Longs Peak Boulder Field and Lightning

Hey all, 

Looking for some advice or information on what to do up at the Long's Peak Boulder Field in case of lightning. I assume sitting in your tent hoping you don't get vaporized is not the best option, but it seems to be the risk that most people just accept if they do camp there. 

I'll be up there (or was planning to) from Friday - Monday, getting some time in on the diamond if conditions allow. 

Based on what I am seeing right now conditions do not look great.    This is the problem with scheduling time off work and having to make reservations - it pushes you to go when you would probably just go elsewhere. 

Let me know what experiences you have had up there. 

-James

play the mega jackpot lottery each day before you go, ground lightening strikes are very rare

but what is this about a  tent?

i thought it was bivy only and u must break down camp each day then set it back up?

The boulderfield has actual camp sites that can be reserved. 

I think most climbers opt for backcountry permits and then bivy closer to the wall. (actually most climbers start at the trailhead at 2am). I'm expecting this trip to just become a full blown sufferfest of backpacking with a climbing rack, but hey that'll still train some fitness right?

We flattened ourselves against the ground among the largest boulders near us as much as possible as the field was ravaged with multiple strikes. Dunno if that was the best option due to ground currents, but it was really the only option.

Marc801 C wrote:

We flattened ourselves against the ground among the largest boulders near us as much as possible as the field was ravaged with multiple strikes. Dunno if that was the best option due to ground currents, but it was really the only option.

See somehow this is what I have in my head   

"it is so rare to be struck by lightning" doesn't mean it is a great idea to sit on your roof in a storm. I'd rather take some ground current than a direct hit. 

James M wrote:

I'm expecting this trip to just become a full blown sufferfest of backpacking with a climbing rack, but hey that'll still train some fitness right?

Might check out the Longs Peak web cam - and toss some snow and ice gear on the pile to get across Broadway - lol.  What you should really do is N Face - get familiar with the descent - I’m putting you at near 0% for succeeding on the Diamond right now.

James W wrote:

 I’m putting you at near 0% for succeeding on the Diamond right now.

Yeah that aligns with my assessment.

Obviously, you pack in a metal antenna and erect it 1/4 mile from your tent to serve as a distracting lightening rod. I thought this was common knowledge and standard practice? The associated pain-in-the-ass factor is why I only do Longs when I’m fit enough to nip up it and be back in the office by 09:00. 

https://newatlas.com/lightning-proof-bolt-tent/41513/

Oh snap, lightning proof tents are the way to go. Now I can leave that 20 foot section of copper at home. 

People that say getting struck by lightning is very rare are misleading you. Colorado is ranked number three in the US for people getting struck by lightning. Your odds of being struck by lightning are very small if you stay in your home, in your car, in the shopping mall etc.  But, as soon as you head to the soccer field, golf course, or a long mountain hike, your odds go way up. The problem with being on Longs is that you are hours from a safe place when the storm rolls in.

Laying flat on the ground is a bad idea since ground current is the most common way people get struck by lightning which can cause serious injury or death. If a lightning strike is eminent and you can’t get out of there, crouching down with only your rubber soles touching the ground is your best option. 

Getting low but not laying down is the best option, but it’s a common misconception that you should try to crouch to keep only your shoe soles on the ground. Sitting is fine too. That lighting arced across thousands of feet of air so it will easily arc straight through your rubber soles. 

I'm pretty sure RMNP averages 5 strikes per square mile per year. So it's still unlikely you get hit, but the lightning has to strike somewhere. The most likely candidate is the peak, but it can just as easily strike anywhere. 

You could go cower in the shelter by the keyhole, but you'd probably be sharing it with 30 other people crammed in there. You could also run down to treeline, but you're pretty far even at the boulderfield. So maybe just hide in your tent on a sleeping pad and get as much insulation between you and the ground as possible. 

Mark Lide wrote:

Getting low but not laying down is the best option, but it’s a common misconception that you should try to crouch to keep only your shoe soles on the ground. Sitting is fine too. That lighting arced across thousands of feet of air so it will easily arc straight through your rubber soles. 

False.  Unless the strike is 3 feet away, the current wants to take the path of least resistance/greatest conductivity. That’s why you are safe in your car even if the current is  passing only inches away from you through the metal shell around you. Same in an airplane.

Crouching down on your rubber shoes doesn’t guarantee you won’t get hit by a ground strike. But, it improves your odds. 

Greg D wrote:

False.  Unless the strike is 3 feet away, the current wants to take the path of least resistance/greatest conductivity. That’s why you are safe in your car even if the current is  passing only inches away from you through the metal shell around you. Same in an airplane.

Crouching down on your rubber shoes doesn’t guarantee you won’t get hit by a ground strike. But, it improves your odds. 

And I always thought you're safe in cars and airplanes because you're on the inside of a Faraday cage which protects you by creating a distribution of electrons asking the outer metal shell and this and electromagnetic shield that does not let charge pass through it. In fact lightning discharges THROUGH the tires of a car to the ground...

Bernardo Fanti wrote:

And I always thought you're safe in cars and airplanes because you're on the inside of a Faraday cage which protects you by creating a distribution of electrons asking the outer metal shell and this and electromagnetic shield that does not let charge pass through it. 

You may be confusing a faraday cage with a conductive shell.  As you mentioned, "a faraday cage creates a distribution of electrons"... when a faraday cage is acted on by an external electric field it distributes the charge in a way that they cancel the field inside the cage.  If your car was really a faraday cage, your cell phone would not work in it.  

Also, there is a big difference between and electromagnetic field (radio waves, cb's, cell phones, etc) and 50,000 volts of electricity.  But, a faraday cage can protect against lightning as well.  

In fact lightning discharges THROUGH the tires of a car to the ground...

Tires have steel in them.  Your shoes?

When I asked a park ranger a few years ago, I was told that they were not aware of anyone having ever been struck by lighting, while in their tent, on the Boulder Field. If anyone is aware of such a case, I would be interested to hear about it.

So, while it seems possible that you could be struck by lightning, it doesn’t seem to happen.

Karl Henize wrote:

When I asked a park ranger a few years ago, I was told that they were not aware of anyone having ever been struck by lighting, while in their tent, on the Boulder Field. If anyone is aware of such a case, I would be interested to hear about it.

So, while it seems possible that you could be struck by lightning, it doesn’t seem to happen.

Um, really think about what you wrote. 

WMS Lightning guidelines

Pages 4 and 5 are what you’re looking for. Yea I know what society thinks about medical experts and “research” but the risk of lightning strikes shouldn’t be trivialized. No you can’t be 100% safe as we all know. Yes there are things you can do to make the situation less bad.

I would recommend against doing your own research. 

Marc801 C wrote:

Um, really think about what you wrote. 

In case it wasn’t clear, I was referring specifically to lightning strikes at the tent sites on the Boulderfield.  These are popular spots, so if lightning was hitting those sites, while tents are erected on them, there should be some record of it.  

Karl Henize wrote:

In case it wasn’t clear, I was referring specifically to lightning strikes at the tent sites on the Boulderfield.  These are popular spots, so if lightning was hitting those sites, while tents are erected on them, there should be some record of it.  

Yes, there would be, but it's ludicrous to suggest that it's low/no risk simply because it hasn't happened. Lightening doesn't have a memory. That's what the line I bolded in your other reply says.

Karl Henize wrote:

In case it wasn’t clear, I was referring specifically to lightning strikes at the tent sites on the Boulderfield.  These are popular spots, so if lightning was hitting those sites, while tents are erected on them, there should be some record of it. 

Being surrounded ~300 degrees by peaks and ridgelines 1-3k feet higher and less than a mile away - might have something to do with it.