Lighting Strike On Whitney

[chris smead]

Crazy story, while I was shooting a documentary on the High Sierra Trail, one of my GoPro time-lapses caught a lighting strike on Mt Whitney. A bit too close for comfort. But kinda cool. :)   There’s a 1mb upload limit on the forums so forgive the low quality.  There a few more better quality pics here.

 

 

[John S.]

Very cool!

[chris smead]

I know right? My only regret is not catching this on my nicer camera.  This was just a GoPro shot.  It’s hard to tell, but I think Mt Hitchcock was getting hit pretty hard as well.  We were only about 200 yards from that vs 1/2 mile from Whitney

[jscott]

I was hiking in a valley between higher mountains in a thunderstorm during a series of close strikes. After the closest one, I turned a corner and a single tree was on fire half way up a near wall (700 feet elevation from me). 1/3 of a mile away.

For whatever reason that day I was blase about the strikes. The valley had no place to take cover and I thought that walking was as safe as huddling, so long as I didn’t feel an electrical build up. Actually I found it exciting and invigorating.

On other occasions, fraught and sometimes terrifying.

[chris smead]

Wow Jeffrey!  Scary!  Out of curiosity which valley was that?

[jscott]

Starting at Merced Lake in Yosemite, and then heading to Echo Valley,—west, descending from the lake– where I wanted to camp instead of the lake–I knew the storm would end by the time I got there. My options were to stay in those magnificent Jeffrey Pines at the lake, which are surrounded by much higher cliffs all around but are something of a lightning rod, or just walk on still low but in the open.

You were high up! that makes a world of difference. You’re far more exposed at altitude. That’s scary! I felt really safe, given the geography.

[chris smead]

Wow!  I’ve heard of people being struck in Yosemite before. I’ve had a number of close-ish calls over the years in various places in the Sierra.  The rangers say being hit is very rare thank goodness.   However a father and 2 kids were struck 15 miles north of us at Jennie Lake while we were hiking the HST.   Kinda freaky.

[jscott]

I’ve been at altitude when lightning strikes started around me; not good! If your tent’s set up and bag out, etc. there’s not a lot to do but hunker down and hope–or find a depression nearby and wait it out in the rain outside your cozy tent!

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