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August 3, 2008

Thunderstorms make hiking more dangerous

Unpredictable summer forecast requires knowledge of storm hazzards

By KIM SMITH DEDAM

LAKE PLACID -- Hail, a heavy downpour and lightning can turn a nice mountain hike into a muddy ordeal.

Days have been full of pop-up Adirondack thunderstorms this summer.

Temperatures drop, mud holes erupt, and rocks become tricky climbing planes.

If telltale cauliflower-shaped clouds lean toward a summit with only a short 1,200 feet to go and thunder cracks, what do you do?

Outdoor educator Thea Moruzzi says the best course is down.

"Stay low, and stay on a trail that doesn't summit to reduce the risk of being caught in a dangerous spot in a lightning storm."

LIGHTNING TARGETS

Moruzzi, education director for the Adirondack Mountain Club based at the Loj below the High Peaks, said hikers above the tree line actually become targets.

"Lightning tends to strike the highest object, so if you're on a summit or near a tree that is the highest object, you are vulnerable.

"In severe thunderstorms, people shouldn't even attempt to hike up mountains."

Good preparation is the first step on a good hike, especially given rough weather.

"We promote Leave No Trace and the first principle of Leave No Trace is plan ahead and prepare," Moruzzi said.

"That should be applied to everything you do outside. Check the weather before you hike. If severe weather is in the forecast and you've planned to summit, think about a safer option."

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT

Sometimes, summer storms form quickly, catching people mid-climb.

"If you hear thunder, you should just start heading down because storms around here have the potential to blow in really fast," Moruzzi said. "Don't go up."

The safer option is to get below the ridgeline.

"If a storm is getting very violent above you, find a section of woods where trees are pretty even in height.

"It's important to stay calm, keep a level head about it and make the best decision with the resources that you have."

LIGHTNING SQUAT

If lightning starts to strike and there's nowhere to go, hikers should squat into what's called a lightning position, making a tripod with their body in an attempt to ground out any current carried through the ground or trees.

"We consider it a last option, but you can get into the lightning position," Moruzzi said, "where you squat -- not sit -- in a tripod position. Touch your heels together, resting your elbows on your knees.

"Your bone structure forms a kind of cage, so if lightning hits near you, you've made a pathway away from your vital organs. That's the hope anyway."

Hands placed over the ears can protect against acoustic shock from deafening thunder.

People hiking in groups should separate to at least 20 feet apart.

Remain aware of potential strikes for another 30 minutes after the last flash, Moruzzi said.

HIT THE PUDDLES

The safest plan, however, is to avoid the heights if the weather looks bad.

Even after the storm passes, wet conditions will change the hike.

"When it does rain in higher elevations, the temperature can drop. Having good rain gear and extra layers are important," Moruzzi said. "Be prepared for any emergency situation."

Mud makes a slippery climb down, and hikers are supposed to walk through the puddles, not around them.

"We ask people to walk right through the mud. The reason I say that is because, mud and wet on a trail makes it susceptible to erosion," Moruzzi said.

"Also, to be aware, there are a lot of people hiking this time of year; your impact on other people can be significant."

HIKER NUMBERS UP

High Peaks hiking traffic is up, by all counts, this year.

Alison Rettman, back-country information coordinator at the High Peaks Information Center, said traffic did not drop off and disappear, even in April, when it usually does.

"It's been a very busy summer and a wet summer. People are still going out, and we tell them to come down quickly if it starts to storm."

Forest Ranger Jim Giglinto, who oversees the eastern High Peaks, said hiker numbers would likely be thousands above last year.

"Hiking is up between 10 and 15 percent from the previous summer."

The spike isn't necessarily unusual.

"We do have fluctuations, and we had an initial drop when new High Peaks regulations went into effect. But this year, we'll will see a couple thousand more visits over the whole year."

RANGERS BUSY

Rangers have been busy helping people off the mountains but not because of stormy weather, said Department of Environmental Conservation Region 5 spokesman David Winchell.

"Since June 20, we've had 23 search-and-rescue incidents. It doesn't appear any of them are due to weather."

Winchell said a few leg injuries might have been the result of wet conditions.

"But nothing indicates any were a result of high water or rains."

And no one has been stranded in lightning storms.

The other danger that forest rangers are watching, Winchell said, is mud slides.

"The soil's just so saturated it slides off the rock slopes. We're not seeing it yet, but it does present a danger."

Hikers are safest on the trails and not climbing muddy, rocky slopes nearby.

kdedam@pressrepublican.com

LIGHTNING FACTS
E Lightning is static electricity gone giant-scale.
E There are some 2,000 thunderstorms globally at any one time, producing 75 to 100 lightning strikes to Earth per second.
E More people are killed by lightning than any other weather event. There is more than $4billion to $5 billion damage annually in the United States from lightning.
E Your risk of being killed by lightning is 1 for every 28,500 people exposed.
E The average lightning flash will light a 100-watt bulb for more than three months.
E Lightning's heat exceeds 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit; its speed is 90,000 miles per second.
E The average thickness of a bolt is 1 to 2 inches.
E Thunder is the shock wave created by superheated air in the lightning channel.
E For every five seconds from seeing the flash to hearing the bang, lightning is one mile away. That means if you can count slowly to 10 in between, the lightning is 2 miles away; for a count of 20, it is 4 miles away.

Source: National Lightning Safety Institute

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