You will encounter alpine tundra on many mountaintops in the Lower 48 United States, including New Hampshire's White Mountains, the Adirondacks, the Rockies, the Sierra, and the Cascades. This alpine landscape is characterized by lack of trees and harsh weather conditions, including a regular battering of lightning strikes and wind gusts that can be hurricane force.Understanding temperature, thin air and weather in highcountry.

More than anything else, alpine hiking is affected by elevation. The higher you go, the more you'll be affected by 3 key factors.

1. First, temperature: On average, you lose 3 to 5 degrees per 1,000 feet, which means that up on top of 14,494-foot Mount Whitney, it's going to be 43 to 70 degrees colder than down at sea level.
2. Second, thin air: A molecule of air at high elevations is made up of the same percentage of nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen as it is at sea level - but at higher altitudes, there's less air in a given volume of space because there is less pressure. And that means that with each breath, you take in less oxygen.
3. And finally there's weather: Volatile and fickle, mountain weather can change several times within a few hours, or from one side of a ridge to the other. Winds race over mountain passes and hit you with the force of a freight train. It snows in July. Thunder roars and echoes against mountain walls, booming like the percussion section of an orchestra made of Titans.

Backpack: Bear Country: Basics

Backpack: Bear Country: Camping & Food Security

Backpack: Bear Country: Hiking & Bear Encounters

Backpack: Desert: Basics

Backpack: Desert: Camping Considerations

Backpack: Desert: Hazards

Backpack: Desert: Hiking

Backpack: Desert: Water & Food: Dry Camping

Backpack: Desert: Water & Food: Finding & Carrying

Backpack: Desert: Water & Food: Food

Backpack: Finding Water

Backpack: Fitness

Backpack: Food & Water: Plan Meals

Backpack: Food & Water: Repackage

Backpack: Fording Rivers

Backpack: Highcountry: Camping Considerations

Backpack: Highcountry: Hazards

Backpack: Highcountry: Hiking on Scree & Talus

Backpack: In Camp: Bathing

Backpack: In Camp: Campfire: Basics

Backpack: In Camp: Campfire: in the Rain

Backpack: In Camp: Campfire: Low-Impact Fires

Backpack: In Camp: Cooking/Camp Kitchen

Backpack: In Camp: Food Storage

Backpack: In Camp: Ideal Campsite

Backpack: In Camp: Making Camp in Adverse Conditions

Backpack: In Camp: Managing Human Waste

Backpack: In Camp: Sleeping Warm

Backpack: In Camp: Tent or Tarp?

Backpack: In Camp: Washing Dishes

Backpack: In Camp: Women's Sanitation Concerns

Backpack: Packing Your Pack

Backpack: Plan Your Trip

Backpack: Putting on Your Pack

Backpack: Staying Found: Emergency Signaling

Backpack: Staying Found: How to Use a Compass

Backpack: Staying Found: Why Carry a Compass?

Backpack: Treating Water

Backpack: What to Bring: Clothes