August sheep hunt weather

[jac]

Hey all

Last year was my first sheep hunt in northern B.C we went in mid August. We got word of a large snow storm and got out just in time. I know a little snow can happen at anytime of the year up there but is a big snow storm like that common? Was last year weather unusually bad in mid August. Heading back this year and wondering what we will be in for.

thanks

[Stone C. Killer]

We went in right after all the snow melted. Met a couple guys on the way in who had weathered the storm under a tarp and had a couple large sets of horns with them. I'd hope for a storm!

[Cordillera]

Snow in August is common. Last year was not. Several folks who are very experienced had to bail. Usually an August storm will blow over in a couple days. If you are close to timber head down and wait it out.

[pappy]

I have had 20 degrees in sept and didn't even put the fly on my tent. The next year it was hail and snow during the same dates. Its the north, expect it all and be prepared.

[jac]

From what I was told last year storm which hit most of northern bc in mid August was a fair bit worse then normal. Just wanted to hear what all of you have experienced over the years. We were a fair ways above the trees and would of been skiing out of there

[Jrax]

I have hit everything but nothing like last year, thankfully i went three weeks after the storm. All the years i have never seen snow for more than 2 days and were talking 6" - 8" at end of august. This all melted after a few days and everything was back to normal.

The worst weather scenarios for me were both long ago in the cassiars - 10 days of rain on a 12 day hunt in spatsizi. The two days that werent raining were mix of sun, cloud, high wind and showers. Another was a hike in for sheep, the first night we got winds that were upwards of 100km on the mountain which destroyed our tent at about 4am and it was a whiteout of snow. We had to bail off the mountain and I happen to lose my compass and I had no GPS back then. We went wrong way off mountain where snow turned to rain - 24hrs later found our way back to the trailhead.

Ever since those trips, I prepare for all and definitely head to a safer locations lower elevation with wood, shelter and water and wait it out IF things get bad. There are lots of times where it seems like its a hurricane coming but ends up being a short squall and you can continue.

[264mag]

Last years Snowmageddon in mid august caught a lot of people by surprise. The snow dump combined with heavy rains, wind and fog made it tough on pilots and hunters that were stuck out in camps. We flew out of Dease on the 21st, when we got there on the 18th BC Yukon hadn’t flown in 4 days and it was sketchy getting guys in and out. I spoke to two guys that had hiked 15 km up into the alpine and got caught in the snowstorm. What took them 2 days to go up took almost 4 to get down. They were hiking down boulder fields in waist deep snow. Some people laugh when you pack puffy pants and jackets for August hunts,,,, never know.

[Would Rather Be Fishing]

August moutain weather... I had days with every possible weather within daylight hours: Sunshine, hot, hail, rain and snow, then sun again... Be prepared for anything!

[albravo2]

August moutain weather... I had days with every possible weather within daylight hours: Sunshine, hot, hail, rain and snow, then sun again... Be prepared for anything!

100% correct but you forgot WINDY! I find wind is one of the most exhausting weather types.

[Avalanche123]

Last August (mid) wasn't the norm IMO and experience. Snow yes but not that amount and at such low elevation too. Like 264mag suggest above, it caught a lot of people by surprise, me included. It was interesting watching alpine critters head to the timber in advance of the storm....if I recall we were camp bound for almost five days....
As others have said, be prepared for anything.

[Huss]

Biggest problem with last year was river crossings becoming impossible in some areas. Bunker down and wait it out and be prepared

[264mag]

Lots of people underestimate how much extra food to cache at your base camp or airstrip. When we arrived at Dease the planes hadn’t flown in 5 days. I spoke to one group after they got out and they had been sharing one or two Ptarmigan a day between 4 guys for a few days.

[BigSlapper]

Expect a "dog's breakfast" of weather. Albravo is right ... I can handle all, but a constant wind (sometimes days) is exhausting.

[Weatherby Fan]

In northern BC you can expect snow, rain, wind, pea soup fog, blistering heat, thunder and lightning, we were in for 13 nights 3 years ago and we had about 5 weather days where we couldn't hunt, so always prepare for the worst, I worship my Hilleberg tent as we had winds of 50. mph and rain for 2 days straight and it did not fail or leak.

[mod7rem]

Last year when we realized the snow was coming (Inreach) we got down out of the mountains to our pickup spot in one long day. Unfortunately it started hitting hard that night and we were stuck there for another 5-6 days. The snow would have been measured in feet where we were camped up high.
In 2016 we got hit with the most violent storm I’ve ever been in on a sheep hunt. Bent a pole on a our hilliberg tent. Managed to save the tent and were lucky to get through the night with driving snow/rain, everything soaked and borderline hypothermic. We bailed into the timber the next day and waited a couple days but the forecast was another 4-5 days of snow and rain to follow. Wound up hiking down and waiting at our pickup point for another 4 days before planes could fly again.
when I saw what was coming last year, it was an easy decision to get down out of the mountains after what happened in 2016. Different types of storms, but both very dangerous to underestimate.

[mod7rem]

Also creek and river crossings can become suicidal a few days after a snow and rain storm, so it’s not a matter of just waiting out the storm and continue hunting after. Last year when the weather broke and everything started melting, the creeks and rivers we had to cross would have been impossible to cross if we had waited. Lots of risks to consider.

[Blockcaver]

I bailed out after 2 days on a solo above tree-line caribou hunt last year during the storm. After two days of high winds, freezing rain, fog and snow my clothes and tent we getting damp. Was tougher weather than you typically get in August or Sept.

[Jimbob]

Last year, I was in with my 12 yr old son and 63 yr old Dad. The weather forecast on the inreach was a life saver. I was watching Caribou through the scope (one might have been legal) but I made the decision to head out. We got out and started driving home through a snow storm, started hearing the horror stories in the next few days.

The year before it was 30 degrees and intense sun, got hit with a good rain storm but that's it.

I am excited to see what this year will bring.