MCA Members Sparked by Climbs, Peril (7040')
by Mark Skok, Scree

Virtually everybody in Anchorage noticed the thunder storm that struck Sept. 19, the afternoon of the past meeting.

A number of MCA members, though, came even closer to electrical storms over the Labor Day weekend.  Dave Saehli and Gretchen were climbing Peril Peak on Sunday when they were pushed back by hail before reaching the summit.  Back on the glacier, Gretchen said she heard bees in her pack.  Then Dave's ice axe began buzzing.

Farther to the west, Ron Van Bergyk, Susan Nolban and others were climbing above the Mint when their ice axes began buzzing.  They dropped all their metal, descended from the summit and waited out what they figured was the worst of the storm by sitting on rubber pads.  Ron shared spare mittens and hat with another climber who was traveling light.

According to an Anchorage meteorologist here is what happened: The afternoon sun heated the south facing slopes, causing an updraft of warm, moist air.  As the air rose, the moisture expanded, cooled, condensed and began to fall.  The charged particles of moisture then came close enough to particles in the bottoms of the clouds that had an opposite charge, and discharged.

When the day looks like it's going to be a scorcher, bring plenty of cold weather clothes for waiting out a possible storm.  Climb in the morning, before the electricity generating process develops.  Be prepared to retreat quickly when the cumulus clouds build.

Because the build up tends to occur over south facing slopes, climb  and be prepared to retreat down north facing slopes.  Still that plan could be of dubious value because the clouds do move once they have formed.