Everyone who lives in Colorado knows that the weather can be unpredictable, frightening and turn treacherous on a dime. There can be a violent thunderstorm, complete with golf-ball-sized hail, that will quickly be followed by rainbows and sunshine. The prediction of 1-2 inches of snow, can actually morph into a blizzard. It can take but a few minutes for rain and slush to turn neighborhood roads into slick and dangerous ice rinks.

Here are 3 stories about the impact of weather: One when it didn’t seem all that bad, another when it was bad but disregarded and a personal tale of just plain bad luck.

As I sat down to write this column, the confounding deaths in southern Colorado of two young hunters was finally being explained. The verdict was a lightning strike resulted in their instantaneous deaths. Apparently, storms were rolling in and they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The bodies were found at an altitude of over 10,000 feet. One can only guess the scenario. Wet clothes were found in their truck, so obviously they were aware of the stormy weather. Because lightning strikes are rare, it is a good guess that this was not a concern for them. Treacherous weather rolled into the area with rain turning to snow, plummeting temperatures, and high winds. Unfortunately they miscalculated the dangers and potential scenarios, something we have all done.

Most Coloradans have some awareness of who Agnes Vaille was. There is a waterfall named after her near Buena Vista, and a shelter on Longs Peak honoring her memory. In September, my husband Ron and I spent an evening at the Estes Park YMCA Camp hearing a storyteller recount the tragic tale of her demise.

Vaille was truly an amazing woman who aspired to make history. She was an experienced mountaineer, taking pride in conquering the unconquerable. On Jan. 11, 1925, she and her climbing partner, Walter Kiener, set out to climb Longs Peak. Vaille hoped to become the first woman to make a wintertime summit via the steep and elusive East Face.

The weather was unforgiving with extremely adverse conditions including ferocious winds, subzero temperatures and blizzard conditions. Incredibly, they actually reached the summit before dawn the next morning, after 25 hours battling grueling conditions. Sadly, Vaille’s stamina was spent and she succumbed to the elements and an unfortunate fall soon after they began their descent. Kiener survived but suffered extreme frostbite.

My personal story is certainly not life-threatening, but an example of the development and consequences of many aspects of a perfect storm that was beyond control. In early November, 2024, Ron and I were returning to Colorado after spending 2 weeks in Costa Rica.

On the day we headed home the weather in Costa Rica was typically hot and humid. Our journey took a turn for the worse due to delayed flights. As our flight was landing in Colorado Springs, we saw swirling, heavy snow blowing past the windows. Once we got into the airport and retrieved our luggage, we found that many other passengers were seeking rides as we were. Ron snagged an Uber and eventually our driver pulled up in a sedan that clearly should not have been driven in the midst of a serious snowstorm. We had no choice but to cross our fingers and hope for the best.

The driver gamely drove us through the unplowed streets. He managed to negotiate Norad Road up into our neighborhood, where the snow covering the streets was 8-10 inches deep. Once he got to the turn leading up to our house, we could quickly see that there was no way his vehicle could make it up the hill.

So here we were, at 11:30 at night, underdressed in jeans, hoodies and sneakers. Of course, our expectation had been a quick Uber ride home from the airport. We too quickly decided our only option was to walk the remaining 2 1/2 blocks home. The Uber driver was gone in a flash, leaving us at the mercy of the cold and blowing snow. This walk proved to be more than we bargained for. We were not dressed for the weather and were each pulling a suitcase and toting a heavy backpack through the rapidly deepening snow. We finally made it home, but the trek took just about every bit of grit and energy we each had.

In retrospect, we didn’t think this through. There was much beyond our control, but one of us should have walked home to get our 4WD truck, leaving the other waiting in the Uber with the luggage. Shoulda, coulda, woulda. It’s easy to understand attempting to persevere when managing the unexpected, coupled with pride and feeling invincible. We learned a valuable lesson to think things through in the future, and consider all the options.