Got caught in a surprise hailstorm on a ridge hike near Breckenridge

We were about three miles up the Wheeler Trail last Tuesday, just past tree line, when the sky went from blue to black in maybe ten minutes. The temperature dropped fast and then golf ball sized hail started coming down sideways. We had to huddle under a rock overhang for almost an hour while it passed, and my pack's rain cover got shredded. It was a solid reminder that even a sunny morning forecast doesn't mean much up high. Has anyone else been caught in a storm that came out of nowhere like that, and what did you do?

2 comments

2 Comments

fionarodriguez1mo ago

That "sunny morning forecast doesn't mean much up high" is the absolute truth. I got slammed by a sudden thunderstorm above treeline in the San Juans last summer. One minute it was clear, the next I was scrambling over wet rocks trying to get lower. It's a scary feeling when the weather turns that fast. Did you guys have any trouble getting down after the hail stopped, or was the trail just a mess of ice?

the_robin1mo ago

Wait you were above treeline in the San Juans when that hit? @fionarodriguez that's wild, I'd have been freaking out.