We’re riding along the foothills of Yellowstone’s Gallatin Mountain Range. Its most prominent peak reaches 11,000 feet, or 3,300 meters above sea level. The tale of the first ascent up the peak is one of the most shocking stories in the park.
In 1872, during the third expedition to explore Yellowstone, young Henry Gannett and two companions were tasked with measuring the summit. As they neared the top, a terrible storm loomed over the mountain.
“...I began to feel a tingling or pricking sensation in my head and the ends of my fingers,” Henry wrote in his journal. “...and my hair stood completely on end.”
And the higher Henry climbed, the more painful it became. So, what was happening? Well, when a storm goes over a mountain, it creates Static Electricity. Have you ever run your feet over a carpet, and gotten a little electric shock? Yeah, imagine that, but all over your body. Poor Henry was getting the shock of his life.
After a final and powerful electric shock from the storm, the men retreated, and dubbed the mountain “Electric Peak.”
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