively quickly, so the wait in safety strategy is reasonable.
|
|
Blinny
Trad climber
NWMontana
|
|
One time TheReal and I were up on South Crack? on Stately Pleasure Dome - we had finished the route and it was pouring rain with lightning striking the summit. . . we could feel the DIVINE ELECTRICTY through the water running off the dome.
IT WAS FRIGHTENING.
We bolted (pun intended, I guess) off the summit and as we dropped off the side we came across a smoldering snag that had just been stuck, as well.
YIKES!
We RAN to the bus and just sat in there watching the show. . . we were lucky!
eKat
P.S. Oooooooooopsie on the dEvine thing!
:-)
|
|
F10 Climber F11 Drinker
Trad climber
medicated and flat on my back
|
|
Personally having been ZAPPED twice, I take thunderstorms pretty seriously now. Actually anytime they are near I allmost crap my pants. Probably a smart move on your part.
|
|
Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
|
|
A few years ago I was in the Wind Rivers. One cloudy/sunny morning we set off to do Wolf's Head, south ridge. The clouds were coming and going, and seemed slowly to be getting thicker. There were two layers, moving in different directions - usually not a good sign.
There was no thunder or lightning or rain that we could hear or see. We got to the start of the actual ridge, the "tilted sidewalk" pitch. I had a very uneasy feeling, and suggested that we retreat off the ridge, have something to eat and drink (it was early), and see what happened. The skies exploded about a half hour later, literally the moment we got to the ground.
|
|
Decko
Trad climber
Colorado
|
|
You were very lucky and made the right quick choice. The static is the negetave side of the charge building up.....
If you will it is calling the positive charge from the skies....
You were in the strike zone
If I'm incorrect please someone ???
|
|
AbeFrohman
Trad climber
new york, NY
|
|
Blin,
DEVINE electricity?
|
|
Hardman Knott
Gym climber
Muir Woods National Monument, Mill Valley, Ca
|
|
Chris - with all the crazy shít you've pulled with the basejumping/wingsuit antics, bet
you never dreamed you would ever be gripped doing something like Snake Dike - LOL.
Excellent decision - glad you got the hell outta there!
Gear is cheap, and it will certainly be appreciated by whoever snags it...
|
|
Blinny
Trad climber
NWMontana
|
|
GreatGooglyMoogly. . .
FIXED IT!
:-)
eKat
|
|
SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
|
|
Chris
You did the right thing. A climatologist acquaintance of mine knows of instances where people have been struck by lightning from more than 5 miles away. When you hear that buzzing or
feel a shocking in your feet or your hair is standing on end
it's time to MOVE. Get down as fast as possible and make sure
you aren't the 'high point' anywhere, as you'll attract lightning like a tree or tower. I've had a few similar experiences high in the mountains, and I can't tell you how
fast we screamed down trails to get lower. . .
|
|
Nefarius
Big Wall climber
Fresno, CA
|
|
You did the right thing, Chris. I've been zapped before, when the weather was significantly farther than 5 miles away. Lightning can arc over a crazy distance to hit things. Being zapped is NO fun, at all. With all of the things the doc at the hospital told me, I was pretty freaked about the possible results that can crop up in the following months.
|
|
bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
|
|
"The other thing you could do is remove all metal from you, and squat on your pack with your feet together. Try to do this off a ridge line – the best spot is in a shallow depression."
This is what I've heard too. However, if it's possible to get-ot-of-dodge quickly, like rapping, I'd say that's probably the best thing.
The squatting on an insulator thing is for when you're stuck.
|
|
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
we were buzzing
Let us know!