Does anyone have experience with lightning detectors?
I'm wondering how well they would work when a peak is blocking views of the sky.
Also, would the electronics inside a GPS or SPOT/InReach interfere?
Neither of these factors would be an issue for sleeping on top of a 14er since you would have a full view of the sky and you can shut off your GPS; however, I probably wouldn't buy a detector just to sleep on a 14er...
http://www.ambientweather.com/lightning.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Thanks,
-Carson
Sleeping on top of 14ers
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Re: Sleeping on top of 14ers
IMHO, they suck (that's the blunt way of putting it; "unreliable" might be a better description). As a JV soccer coach at Woodland Park last year, we were required by state law to carry one at games, but we never relied on them to make a call on whether to postpone. I witnessed one detector at a game go from predicting lighting was 24-48 miles away to 0-6 to None in a 30 second span.carson_h wrote:Does anyone have experience with lightning detectors?
I'm wondering how well they would work when a peak is blocking views of the sky.
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Re: Sleeping on top of 14ers
Actually sleeping would be the biggest danger then. If you just want to spend the night awake on top of a mountain the storm hazard can be mitigated substantially, I would think. Summertime full moon...would be fun.carson_h wrote:Neither of these factors would be an issue for sleeping on top of a 14er since you would have a full view of the sky
Regardless - you know what the Welsh say about people who stay on mountain peaks at night, don't you?
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Re: Sleeping on top of 14ers
OK Jason, I'll bite. What do the Welsh say of people who stay on mountain peaks at night?
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Re: Sleeping on top of 14ers
Although I'm 1/4 Welsh, I haven't heard of that one before. But it's probably 95% vowels and sounds like a frog clearing its throat.
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Re: Sleeping on top of 14ers
Bring an ice ax. Both times I have been on Evans my ice ax hummed before lightning strikes.carson_h wrote:Does anyone have experience with lightning detectors
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Re: Sleeping on top of 14ers
Okay, so as far as I know, if there is absolutely no storms coming in a particular afternoon/night and its just a beautiful, cloudless period of time then its not necessary to worry about lightning, correct? It kinda sounds like some people either assume I'll be sleeping on top of a 14er when there IS a chance of thunderstorms, or there still can be lightning storms even on a cloudless day.
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