Missing hunters in Colorado

[ILrutaddict]

This might be a really stupid question… but are lightning strikes more powerful at higher elevation?? Like more voltage/current?

 

[TexasCub]

Disagree.

See my post above if you havent

Garmin uses the Iridium network and PLBs use the SARSAT network. Both have a similar number of satellites and are equally as reliable. Terrain and location of the device is usually the limiting factor when it comes to the device communicating with the satellite network.

This is exactly why I would rather have a PLB vs a satellite messenger for mountain adventures, especially alone. I constantly dealt with issues with the Inreach getting reception when I was in steep terrain in the trees on one particular side of the valley, it did great when I was in some open meadows but that wouldn’t have done me any good if I were injured in the steep shit. There are too many variables in the Rockies that makes me want to have the best option and you can’t defend the difference between the Govt SARSAT system vs iridium globalstar and the power of the two units, the PLB unit is 3 X more powerful. Hey it’s everyone’s prerogative what they carry but in a worse case scenario Id want the most reliable, most powerful tool at my disposal, and it’s free to use, no monthly subscriptions and IT DOESNT NEED TO BE CHARGED! The truth is you most likely will never in your life have to use one of these things in a life and death situation and that applies to most of this forum but these things don’t weigh anything, if a guy hunts alone having both won’t hurt. You owe it to the ones you love to have one or both of these units if you take extreme risks recreating alone. Obviously some guys push the envelope much harder than others so this doesn’t apply to everyone.

 

[TexasCub]

Lightning is no joke, close proximity lightning strike can cause all kinds of life threatening injuries to include cardiac arrest without leaving any burn marks.

 

[Coopsdaddy]

Had an older mini and an older delorme fail me on the Buffalo river two different times during a 5 day trip.

One sent the message two days later and the other never.
While no phone service,it was in Arkansas not near the terrain of out west.

I instantly got rid of those and said never again but I did get a mini 2 last year.

With the technology im shocked we don’t have service dam near everywhere.

 

[eddielasvegas]

This might be a really stupid question… but are lightning strikes more powerful at higher elevation?? Like more voltage/current?

Are you asking thinking higher elevation might make one exposed to "worse" lightning?

If so, let me offer this: A lightning bolt (usually 1" in diameter) temp is roughly 50,000 degrees F and millions and millions of volts so you are literally effed no matter what elevation you are when hit.


Eddie

 

[Finch]

I got caught in a storm trying to make it over a pass to a alpine lake this summer. Same thing: you could "feel" the electricity in the air. There was even a sizzle sound all around me and my ears were prickling. Its a terrifying feeling.

Yep, one I'll never forget!

 

[ILrutaddict]

Are you asking thinking higher elevation might make one exposed to "worse" lightning?

If so, let me offer this: A lightning bolt (usually 1" in diameter) temp is roughly 50,000 degrees F and millions and millions of volts so you are literally effed no matter what elevation you are when hit.


Eddie

Well understood, I know that a decent number of people who are struck by lightning do survive. I just wondered if higher elevation decreases odds of survival. I’m sure it’s dependent on many factors like how well grounded you are etc.. at this point it seems like lightning might be the culprit.

 

[AZ8]

One day in the 1987 when I was on a fire crew for the USFS I was working a fire tower. My luck that day thunderstorms were in the forecast.

As the afternoon worn on, it was clear storms were heading my way and were close. At that time, protocol for lightning was to radio into dispatch your tower name plus “out of service for lightning” then go sit on the lightning chair, a wooden stool with glass insulators on each leg and just wait it out. 99% of the time nothing happens.

Well, when you radio out, the entire district hears you and it’s always a running joke that he chickened out.…haha

This time, my tower got zapped. I remember the buzzing sound before the strike. The strike was loud. The tower gave a gentle roll. Was a weird sensation. The strange inorganic smell soon after is hard to describe.

Up 100’ in a metal tower during a lightning storm is not for the faint at heart.

Picture attached is the tower I was in. Man, I was 18 years old!

 

[justin davis]

I doubt they got struck by lighting. My guess is hypothermia…


Speaking of lighting at high elevations. I watched my buddy get struck by lighting when I was in high school. We were above timberline. I was actually about 1,000 feet higher than he was and I watched him get blasted. It was wild! Bolt just smoked him and smoke literally came off his body. He was dead when I got to him but we did cpr and brought him back to life. The lighting hit him and traveled down his body melting is socks to his ankles and blowing the ends of his shoes off.

 

[ILrutaddict]

I doubt they got struck by lighting. My guess is hypothermia. I watched my buddy get struck by lighting in high school. We were above timberline. I was actually about 1,000 feet higher than he was and I watched him get blasted. It was wild! He was dead when I got to him but we did cpr and brought him back to life.

My lord dude, that’s an intense experience for a high school age kid. Glad to hear he lived

 

[justin davis]

My lord dude, that’s an intense experience for a high school age kid. Glad to hear he lived

Yea it was. If you ever watched the myth busters show where they did lighting and tongue rings. That’s video of him that I took after we revived him.

 

[Thomas11]

Yea it was. If you ever watched the myth busters show where they did lighting and tongue rings. That’s video of him that I took after we revived him.

That’s insane! No long term damage?

 

[7mm-08]

I had to Google but signs of hypothermia can be determined during autopsy. Primarily in the organs.

I would find it odd that the inReach wouldn’t have been used if they went hypothermic. That’s not a fast way to go and one would think you would get to a point of knowing it was getting bad before you lost your ability to rationally think but I am not an expert. Also would be odd that both of them would deteriorate at the same pace.

Having been on the verge of serious hypothermia, I can say one thing - the capacity of your brain to understand and reason is substantially diminished when you are in that condition. They may have incorrectly believed they could accomplish something like bailing off a ridge and getting to a road or they failed to recognize the seriousness of their situation. It was a good thing I had a damned competent Emergency and ICU RN (my son) with me after I started stumbling, slurring my speech and having incoherent thoughts or things may have ended differently. Not sure what would have happened had I been solo on that little adventure.

 

[def90]

Well understood, I know that a decent number of people who are struck by lightning do survive. I just wondered if higher elevation decreases odds of survival. I’m sure it’s dependent on many factors like how well grounded you are etc.. at this point it seems like lightning might be the culprit.

A lot of people that are "struck" by lightning aren't directly hit, they take a charge through another object or the ground itself.

 

[COJoe]

I would think if they thought it was going to be too bad they would've just made a mad dash back to the trailhead.

I was in my tent four years ago on a mule deer hunt at 11:30 at night when a terrifying lightning and rain storm blew through my area. I was within sight of my truck but no way I was getting out of my tent even knowing I was under a large ponderosa pine. I came to peace with whatever was going to happen and fell asleep. Weather app never showed a storm coming in.... Lightning is my biggest concern while hunting in CO.

 

[lintond]

I started writing up a “hunt plan” for my wife that has inreach links, where I plan to hike from, local ranger station etc. I got the idea from a buddy.

Example. My wife knows I’m going hunting in Wyoming but that’s about all she knows. She can text me on my Inreach but that’s not super helpful in a situation.

With the write up she has all the critical info in one location and can look up my Inreach map & what not. As a general rule I always have my pack with me with food (fat kid), some extra clothes (cold blooded), & possibles pouch. My inReach is always powered on as well. The battery life is just too good now days not to.

I also increased my life insurance once we had kids. If I do go down I don’t want them to struggle financially on top of the heart ache.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dlee56]

Yea it was. If you ever watched the myth busters show where they did lighting and tongue rings. That’s video of him that I took after we revived him.

That’s insane, I grew up watching mythbusters, I’ve probably seen that video a dozen times

 

[rodney482]

This makes me ill…. those poor boys.

 

[MuleDeerMike]

Ya, I think it was 2008 when I was bowhunting elk. I was planning on heading home the next morning to resupply and take a couple days off. I was on this ridgetop and looked to the West. There was this storm in the distance that covered the whole horizon. I immediately thought to myself, "that thing looks nasty and it's a comin". I figured hunting the rest of the day probably wasn't going to happen, so might as well head home now.

I got to my wall tent base camp and quickly grabbed a few things and took off. While I was driving maybe 15 miles away I looked in my rearview mirror and the entire range was covered. All I could see was solid black with constant lightning lighting up the entire system. When I got back up there a few days later, you could see the effects of that storm.......trees down, road just about washed out in several places. It was crazy. Very happy to not have had to sit in a tent through that thing. I got stuck up around 13k feet one year when a storm came out of nowhere.......pouring rain, hail, nonstop lightning, and thunder so loud I had my hands over my ears. Lasted about 20 minutes. Not fun at all.

Looking at the weather maps at their location showing 2+ inches of rain, I bet it was similar for them. You don't want to be above tree line, but you also don't want to be under a tree either. And rocky overhangs are a bad idea as well. It's tough to make the right decision when you're in it. What is right in those conditions?

What's the issue with rocky over hangs? Mud slide potential?

 

[jzeblaz]

Ive read the same in multiple accounts. When extreme hypothermia sets in, people very often will strip down naked. I remember a story in the pacific NW where a couple got stuck in a bad storm in the mountains and couldn't get turned around in the car. It got so bad eventually they burned their tires to try and get someone's attention. Ultimately the husband left to try and find help, and they found him like 6 miles away after they found a trail of clothes, the last being his blue jeans and sweatshirt. Very, very, sad stuff. His partner was found alive but in tough shape.

I remember that. I think you're talking about this guy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Kim