In the city of Guarda, near Serra da Estrela, lives Vítor Baia, the Weather Man. Vítor Baia makes weather forecasts for mountaineers who prefer a method he developed himself to other more sophisticated ones.
Victor Baia, a native and resident of Guarda, is a great expert on Serra da Estrela and has been mountaineering since 1981 and paragliding since 1990. Vítor Baia has been involved in meteorology since 1996 due to the need for the best weather forecasts for paragliding. Years later, at the suggestion and request of his friend João Garcia, he began to study and prepare weather charts for climbing the highest mountain peaks. Currently, 20 years later, he accompanies dozens of mountaineers from around the world who use his forecasts based on Tefigrams and a technical vocabulary he developed for sending messages by satellite phone, such as: SMS “GOOD” – The weather is good for climbing. SMS “CLEAR MORNING AND CLOUDY AFTERNOON” – normal weather in the mountains. SMS “IMPOSSIBLE” – Do not climb.