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SSSdave wrote: ↑Mon Sep 17, 2018 6:13 pmFor longer trips one should be gear prepared for whatever nature throws at us.
Well, yeah. Be prepared. But that's a kind of punt on the question. Sometimes knowing the forecast can be quite valuable in making intra-trip decisions.
I suppose a satellite phone and a willing person on the other end to read the forecast verbally would be one way to do it. But I wish there were a simpler way.
Do weather radios still exist?
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Yes, they do. Battery powered and/or hand cranked. But they tend to be big and bulky so backpackers probably don't want to carry them. More suitable for an emergency kit at home.
I was just over half way through an 18 day trip when I went over Italy Pass on September 11, into Granite Park. The wind was fairly high up at the pass, but nothing compared to what I got that night in Granite Park. I spent the entire night trying to hold my tarp together in the worst wind conditions I have ever experienced while backpacking. With no sleep, I packed up that morning and headed out at sunrise down to MTR where I got some food from the buckets and a respite from the wind. I heard some people talk about the wind at Marie Lake the night of the 13th, and had to chuckle at the gentle breezes that night compared to Granite Park. No, I did not enjoy Granite Park. P.S. it was literally freezing too with frozen over ponds and ice in my water bottle.
I just came out yesterday at Taboose. It was just as windy yesterday as it was a week ago when I went in. The winds were not as bad when you got away from that Taboose corridor but still breezy all day... but the crest areas were crazy day and night.