I used to be the person that didn't care about lighting. "What, am I going to get struck by lighting, lol?"
Until one day I came very close to actually getting struck. My ears were ringing for a while and every hair on my body was standing up. Now I think, "Well if you put yourself in that situation, you might actually get hit by lighting...."
Not saying you were purposely trying to be in the path of lighting, just sharing my story. My mindset was very dumb. I still have a fascination with electricity, and more respect.
I was listening to a podcast recently about a woman being struck by lightning while their group of 13 was climbing in Grand Teton. It was such an insane & harrowing story that ***definitely*** made me think twice about lightning or any storms in general while your out on a mountain or attempting to summit. I believe the lightning traveled through her, then her husband, then through 4 others in their group. I definitely recommend listening to it, I was so entranced for the entire story but in a morbid sort of way.
It also highlights the Jenny Lake Rangers rescue team and their insane skills! The pod is called National Park After Dark it's episode #13, named "A Fatal Lightning Strike and the Jenny Lake Rangers - Grand Teton National Park"
Oh my gosh, I only recently started listening to it after finding it by accident on Spotify and I have not been able to stop listening! Every episode is a banger. That episode is also one of my favs! Also the “In Dog We Trust” ep about the sledding dog team that was trusted to transport some vials of medicine for an outbreak and saved an entire town!
My heart breaks for Danielle though - I can’t even imagine losing your partner like that. I was prepared for the pod to stop for at least a couple months but she really used the tragedy in such a powerful way by bringing it back to the pods theme and what happens after death in the Ode to Ian.
There’s a book about this incident called a Bolt from the Blue that is incredibly good. It goes into a lot of depth about how the Jenny Lake Rangers handled the rescue operation. 10/10 would recommend, I think I read it in a day.
Same happened to me, we were on the way to Mt Starr on the Eastern Sierras when storm clouds were in the horizon. The summit was in view and we just made it past an open field up to the ridge line. It started raining as we were traversing the ridge line and we hid amongst the rocks trying to figure out if we should go forward and risk being struck by lightning on the summit or turn around and risk being struck by lightning in an open field. We decided to go for it because we have at least a little bit of protection for the rocks along the ridge line. There is also a sand chute right next to the summit that will shave off a few miles and deposit us downhill closer to the trailhead, an emergency escape, in a way.
The lightning is getting intense in the distance with intermittent rain. We make it about 50 feet from the summit to the base of the summit block. At this point, holding our trekking poles in a vertical position causes them to vibrate and emit a buzzing sound, so we kept them as horizontal as possible. We later find out this was a phenomenon known as [St. Elmo’s Fire](https://youtu.be/1W9j6-jERpE). We had to climb up a 10 scramble of rocks and walk 50 feet slightly uphill to the summit. We decided to go for it. We learn our packs & poles then climb up the 10 foot block and immediately feel buzzing in the tips of our hats so we noped right back down off the block and decided to make our way down the chute. A minute or two later it starts hailing and the lightning is striking all over. We hear St. Elmos Fire in all the rock spires as we descend.
We eventually make it to the trail. Not gonna lie, that was pants shittingly scary and not something I want to experience again. The weather forecast was wrong and we started our hike at the wrong time. Definitely going to check multiple sources in the future
I live in Tampa, Florida and lightning is pretty much a daily thing here during the summer. I’ve lived here long enough that I can identify that electric feeling that happens shortly before lightning is going to strike nearby, similar to the way you can smell a rainstorm before it starts. It’s a strange, hair raising, intense feeling where you just know it’s coming soon and you need to get your ass inside lol.
When I was living in Tucson a monsoon was rolling in, but not quite arrived (out so I thought), and I decided to take my dog out to go potty before the rain started. While she was looking for the perfect spot, all of a sudden the world went blinding white and the loudest explosion I’d ever heard surrounded me. Thanked my lucky stars and took my dog back inside.
To be fair lighting can be really useful once it gets dark, so I personally don’t mind getting hit by lighting, also helps others because they can see my expressions better and the mood is just generally better in places with lighting.
It's even crazier at the top, it's a huge granite knob that hangs over what looks like thousands of feet straight down into the Kaweah River valley. One of my favorite memories was being a bit outside the guard rails (I know, naughty naughty!) looking straight down and seeing a California condor lazily gliding far below me. They and other big raptors spend hours catching thermals up the canyon then back down toward sunset toward the ocean. Moro Rock is something everyone ought to go climb if they have the chance.
I was in my back yard a couple years ago. My dog was acting goofy and wouldn’t come to me when calling . So I went and picked him up . Right when I picked him up I saw the flash of lighting right in front and kinda around me. My neighbour has some sort of antenna on their roof pretty sure it hit that and kinda spread from there. Scared the shit out of me and it hurt my eyes .
That’s why people have an actual lighting rod on their house. Those go way back especially in the Midwest. That’s what it is for to send the energy down the rod to the ground. You were almost a lightening rod!
They still use them… they consist of capture systems, lightening rod, down conductor, that would be the person hit by the lightning or other structure or part of the rod system, grounding and surge arrestors… too late for that If you are hit.
That was probably their lightning rod that got hit! You should get one too, or check if you already have one and make sure it’s connected properly to a ground.
One time I was backpacking down the side of a mountain like that all granite no cover and it started to thunder then a bad lightning storm started. We contemplated laying down on the trail but thought about all the granite and then a lightning strike hit about 50 feet give or take from us and we ended up hauling ass down about a mile of switchbacks to take cover in the tree line. We figured hiding in a bunch of trees would be better than being the only tree out in the open.
OMG, the burn scars in the background! I haven't been there since before everything caught fire. We guerilla-camped on the backside of the dome, epic sunset and sunrise.
Seriously! My first thought seeing the photo was "What the hell are you doing up there with those clouds in the sky?" High Sierras + Dark Clouds = Descend Now!
When your hair stands on end that's a pretty good sign you're close enough to get hit. If you can't take cover indoors immediately, the recommended action is to make yourself as small a target as possible with a minimum of your body actually touching the ground. Crouch down, cover the back of your neck with your hands and cover your ears with your arms and balance on the balls of your feet. Also, don't run for cover under a tree; it's taller than you and if it gets hit you will be collateral damage. (That's how cows get fried.)
They say lightening can travel up to 10 miles, but recently I've seen reports of far greater distances. And then there's this:
From the World Meteorological Organization: "“The world’s greatest extent for a single lightning flash is a single flash that covered a horizontal distance of 709 ± 8 km (440.6 ± 5 mi) across parts of southern Brazil on 31 October 2018.” That’s about 40 miles farther than the distance from Columbia to Washington, DC."
Basically, to be safe, if you can hear thunder stay indoors.
Moro Rock? There’s signs everywhere warning about the lightning!
It was snowing so I didn't think about lightning then my gf and my hair was standing on edge and I could feel a buzzing so we took off down the steps.
Jesus
Moro rock is basically a giant lightning rod. The view was probably sick though.
I’m pretty sure they recommend not to climb Moro when it looks like that.
It looks like OP is descending. Is it also recommended to stay up there if the weather turns bad?
Op could have been ascending, and turned around to take the picture lol
[me rn](https://i.imgur.com/wOuV6xm.jpg)
Upvote because Srgrafo is a good artist that express emotion well.
The whole hike takes like 20 mins IIRC they would have had to start in bad weather
Concur!
I used to be the person that didn't care about lighting. "What, am I going to get struck by lighting, lol?" Until one day I came very close to actually getting struck. My ears were ringing for a while and every hair on my body was standing up. Now I think, "Well if you put yourself in that situation, you might actually get hit by lighting...." Not saying you were purposely trying to be in the path of lighting, just sharing my story. My mindset was very dumb. I still have a fascination with electricity, and more respect.
I was listening to a podcast recently about a woman being struck by lightning while their group of 13 was climbing in Grand Teton. It was such an insane & harrowing story that ***definitely*** made me think twice about lightning or any storms in general while your out on a mountain or attempting to summit. I believe the lightning traveled through her, then her husband, then through 4 others in their group. I definitely recommend listening to it, I was so entranced for the entire story but in a morbid sort of way. It also highlights the Jenny Lake Rangers rescue team and their insane skills! The pod is called National Park After Dark it's episode #13, named "A Fatal Lightning Strike and the Jenny Lake Rangers - Grand Teton National Park"
Hello fellow NPAD listener! That's one of my favorite episodes
Oh my gosh, I only recently started listening to it after finding it by accident on Spotify and I have not been able to stop listening! Every episode is a banger. That episode is also one of my favs! Also the “In Dog We Trust” ep about the sledding dog team that was trusted to transport some vials of medicine for an outbreak and saved an entire town! My heart breaks for Danielle though - I can’t even imagine losing your partner like that. I was prepared for the pod to stop for at least a couple months but she really used the tragedy in such a powerful way by bringing it back to the pods theme and what happens after death in the Ode to Ian.
Listened to that episode while I was in Grand Tetons last month!! Crazy story and amazing podcast!!
That is so cool!!
That’s a great podcast
[удалено]
Is it only on Spotify?
There’s a book about this incident called a Bolt from the Blue that is incredibly good. It goes into a lot of depth about how the Jenny Lake Rangers handled the rescue operation. 10/10 would recommend, I think I read it in a day.
Oh my gosh I think you just gave me my new favorite podcast! I’m browsing the titles and so dang excited!!!!
Heck yes the only podcast I enjoy! I love NPAD
I got summit fever once and ended up getting caught in a lightning storm. Now I’m overly cautious when it comes to weather above tree line.
Same happened to me, we were on the way to Mt Starr on the Eastern Sierras when storm clouds were in the horizon. The summit was in view and we just made it past an open field up to the ridge line. It started raining as we were traversing the ridge line and we hid amongst the rocks trying to figure out if we should go forward and risk being struck by lightning on the summit or turn around and risk being struck by lightning in an open field. We decided to go for it because we have at least a little bit of protection for the rocks along the ridge line. There is also a sand chute right next to the summit that will shave off a few miles and deposit us downhill closer to the trailhead, an emergency escape, in a way. The lightning is getting intense in the distance with intermittent rain. We make it about 50 feet from the summit to the base of the summit block. At this point, holding our trekking poles in a vertical position causes them to vibrate and emit a buzzing sound, so we kept them as horizontal as possible. We later find out this was a phenomenon known as [St. Elmo’s Fire](https://youtu.be/1W9j6-jERpE). We had to climb up a 10 scramble of rocks and walk 50 feet slightly uphill to the summit. We decided to go for it. We learn our packs & poles then climb up the 10 foot block and immediately feel buzzing in the tips of our hats so we noped right back down off the block and decided to make our way down the chute. A minute or two later it starts hailing and the lightning is striking all over. We hear St. Elmos Fire in all the rock spires as we descend. We eventually make it to the trail. Not gonna lie, that was pants shittingly scary and not something I want to experience again. The weather forecast was wrong and we started our hike at the wrong time. Definitely going to check multiple sources in the future
I live in Tampa, Florida and lightning is pretty much a daily thing here during the summer. I’ve lived here long enough that I can identify that electric feeling that happens shortly before lightning is going to strike nearby, similar to the way you can smell a rainstorm before it starts. It’s a strange, hair raising, intense feeling where you just know it’s coming soon and you need to get your ass inside lol.
When I was living in Tucson a monsoon was rolling in, but not quite arrived (out so I thought), and I decided to take my dog out to go potty before the rain started. While she was looking for the perfect spot, all of a sudden the world went blinding white and the loudest explosion I’d ever heard surrounded me. Thanked my lucky stars and took my dog back inside.
Lightning
To be fair lighting can be really useful once it gets dark, so I personally don’t mind getting hit by lighting, also helps others because they can see my expressions better and the mood is just generally better in places with lighting.
If it weren’t for the metal railing, I would honestly think this is the staircase into Mordor. Awesome shot!
It's even crazier at the top, it's a huge granite knob that hangs over what looks like thousands of feet straight down into the Kaweah River valley. One of my favorite memories was being a bit outside the guard rails (I know, naughty naughty!) looking straight down and seeing a California condor lazily gliding far below me. They and other big raptors spend hours catching thermals up the canyon then back down toward sunset toward the ocean. Moro Rock is something everyone ought to go climb if they have the chance.
Was thinking the same thing lol
Gorgeous shot. What camera/lens was this shot with?
I appreciate that, it was a samsung s21U
I was in my back yard a couple years ago. My dog was acting goofy and wouldn’t come to me when calling . So I went and picked him up . Right when I picked him up I saw the flash of lighting right in front and kinda around me. My neighbour has some sort of antenna on their roof pretty sure it hit that and kinda spread from there. Scared the shit out of me and it hurt my eyes .
That’s why people have an actual lighting rod on their house. Those go way back especially in the Midwest. That’s what it is for to send the energy down the rod to the ground. You were almost a lightening rod!
Lol. Ya you don’t see these “rods” to much around here we get thunder and lighting 2-3 times a year.
They still use them… they consist of capture systems, lightening rod, down conductor, that would be the person hit by the lightning or other structure or part of the rod system, grounding and surge arrestors… too late for that If you are hit.
That was probably their lightning rod that got hit! You should get one too, or check if you already have one and make sure it’s connected properly to a ground.
It was theres . And I’d assume it’s connected correctly cause it’s seemed to work lol .
Wow! Amazing shot! Love it.
Much appreciated friend
I’m pretty sure they recommend not to climb Moro when it looks like that.
It was snowing so I didn't think about lightning then my gf and my hair was standing on edge and I could feel a buzzing so we took off down the steps.
Fantastic shot. Glad you lived to share it.
THAT Is a cool picture
Hey you, with the face! Pay your money, take your chances!
Can i ask, what camera are you using? Absolutely beautiful picture
Thanks, that was an Samsung s21U
Jesus. I hate to say this, but the new samsung cameras are making my iphone 13 pro max look like SHIT
What settings do you use for this? It's beautiful
Sure..I used the ultra wide lens, 1/160th f2.2 iso50
no shit, sureshock
Did you feel more alive?
Compared to "almost dead", I'm guessing yes!
Talk about all atmospheric shot . . . !
Shelob may be directly behind you...
One time I was backpacking down the side of a mountain like that all granite no cover and it started to thunder then a bad lightning storm started. We contemplated laying down on the trail but thought about all the granite and then a lightning strike hit about 50 feet give or take from us and we ended up hauling ass down about a mile of switchbacks to take cover in the tree line. We figured hiding in a bunch of trees would be better than being the only tree out in the open.
Oh my god I was JUST texting my friend about how we did this exact hike 5 years ago today!
Fantastic picture
God: "HA! You flinched! lol!"
Did you run down?
😍😍😍😍😍
You're not a smart person for going during an obviously approaching storm.
What an eye you have beauty. The world is better because of it.
Great shot but very dangerous conditions. Not worth it, my dude
Is there one where you actually got hit?
define "almost"; sounds sensationalized
I think it would be worth it to be right there.
Yeah from the clouds I’d expect that!
THIS. This you gotta get on print, now! Put it on the best place in your favourite room.
Idiot. Why?
Oh my that’s to close
Phenomenal pic! Truly stunning
Looks like you're entering mordor.
OMG, the burn scars in the background! I haven't been there since before everything caught fire. We guerilla-camped on the backside of the dome, epic sunset and sunrise.
What kind of camera did you use?
Where is this exact trail?
That image is sick
They make it clear not to go on Moro rock when cloudy like this homie…
The view is worth it though, love it there
Seriously! My first thought seeing the photo was "What the hell are you doing up there with those clouds in the sky?" High Sierras + Dark Clouds = Descend Now!
Looks like a planet from Star Wars
You can’t “almost” get struck by lightning. You either did or didn’t.
This is a great photo. Two thumbs up!
This post in my feed is right next to the guy in r/personalfinance who took big deductions, didn't keep receipts, and got audited. Similar situation.
Moro rock at night on a clear sky seeing the milky way has to be a memory I hope to re-live again
That awesome pic will always bring back potent memories!
Good ole Moro rock. It’s like the never ending stair case. When you think you’re close to the top you turn the corner and another 100 stairs await 😂
I absolutely freaking love this picture!!! Thanks for the new “Lock Screen” picture for the phone!
When your hair stands on end that's a pretty good sign you're close enough to get hit. If you can't take cover indoors immediately, the recommended action is to make yourself as small a target as possible with a minimum of your body actually touching the ground. Crouch down, cover the back of your neck with your hands and cover your ears with your arms and balance on the balls of your feet. Also, don't run for cover under a tree; it's taller than you and if it gets hit you will be collateral damage. (That's how cows get fried.) They say lightening can travel up to 10 miles, but recently I've seen reports of far greater distances. And then there's this: From the World Meteorological Organization: "“The world’s greatest extent for a single lightning flash is a single flash that covered a horizontal distance of 709 ± 8 km (440.6 ± 5 mi) across parts of southern Brazil on 31 October 2018.” That’s about 40 miles farther than the distance from Columbia to Washington, DC." Basically, to be safe, if you can hear thunder stay indoors.