The Glacial Tornado's of the Twenty Mile River
I have been putting off writing this story due to the lack of information I had in trying to explain the event. I have not ever been exposed to the kind of wind problem we had.
Most folks don't seem to get a grip on the situation we faced.
Everyone I've talked to get funny looks on there faces and try to understand, but they have never heard of such a thing.
I have camped in high mountain passes over the last 40 years. I have had to get up several times to repair broken tent poles, broken rope "tie downs", and about every thing else on a tent that can break.
These high winds can rip up about anything out there.
It takes a very good tent to withstand some of the harsh winds. High winds are the norm and I always make great preparation to set up our camp with the wind direction in mind.
I use trees, alders, rocks, logs and anything else to block the winds. I am certainly no rooky when it comes to setting up a safe camp. Actually Lin and I camp out for two months a year.
This year we both got our moose in a couple of days, and decided to join my two nephews, Frank and Ernest Hunt, on their moose hunt in the Twenty Mile River area.
It was a once in a life time draw and it was in the most scenic area in Alaska.
The Twenty Mile is a valley just north of Portage Glacier. It is an area known for very high winds. With that in mind, we set up camp on a gravel bar next to a row of trees.
The first couple of days brought rain in buckets. The river begin to come up the bank and we were soon surrounded by rushing water on our little island.
Luckily I had my SAT phone and was able to call our boat friends to move us down river.
We set up camp about 3 miles down river on a bend. We had nice high ground and were able to set the tent up in an alder thicket.
I love alder thickets! It provides many great places to tie to the bases of the bushes.
We took liberty of all of the bushes. I knew a storm was coming up the Prince William Sound and high winds were coming.
Prince William Sound dumps wind over Portage Pass and down over the frozen glaciers at speeds of nearly 100 MPH regularly. It wasn't something I did not expect.
I even tied a rope over the top of the tent to hold it down in case of one of those gusts.
What I didn't know was the warm air would come over the passes and become "down-sloping" winds. The warm air would hit the frozen glaciers and ice covered river causing "glacial tornado's".
Three mountain passes entered the Twenty Mile valley from the south at 90 degrees.
I had noticed that the normal wind currents caused little twisters in the low fog clouds almost every day. It never occurred to me that those same little twisters could become raging glacial tornado's with winds well over 100 MPH.
As I had already stated, these were not the run-of-the-mill gust of high winds.
The first tornado hit the tent at 12:30 AM on Sept 11.
The wind outside had only been barely blowing, if at all.
We could hear the deafening roar for 45 seconds. We have never been in a tornado, but we all knew what the roar was about. The first blast hit the tent and we thought it would explode. The tent blew up like a big balloon, and almost went up. The blast lasted for what seemed like two minutes and was gone. Everything outside was dead calm.
We jumped up, got dressed and went outside to re-tie the broken ropes.
We took shovels and dumped several tons of gravel on the tent flaps around the outside.
We tied two more ropes over the top, and hung our 5 gallon water jugs on the corners of the tent.
Frank grabbed the chain saw and cut three logs ten feet long. He notched the ends and we braced the walls inside the tent. I tied the logs to the upper side rails and buried the butt of the logs in the ground.
We were lucky to have most of the bracing done before the next tornado hit.
I was standing outside when it hit. I grabbed the top corner of the tent and tried to hold it down until the roar had passed. I was scared it would lift me up too!
The one strange "other" thing was the warmth of the air. It should have been cold, but it was warm instead. During several of the blasts we were also slammed by hail and rain.
When each tornado hit, the hail and rain also hit. Then as quickly as it started it would be dead still and quiet. It was just like someone flipped the switch off.
We were forced to hang on the logs to hold the tent down until 5:00 in the morning.
I don't know how many tornado's actually hit us. I think it was between 15 and 20.
The first 5 were much the worse.
We survived because we done everything right. I had everyone dressed warm and in rain gear in case we lost the tent. I also had a 10X12 tarp tied to a log outside in case we had to spend the night out in the rain.
I told everyone to drop to the ground if the tent did explode. I know some or all of us could have been injured very badly if we lost it.
The next morning we found all of our nice awnings shredded and everything else blown across the gravel bar.
I had a ground blind set up with a portapoddy. That critter had to be hunted down and dragged back to camp. The heavy tie-down loops on the tent had all been ripped out.
Not much actually scares me. Not big bears or much of anything else, but this night I was scared. Lin, with her bad back, hung in there and done her job in spite of the pain. She did not come apart as some would have done. The next morning the stress shown very vividly on every ones face. We were lucky to be alive and we all knew it.
I guess there were many strange things that took place. One of them was a tent 3 miles down river. It had not seen any wind.
I called the boat crew and they came in and helped us gather up our destroyed camp.
I heard from a different camp of moose hunters over on the Placer River, which was just on the south side of Portage Valley.
They were not so lucky. They lost their tent and spent the night rolled up in a wet tarp.
They were hypo-thermic but did make it.
I know the pilots don't fly near these glaciers for a good reason. I have an idea that the Weather folks don't have near all of the answers about some of those glacial wind currents.
The fact is hurricanes spin, low and high pressure fronts spin, tornado's spin. Most high winds are the result of air masses spinning. Those areas where warm air contacts the glacial ice fields also causes some very terrible, explosive tornado's. They may not be large in size, but they are explosive and very dangerous.
Other than that we had a very nice camping trip.
Just having fun.
Comments
Hey, your site is very excellent, I came across while in search for brand info on bing and it has very related information on it. Will be sure to come back again and bookmark. Keep up working on it
Posted by: Nannette Caffery | March 18, 2010 7:48 PM
Hey its all good Bro! Like the style and reading of this blog.
Posted by: Mark Harley | March 27, 2010 7:19 PM
I can not believe it. I had been just telling my good friend about this. I'll have to share this to him.
Posted by: Menn@Wind Chimes | March 29, 2010 11:25 AM
Hey - nice blog, just looking around some blogs, seems a really nice platform you are using. I'm currently using Wordpress for a few of my sites but looking to change one of them over to a platform similar to yours as a trial run. Anything in particular you would recommend about it?
Posted by: exercise | April 3, 2010 6:03 PM
After searching BING I found your site about Bubba Hunt: The Glacial Tornado's of the Twenty Mile River and another one called http://www.beststudfinder.info . I think both are good and I will be coming back to you and them in the future. Thanks
Posted by: best stud finder | April 10, 2010 1:12 AM
Your website includes a trulycool design. That getting stated the details below is totally free and is of high-quality. I'm subscribing to your feed rightnow.
Posted by: fat dress | April 16, 2010 8:29 PM
Thanks for taking the time to discuss that, I feel strongly about it and love learning more on this topic. If possible, when you gain competence, would you mind updating your blog with more information? It is very helpful for me.
Posted by: cheap clothing racks | April 21, 2010 7:31 AM
Intimately, the article is in reality the finest on that precious topic. I agree with your conclusions and will thirstily look forward to your coming updates. Simply just saying thanks will certainly not simply just be sufficient, for the phenomenal lucidity in your writing. I can at once grab your rss feed to stay informed of any kind of updates. Fabulous work and much success in your business dealings!
Posted by: clothes hangers | April 21, 2010 10:33 AM
A thoughtful insight and ideas I will use on my blog. You've obviously spent some time on this. Well done!
Posted by: Julius Carthon | April 21, 2010 7:44 PM
Hopefully more populatecan studyfrom this columnwhat I have. A great contribution to the world at large
Posted by: dress | April 21, 2010 10:47 PM
I really enjoyed reading about Bubba Hunt: The Glacial Tornado's of the Twenty Mile River and think it was well worth the read. The only other site I found on Yahoo wasnt as good as this one, thanks.
Posted by: chefs choice knife sharpeners | May 1, 2010 2:07 AM
After searching Ask I found your site about Bubba Hunt: The Glacial Tornado's of the Twenty Mile River . I think both are good and I will be coming back to you and them in the future. Thanks
Posted by: lanksy knife sharpeners | May 10, 2010 6:20 PM
Superb piece of writing! I became astonished I was able to see this with my personal android mobile! Many thanks.
Posted by: search engine optimization promotion | May 14, 2010 12:41 PM
Hi! Your blog is great and is a good read!
Posted by: Abby Maruska | May 22, 2010 7:48 AM
Super-Duper web site! I am loving it!! Will arrive back again - taking you feeds also, Thanks.
Posted by: Female Abs | May 23, 2010 11:28 AM
I really like this site and Bubba Hunt: The Glacial Tornado's of the Twenty Mile River . I read about you on another site I found on AOL and thought they had great views as well.
Posted by: serrated knife sharpener | May 24, 2010 10:04 PM
I really liked reading about Bubba Hunt: The Glacial Tornado's of the Twenty Mile River and think it was well worth the read. The only other site I found on Ask wasnt as good as this one, thanks.
Posted by: Serrated Knife Sharpener | May 26, 2010 11:43 PM
I utterly enjoyed reading about Bubba Hunt: The Glacial Tornado's of the Twenty Mile River and thought it was well worth the read. The only other site I found on Ask wasnt as good as this one, thanks.
Posted by: ceramic knife sharpener | May 27, 2010 2:05 PM
A thoughtful insight and ideas I will use on my blog. You've obviously spent some time on this. Well done!
Posted by: bonus betclic poker | May 29, 2010 6:58 AM
Dude.. I'm not much into reading, but somehow I got to read many articles in your webpage. Its fantastic how excitingit is for me to visit you very often.
Posted by: เสื้อผ้าคนอ้วน | May 31, 2010 9:31 AM
Excellent read, I just passed this onto a colleague who was doing a little search on that. And he actually bought me lunch because I found this for him smile. So let me rephrase that: Thanks for lunch!
Posted by: Make Money Online | June 3, 2010 9:05 AM
blog, this could be the best blog I ever visited this month. Never stop to write something useful dude!.
Posted by: http://www.xxxlblog.com | June 3, 2010 12:09 PM
Hi,Cheers to the author for giving me some solid ideas
Posted by: http://www.freearticlesbox.com | June 3, 2010 12:28 PM
One of my favorite things about blogging is this community of bloggers. We aren’t cut-throat. We share successes and miseries. And when something works, we don’t keep it to ourselves – we want it to work for everyone. I love blogging and hope that it becomes full-time one day, but I enjoy the learning and growing (the journey) and am a very patient man.
Posted by: nike air jordan | June 4, 2010 7:11 PM
Hi. I read a few of your other posts and i wanted to say thank you for the informative posts.
Posted by: http://www.exotaarticles.com | June 6, 2010 11:50 AM
Hi just thought i would tell you something.. This is twice now i’ve landed on your blog in the last 2 weeks looking for totally unrelated things. Strange or what?
Posted by: www.xxxlblog.com | June 6, 2010 12:33 PM
I have read a few of the articles on your website now, and I really like your style of blogging. I added it to my favorites blog site list and will be checking back soon.
Posted by: free articles 4 you | June 6, 2010 12:48 PM
In General I frequentlydo not article on websites, but I would prefer to express that this position in truth pushed me to accomplish so! Incredibly extremepublish.
Posted by: เสื้อผ้าคนอ้วน | June 6, 2010 9:40 PM
My cousin recommended this blog and she was totally right keep up the fantastic work!
Posted by: red shoes for men | June 8, 2010 3:17 AM
interesting reading your posts- they’re so many awsome things, that i forget and you write about them
Posted by: mens shoes | June 9, 2010 6:04 PM
Hi, thanks for the interesting article? Is your blog a free theme or custom? I am intrigued by your blog. Is it feasible to include this post on one of my sites?, i will of course link to this page. regards
Posted by: Donn Bisby | June 10, 2010 2:10 AM
Amazing! Exactly what I was looking for!
Posted by: Vaughn Lopez | June 11, 2010 7:16 AM
i put in a plug for this website at mine. So, I think most people forget the points you are discussing.
Posted by: skate shoes | June 11, 2010 5:20 PM
Remarkable review. Kudos so much. Yes, sometimes it kind of feels we are constantly writing towards cyber-breezes…. then, an individual is going to leave a remark that really connects you to the outside world and you simply know you are developing a community.
Posted by: Shoelifts Girly | June 11, 2010 9:48 PM
Superb post. I'm staying longer the following time I go to your website.
Posted by: Furby | June 12, 2010 9:00 AM
I just wanted to take a minute to say thanks for posting this. This area was on my mind recently, as a result I sincerely loved this article!
Posted by: sildenafil | June 15, 2010 11:16 PM
You made some good quality points there. I did a look foron the subject and found most people will will be in agreementwith your blog.
Posted by: เสื้อผ้าคนอ้วน | June 16, 2010 5:49 AM
thanks for great informations It's a wonderful
Posted by: Louboutin shoes | June 16, 2010 3:00 PM
Hi! Great Blog u made here =) Just found it on Google and I think I'll come back one day. Keep up the good work.
Posted by: Rui | June 17, 2010 1:25 PM
Hi there, may I cite some of the info here in this article if I provide you with a link back to your blog?
Posted by: Fitness Centre | June 17, 2010 2:29 PM
Thanks for taking the time to write about this, I feel strongly about this and I take pleasure in learning about this subject. If possible, as you gain facts, please add to this blog with more information. I have found it very useful.
Posted by: watch parenthood online | June 19, 2010 5:33 AM
Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love learning more on this topic. If possible, as you gain expertise, would you mind updating your blog with more information? It is extremely helpful for me.
http://soft-7.com
Posted by: Mary | June 20, 2010 5:25 PM
Mary, I hope to God that I never have any more of that!!
You can go on the web and find more info on how the military had to deal with the willaws during WW11 in the Aleutian Islands.
Bubba
Posted by: Bubba Hunt
|
June 21, 2010 4:05 PM
I finally decided to drop a comment, and let me tell you this is another very strong and powerful post. I've been reading through some of your previous posts and have been visiting your blog every now and then. I signed up for your newsletter and shared your site with my contacts, so please keep up the informative posts and return the favor. :)
Good luck on your blog, and feel free to comment and subscribe to my blog as well when you get a chance: Make Money Online with Dino Vedo.
Thanks so much, and lets stay connected and maybe share some ideas, do some guest posts, and get us both some more traffic and backlinks!
All the best,
Dino Vedo
Posted by: Make Money Online | June 22, 2010 4:29 AM
Excellent and very thoughtful post! I really appreciate the time and effort you put in every single one of your posts, and finally decided to drop a comment on one of them! I've shared your site with my other blogger friends, and subscribed so hopefully you do the same for me.
Good luck on your blog, and feel free to comment and subscribe to my blog as well when you get a chance: Make Money Online with Dino Vedo.
Thanks so much, and lets stay connected and maybe share some ideas, do some guest posts, and get us both some more traffic and backlinks!
All the best,
Dino Vedo
Posted by: Make Money Online | June 22, 2010 8:33 AM
Wonderful to read!
Posted by: men's jewellery | June 23, 2010 11:59 PM
Super-Duper blog ! I am loving it!! Volveré de nuevo - la toma que se alimenta también, gracias.
Posted by: Eric Bormet | June 29, 2010 3:33 AM
Exceedingly well-written piece you have here. As one blogger to my fellow one, I know how hard and how much time it takes to come up something great. regard.
Posted by: attracting women tips | June 29, 2010 9:14 AM
thanks, I needed this information.
Posted by: Backlinker Professional | July 4, 2010 1:15 AM
Super stuff! This was a really helpful post.
Posted by: mbt tataga | July 10, 2010 9:59 PM
These are great articles, I really appriciate your work.
Posted by: mbt tataga | July 11, 2010 1:09 AM
Hello ...compliments for the informative article.I'm really happy I found it on yahooKeep up the good work because I for sure will visit for updates
Posted by: How To Get Rid Of Cellulite | July 13, 2010 11:24 AM
Good post, thanks
Posted by: Watch Frasier online | July 14, 2010 10:20 AM
Thank You For This Blog, was added to my bookmarks.
Posted by: Kredyty | July 19, 2010 8:20 AM
I’ve been visiting your blog for a while now and I always find a gem in your new posts. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Karty Kredytowe | July 19, 2010 8:23 AM
I’ve been visiting your blog for a while now and I always find a gem in your new posts. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Kredyty | July 19, 2010 8:39 AM
I find myself coming to your blog more and more often to the point where my visits are almost daily now!
Posted by: Kosmetyki | July 20, 2010 1:26 AM
I just sent this post to a bunch of my friends as I agree with most of what you’re saying here and the way you’ve presented it is awesome.
Posted by: Kosmetyki | July 20, 2010 1:27 AM
Hy...state I didn't had a good read from a long time.Truly glad i found it on google.I was speaking with my colleagues two days ago around this issue and I have to state you make things very clear for me.Thanks and good luck
Posted by: Remove Cellulite | July 20, 2010 12:29 PM
Very Interesting Post! Thank You For Thi Blog!
Posted by: vemmajl | July 22, 2010 12:58 AM
Great Post. I add this Post to my bookmarks.
Posted by: Noni | July 23, 2010 8:15 AM
Very informative post. Thanks for taking the time to share your view with us.
Posted by: Sok Noni | July 24, 2010 1:38 AM
You certainly deserve a round of applause for your post and more specifically, your blog in general. Very high quality material.
Posted by: Sok Noni | July 24, 2010 1:49 AM
You certainly deserve a round of applause for your post and more specifically, your blog in general. Very high quality material.
Posted by: Sok Noni | July 24, 2010 9:54 AM
Great Post. I add this Post to my bookmarks.
Posted by: Kosmetyki | July 25, 2010 3:24 AM
Thank You For This Post, was added to my bookmarks.
Posted by: Tahitian Noni | July 26, 2010 12:42 AM
Thanks For This Blog, was added to my bookmarks.
Posted by: Noni Juice | July 26, 2010 7:01 AM
I just book marked your blog on Digg and StumbleUpon.I enjoy reading your commentaries.
Posted by: Noni Juice | July 26, 2010 7:25 AM
Awesome Blog. I add this Post to my bookmarks.
Posted by: Diving | July 26, 2010 7:46 AM
Very Interesting Post! Thank You For Thi Post!
Posted by: vemmajp | July 27, 2010 10:20 AM
This guy is really lucky !
Posted by: home loan rates | July 27, 2010 2:19 PM
i am happy to find it thanks for sharing it here. Nice work.
Posted by: wholesale shoes | July 29, 2010 3:40 PM
I agree with your Blog and I will be back to check it more in the future so please keep up your work. I love your content & the way that you write. It looks like you’ve been doing this for a while now, how long have you been blogging for?
Posted by: pu erh | July 30, 2010 4:14 PM
Thans
for the nice post.
Posted by: best registry cleaner | July 30, 2010 9:53 PM