Soaring and WeatherTAP

I often get the question, “So, what if rains on the day I’m supposed to go Soaring?”  My initial answer: “That’s a great question!”  Let me explain a bit further though…

We do operate our canopy tours rain or shine, but it’s quite rare that it rains for an extended period of time.  Due to our location in the Animas River valley, the mountains tend to shift any approaching weather cells around the Tall Timber property.

Through the use of some of the best available technology, we’re able to keep a close eye on each and every weather development in the area.  One of the tools that we use is called WeatherTAP; a service widely recognized by meteorologists as a top resource for weather tracking and prediction. The user-interface (RadarLab HD) allows for close monitoring and frequent updates that gives us an important insight into weather patterns and the development of cells.  Using real-time lightning data, we’re able to pinpoint each and every lightning strike within a 25 mile radius of our property.  This allows us to ensure the safety of all of our guests; which, as you’ll notice, is a top priority here at Soaring Tree Top Adventures.

Another, more recent, tool that we’ve begun to use is an Electric Field Monitor. This unit, a Boltek EFM-100, allows us to take readings on the (you guessed it) electric field in our area.  The readings from the roof-mounted unit are made available on a monitored computer here in our office, where we are able to analyze the data in predicting the probability of a lightning strike in the area.  It’s a great tool to use for those “pop-up” storms that sometimes tend to generate within the mountains.  As an added redundancy, it also provides us with another source of real-time lightning data.

The guest’s best interest is always at the forefront of our minds, which is why it’s important to us to take such great care in making sure all surroundings are perfectly safe.  If you would like some more information about our canopy tours and how we operate, visit www.soaringcolorado.com or call (970) 769-2357.