A thunderstorm approaching my camp. This storm ended up producing large cloud-to-ground strikes in the area.
Summertime in the high country brings extremely dangerous electrical storms, so it's best to be prepared if you get caught out in one. Below is an excellent lightning safety\first aid guide by the National Outdoors Leadership Council (NOLS) that should be read and memorized in case you are caught in a storm. Lightning kills more people in an average year than all other natural disasters, so never, and I mean NEVER, underestimate the ability of lightning to strike you while you're out bushcrafting in the backcountry.
If you're out bushcrafting and are able to get to your car safely when a storm is approaching, do it! Vehicles provide the safest shelter that might be available in the backcountry. This video shows a mini-van being struck by lightning on a highway, but the occupants walked away unscathed due to it grounding out the lightning.
About the author
Jason Schwartz is the founder and senior editor of Rocky Mountain Bushcraft. He is a former Red Cross certified Wilderness & Remote First Aid Instructor, and has taught bushcraft and wilderness survival techniques to the Boy Scouts of America, interned with the US Forest Service, and studied wilderness survival, forestry and wildland firefighting at Colorado Mountain College in Leadville, Colorado. Jason has also written for magazines such as The New Pioneer and Backpacker, including writing the "Tinder Finder" portion of Backpacker's "Complete Guide to Fire," which won a 2015 National Magazine Award (NMA). Email him at rockymountainbushcraft @ hotmail.com (without spaces)
(click to enlarge)
Summertime in the high country brings extremely dangerous electrical storms, so it's best to be prepared if you get caught out in one. Below is an excellent lightning safety\first aid guide by the National Outdoors Leadership Council (NOLS) that should be read and memorized in case you are caught in a storm. Lightning kills more people in an average year than all other natural disasters, so never, and I mean NEVER, underestimate the ability of lightning to strike you while you're out bushcrafting in the backcountry.
Once you've read the NOLS safety guide, check out the Discovery Channel video below to see in slow motion, how a stepped leader forms and strikes an object. The part of the video which shows the slow-motion stepped-leader starts at 2:37.
Here's an incredible live video showing a cloud to ground strike, and why it's important to stay out of open fields during a storm!
About the author
Jason Schwartz is the founder and senior editor of Rocky Mountain Bushcraft. He is a former Red Cross certified Wilderness & Remote First Aid Instructor, and has taught bushcraft and wilderness survival techniques to the Boy Scouts of America, interned with the US Forest Service, and studied wilderness survival, forestry and wildland firefighting at Colorado Mountain College in Leadville, Colorado. Jason has also written for magazines such as The New Pioneer and Backpacker, including writing the "Tinder Finder" portion of Backpacker's "Complete Guide to Fire," which won a 2015 National Magazine Award (NMA). Email him at rockymountainbushcraft @ hotmail.com (without spaces)