thelawgoddess Posted August 29, 2002 Posted August 29, 2002 Hope this wasn't already posted ... Climbers hit by lightning atop Grand (My apologies if it was!) Quote
Thinker Posted August 29, 2002 Posted August 29, 2002 It's amazing how fast the weather moves in there. I was there for a few days recently and experienced everything from scorching sun, rain, snow, thunder, and (thankfully) no lighting until we were driving out. fyi, Irene's Arete and the Petzoldt Ridge are spectacular climbs! Quote
ryland_moore Posted August 29, 2002 Posted August 29, 2002 The Grand is crazy like that. ALways a lightning strike or two every year up there. Two years ago, two climbing rangers "on patrol" up same route were hit. Never heard of anyone actually dying from a lightning strike up there, but I guess most climbers keep their wits and they are not direct hits. Crazy Mike! Hope you had a beer and buff burger at Dornan's after that experience. You deserved one! Quote
mtnnut Posted August 29, 2002 Posted August 29, 2002 I've been up there also when a lightning producing cell came by. We intentionally did not "seek cover" since the conventional wisdom is to get yourself locally elevated like on a small boulder (but not higher than your nearby surroundings so that you actually put yourself more at risk of being a lightning rod). This of course makes you more subject to getting wet, so it might not be the first plan you think of. You hear about how lightning tries to take the short cut if you hide in a hollow, and I guess this pretty definitively proves it. Quote
ScottP Posted August 30, 2002 Posted August 30, 2002 Excerpts from a TR of a trip up the Exum route a few years back... "Upon reaching the summit, we again saw the pair that had slowed us on the Lower Ridge. We talked for a time, watching a thunderhead being cleaved by the range as it moved north. They expressed some regret at having slowed us down and I took the opportunity to ask them if they knew the way off, being concerned about the proximity of the thunder clouds that were no longer being cleaved by the range but were still moving toward us. As we reached the rap anchor, clouds moved in and we clipped in a fog. While Kevin and one of the two readied the ropes, it hailed briefly and then I began to hear an ominous buzzing coming from the wet rocks. Then my hairs started to stand on end and the buzzing increased. I looked down at the rack hanging from my shoulder and then at the three big bolts and chains I was attached to and began to get very agitated. About five minutes into the downclimb from the base of the raps, we heard a tremendous peal of thunder right over our heads which was near the summit . The four of us looked at each other and I don’t remember anyone speaking, but I knew that all four of us were thinking of the guided party that still hadn’t reached the summit when we left it." I bet those in that guided party had some seriously soiled undies on the descent. [ 08-29-2002, 06:56 PM: Message edited by: ScottP ] Quote
headmasterjon_dup1 Posted August 30, 2002 Posted August 30, 2002 I remember being snowed on, hard! atop the Grand in early August! Also I watched a guy on the free hanging rappel nearly burn the flesh on his hand down to the bone, because he and his buddy were timing each other down the rap. And then, to top it off a snaffle nibbled through our tent and aparently broke into a first-aid kit and downed some benadryls! All of this and I was but a wee babe of 12! I've seen the words: STRUCK BY LIGHTNING under GRAND TETON NATL. PARK in the Accidents in N.A. Mountaineering once at least every two years. KA-rasy! [ 08-29-2002, 08:56 PM: Message edited by: headmasterjon ] Quote
To_The_Top Posted August 30, 2002 Posted August 30, 2002 Crazy!! You can't see those storms approaching from the west, on most of those routes. Glad they are OK. TTT Quote
pindude Posted August 30, 2002 Posted August 30, 2002 Not only do thunder cloulds move in quickly from the west, they form quickly on the mountain, and are quite common on hot, summer afternoons. My wife and I climbed it about 5 years ago with a clear blue sky for all but the last pitch of our ascent. We shared the summit with about 2 dozen others, and had to wait to sign the register. By the time we could pen our names in, and in a fairly short period of time, puffy, tall clouds had formed and started to drop hail. Some girl said, "Look! It's snowing!" Me and my big mouth, I said to the group as well as my wife, "That's not snow, that's HAIL--that means cumulonimbus clouds, and that means something else. Let's pack up and get out of here NOW." My wife and I are not that old or slow, but virtually everyone else on the summit (about 90% were younger than us) got their things packed up and raced past us to the first rap. Going last wasn't so bad, because we spent the time and shared raps with--after climbing the Upper Exum with them--2 brothers (one a guide from Bozeman and the other an airline pilot) and their 74-year-old mom. Fortunately for us, the lightning stayed cloud-to-cloud while we were on the mountain, and the real show wasn't until after sunset when we could enjoy it from the Lower Saddle. Mike, glad you and your partners are okay. [ 08-29-2002, 11:34 PM: Message edited by: pindude ] Quote
DonnV Posted August 30, 2002 Posted August 30, 2002 And don't fail to note the names of the climbers involved. Sounds like one of the Northwest's most prolific rescuers almost needed some help himself. You gotta love the way they went on and summitted anyway. Quote
thelawgoddess Posted August 30, 2002 Author Posted August 30, 2002 quote: Originally posted by DonnV: And don't fail to note the names of the climbers involved. Precisely why I posted it here. That and I like stories about how people bond. Quote
vegetablebelay Posted August 30, 2002 Posted August 30, 2002 Something is wrong about Pindude being an HC lover and having a horse as his avatar! Quote
Dru Posted August 30, 2002 Posted August 30, 2002 The three vertical drains of mountain said the experiment reinforced the value of the harvest of the firm members of crew who can make decisions gut-gefolgerte under difficult circumstances. The Yew You.re on the mountain which you.re which goes up, the most significant decision is to you, can does not train only one Gauthier known as. [ 08-30-2002, 01:03 PM: Message edited by: Dru ] Quote
Dr_Flash_Amazing Posted August 30, 2002 Posted August 30, 2002 quote: Originally posted by Dru: The three vertical drains of mountain said the experiment reinforced the value of the harvest of the firm members of crew who can make decisions gut-gefolgerte under difficult circumstances. The Yew You.re on the mountain which you.re which goes up, the most significant decision is to you, can does not train only one Gauthier known as. That's what DFA was going to say, dammit. Although the Doctor is amazed at your ability to turn so eloquent a phrase as that. Quote
Dru Posted August 31, 2002 Posted August 31, 2002 “If you’re not on the mountain alone, who you’re climbing with is the most important decision you can make,” Gauthier said. This quote oughta show up STICKY on the Climbing Partners page Quote
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