The new bride, Deb, & I left Spearfish on 5 August after 3 days in the Black Hills area & the 75th Sturgis madness & took Rt 212 across Montana until we hit I90 & Billings. We had a hotel reservation in Cody, Wyoming & the trip started out very HOT & DRY. We hit Red Lodge at maybe 4:30 & the sky was getting cloudy, so we donned our raingear & helmets. Temperature was 86 degrees. Headed into the canyon & after about 5 miles we pulled off to take some pix. Beautiful scenery. Temperature 73 degrees...Headed further into the canyon & the started UP. We rode switchback after switchback until we got to the Rock Creek Vista Point pull off. fed some of the local oddly-colored chipmunks & took some more photos. a fella there asked us which way we were heading, because he'd just seen a bear higher up on the highway. 65 degrees. As we were heading back to the bikes, I looked up at the sky & said to my wife, "those look like snow clouds." We headed up to the summit & after maybe 3 miles, all HELL broke loose. Rain & gusting (50 - 60 MPH?) winds. Lightning immediately followed by thunder & then sideways blowing hail. I tried to pull into a parking area on the left side of the highway, but the wind wouldn't let me. I didn't think the loose stone looked too safe & went on to the next one. I got in & dismounted & took shelter near a rock outcropping. I didn't know what happened to my wife, because I couldn't see her. Turns out the wind swirled & pushed her into the first pull off. She went down & some guys in a van helped her up. Some other folks from Northern Californina had pulled off in their Subaru, because the driving conditons were awful & they took Deb into their car to ride out the storm. Meanwhile, I'm huddled near the rocks, cowered down, waiting for my bike to get blown over by the wind. I couldn't turn my head to see if I could spot Deb, because I was getting blasted by the hail. 25 - 30 minutes of soaking rain & painful hail, wondering if this was IT. There was a bear out there somewhere & I felt like bait. I tried to stand up at one point, but the wind knocked me to my knees. After an ETERNITY a car pulled into the pull off & Deb got out & yelled for me to get in. The family of 5, PLUS Deb, packed into a Subaru, now had 1 more person in there, soaking wet & messing up their rear seat. They tell of a place just about 20 minutes down the mountain, called Top of the World. Gift shop. Hot Coffee. Food. DRY! Another half hour & the storm had abated enough for us to mount up. 43 degrees. Now it's 7:30 & we head down the mountain. Front of my bike is wobbling like crazy & I realize that it's me, shivering, that's causing the wobble. We head for the Top of the World & find out it had closed at 7:00. It's now about 7:50. Fortunately, the smelly cinderblock outhouse is open & dry & we're able to get some wet stuff off & some dry stuff on. We head out for Chief Joseph Highway. We see some bears & some deer butnot much else. Hardly any other vehicles & NO bikes. The sun sets as we're on CJH, & we keep plodding on. Eyes reflect our headlights back at us from the side of the road, but we have know idea what kinda critters are there. Once again we're hitting switchback after switchback as we climb, but the roads are wet & we can't see a DAMN thing other than the lines on the road...We finally pulled into Cody at 10:30. Got a room. Took a redhot shower. Drank some hot tea. Crawled into the bed & put extra blankets over us & shivered ourselves to sleep. We SURVIVED Beartooth!

 

HOLY CRAP! you wont forget that one!

 

I would think something stronger than tea was in order....

 

Wahooooo......sounds wild.

My wife and I did the same type of weather, but were on the Custard Nature Loop....pretty exciting.

Glad you made it.

 

What....no pics??

Sorry I couldn't resist. That is some scary stuff you went through. Will not forget your first trip with your wife I would think!
Glad you made it through all that though!!

 

4:30 in the afternoon, iffy WX and you set out to ride the Beartooth and Chief Joseph?

 

Great adventure! Glad you both made it safely.

 

We did Beartooth the week before sturgis, hell of a ride....( being afraid of heights ) but it was worth it....we spent the night in Red Lodge....then we did the Big Horns ( Route 14A ) on our way to Sturgis.....truly a great experience and our weather was a bit better but cold none the less....memories.....

 

14A over the Big Horns, Chief Joseph and Beartooth Pass- 3 GREAT rides for sure!

 

Beartooth is a great ride and weather is always a consideration. We have had a little bad weather before, but never like yours.

1st time we rode it was from Yellowstone to Billings. We got off the mountain and into Red Lodge right at dark. Would not have wanted to ride the pass or Chief Joseph after dark.

Bill