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clouds lingering above the Amazon in Bolivia

In 2004, I witnessed clouds forming at the ridgeline at my feet on Challenger Point. Once of the coolest things I've ever seen.

Meteorologically, what should one be looking for if one were to want to maximize one's chances of hiking above the clouds? I've always wanted to do that, I just never wanted to risk getting to the top and still being socked in.
Great pics, by the way!

jaymz wrote:Meteorologically, what should one be looking for if one were to want to maximize one's chances of hiking above the clouds? I've always wanted to do that, I just never wanted to risk getting to the top and still being socked in.
Great pics, by the way!

That is a great question...awhile back, I called a meteorologist and asked that very question. He told me the best time to climb "above the clouds" was to go the day after a storm. What he said was, "when a storm comes through, it lowers the barometric pressure. Once it passes, the barometric pressure rises very quickly (in Colorado) and causes the clouds to be pushed down to altitudes between 10 and 12 thousand feet". I've taken his advise and more often than not, I was able to get some "above the clouds" kind of pics.

Muir Peak (thanks CAF) from Rainier. Beautiful day but a mediocre picture.

From Cotopaxi, Ecuador, January 2008: First one's from the summit. Third is on descent. Second was on an acclimatization hike.

From Pk H last week....we had clouds below, above, and all around! It was another magical Gore day!

Lovely pictures. The title of the thread reminded me of a music cue from a favorite childhood game of mine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwxztLVdU-4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Scrolled through the pictures with this playing in the background, it does the trick. Thanks all for the wonderful shots!

Are there specific weather requirements for there to be this low layer of clouds? There seem to be a lot of these pictures around the Pac NW and the equator so I'm guessing a lot of moisture in the air plays a part. Can any weather people help out?

It can be for various reasons.

Low level moisture, especially after rains is usually what causes it in wetter climates. If you are next to the ocean, even more so.

Also, cold ocean currents clashing with warm air can also cause it.

Also, in this part of the world, also inversions, even in dry climates. During temperature inversions, fog can sit in the valley bottoms while the mountains are sunny. This happens a lot in places like Salt Lake City or the Wasatch Front, but also in places like Grand Junction and the Uinta Basin.

If you are in a populated place like Salt Lake City, Provo, Logan or Ogden, the pollution will be trapped by the inversion, making the clouds cool to look at from the mountains, but nasty in the valleys below, such as this photo from Joseph Bullough shows (Mount Timpanogos, Utah; Provo/Orem is in the clouds below):

I had about an 8-10 second window while standing on Princeton's summit a few weeks ago when the clouds opened and got these.

While not quite "above the clouds" these were taken the following morning on Yale.

The morning after Yale found me heading up La Plata. 3 consecutive days when it would have been easy to turn off the alarm and curl back up in the sleeping bag at 2:00 am. Rainy, cold, drizzly, wet, cloudy..... but you can't summit if you don't get to the TH and you can't get to the TH if you don't get up!! And you'll never get photos like this from the tent.