Episode 85 | Backcountry Lightning Risk Management
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Summary
In this episode of the Backpacking Light podcast we’re going to talk about lightning storm risk management in the backcountry.
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Lightning
- Introduction – Anecdotes from Long’s Peak, Rocky Mountain National Park and the Wind River Range
- What is lightning?
- The seasonality of lightning – June, July, and August in the Mountain West; wider windows in the Midwest and Southeast.
- Mechanisms of injury – ground current, side flashes, contact, upward leaders, and direct strikes
- Pathophysiology – electrical shock, secondary heat production, and explosive force
- First aid for lightning strikes – Scene Safety & Basic Life Support, if multiple victims triage, then assess, monitor, and evacuate.
- Risk Mitigation – avoid travel through passes, peaks, and ridges when storms are nearby; in many situations this is before noon.
- Other risk management tools – flash bang rating system, the 30/30 rule, terrain and environmental features
- Regardless of where you are, executing the crouch position on a foam pad is the best thing you can do in a lightning storm.
- When you can sense the corona of a lightning bolt, then you are at extreme risk of being injured by a lightning strike.
- Backcountry Lightning Risk Management (PDF)
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Related Content:
- Places: I Got Caught in a Sierra Storm, on Purpose
- Masterclass: Lightweight Backpacking in Inclement Conditions
- Forum: Trip Planning & Thunderstorms
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Credits
- Executive Producer - Backpacking Light; Show Director and Host - Ryan Jordan; Producer - Chase Jordan; Theme music: Look for Me in the Mountains written by Chris Cunningham and Ryan Jordan, performed by Chris Cunningham (acoustic guitar, lead and harmony vocals, harmonica), Chad Langford (upright bass), and Tom Murphy (mandolin), produced by Basecamp Studios in Bozeman, Montana.
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