Mountain hiking has become a particular love of mine and I would love to gradually work up to mountain climbing. But I am afraid of lightening. What happens when you are roped up on some wall and it begins to lighten? Is a climber likely to get hit? What can one do to avoid the risk? (Besides just climbing in winter...)
Scythian1950
Favorite Answer
There's an ongoing debate on what's the best place to be or go to should lightning occur, up in the mountains or anywhere else. Many times, the intuitive action taken turns out to be fatally wrong, as with the case of climbers deciding to hole up in a cave up on a steep mountain peak during an electrical storm. A powerful bolt struck the peak, and as the current flowed down the mountain, it actually got concentrated inside the cave and fried the guy that was furthest inside in the back of the cave.
The best thing to do is to just get off the peaks and out into broader areas where such ground currents would dissipate quickly, and don't defeat the purpose by being next to a tall object that lightning might want to hit. Think safety in numbers---if you're an object to lightning strikes just like hundreds of other objects nearby (like boulders or bushes), the chance that you'll be chosen will be small. If you're the only one sticking out on a flat plane, you're a tempting target.
It might help to understand the physics of lightning strikes. Most people understand that a surplus of negative charges in the clouds want to surge to the ground, thus making lightning. What is not generally known is that ground objects actually act as coronas of positive charge, effectively saying, "strike ME, please!" Those places with the strongest positive coronas are the ones that get hit by lightning. And the more peaked or sharp is the object, the greater is this corona discharge. So, your job, therefore, is to "get lost in the crowd" among other corona-emitting ground objects, and avoid looking like a pointed object. Do not ever point a stick skyward.
I don't know of a single instance of climbing ropes being the cause of a fatality because it acted as a conductor in a lightning strike. Use your ropes to get off quickly and safely, as in rappelling.
Willie D
The chance of this happening is rare, but not unheard of. The greatest risk of getting shocked while climbing comes if you are roped up and it is raining. The rope becomes a natural conductor. If the lightning bolt is a pre-rain bolt and the rope is dry, it is a poor conductor.
The risk is the same while lead climbing or top-roping.
Best bet is when you hear the first crash of thunder...get down!
If you are belaying from above, get your climber safely down and then either get down yourself, or if you have topped out, get out of your gear and walk (if possible) back down. If you have a haul bag or a rack full of hardware you might want to lower that down to your buddy instead of walking around with a bunch of metal on you.
However....I seem to be a magnet for lightning. I've had close strikes (75' or less) at least four times while hiking above or slightly below tree-line. The only time I was ever climbing and a T-storm rolled in, I had just finished top-belaying a buddy up a 175' pitch. It started to rain and we grabbed our stuff. No more than 5 minutes later a bolt of lightning hit a tree we were using as an anchor just moments before.
For any serious climbs or hikes I always check the weather from multiple sources prior to going out. If it looks potentially hazardous that day I postpone the climb. However, in many places you can almost count on isolated T-storms (like in CO and NM) so you just have to keep and eye on the sky and be ready to bolt. (pun intended.)
garion b
Yeah I agree with yer man, get down. Although I don't see how the rope could become a conductor. Water's not a great conductor, and rope sure isn't. Also, most mountains have a monument at the top, usually made of metal. In Ireland they're usually big crosses. These act as lightning conductors, they're metal and at the hightest point, so the lightning can discharge. I was on top of a mountain in France, can't remember which one. There was a metal statue of the virgin Mary at the top and the head was all pitted from lightning strikes. Cool huh?
Anonymous
This isn't an answer, as Willie's is far and away the best, but I've heard stories of people climbing and finding and finding boots with charred feet in them, presumably from lightning strikes.
Also apparently a guy was rope soloing and was struck by lightning, and was left hanging there for months as no-one could follow the route to get him down.
Pity this doesn't answer the question.
Cameron
Well, if you havent taken in coils, and the rope is only touching your harness... maybe it will just pass right through and not kill you. Sounds sarcastic but I have a close friend whose been struck twice while playing lacrosse. Passed right through his stick.