AN ACR FLC FLYING B737 TO DEN ENCOUNTERS WX ENRTE AND IS UNABLE TO COMPLY WITH ATC INSTRUCTIONS.

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THIS FLT WAS FROM BUR-DEN WITH WX DEVS ALL THE WAY. NEAR MTJ WE WERE CLRED DIRECT TO SKEED INTXN ON THE POWDER 3 ARR TO DEN. THIS WAS 5-10 DEGS L TURN. THE WX THAT DIRECTION DID NOT LOOK QUITE AS GOOD; BUT WE WERE WILLING TO TRY IT. AFTER A FEW MINS ON THAT COURSE; IT BECAME APPARENT THAT THIS HEADING WAS UNACCEPTABLE DUE TO CELL BUILDUPS IN FRONT OF US AND ABOVE US THAT WE WERE NOT PAINTING THE WX CELL ON RADAR; BUT WERE CLRLY VISIBLE. AFTER 3 OR MORE UNANSWERED CALLS TO ZDV TO REQUEST A R DEV; WE HAD TO TURN ABOUT 25 DEGS R TO AVOID WX. ABOUT THE TIME WE FINISHED THE TURN; I GOT A HOLD OF CTR AND LET HIM KNOW WE TURNED. HE SEEMED INCREDULOUS AND UPSET THAT WE HAD TURNED WITHOUT HIS PERMISSION; HOWEVER WE HAD NO CHOICE. WE RESUMED COURSE AFTER 20-30 MI; BUT ZIGZAGGING ALL THE WAY TO DEN. 2 PROBS WERE AT WORK HERE: DUE TO LIMITATIONS OF COM SYS OUR REQUESTS WENT UNHEARD FOR A CRITICAL LENGTH OF TIME. (WE WERE APPARENTLY STEPPED ON BY OTHER XMISSIONS. THERE SEEMS TO BE A REAL BREAKDOWN IN COMS BTWN CTLRS WHEN IT COMES TO THE BIG PICTURE. QUITE OFTEN YOU WILL BE ADVISED BY ATC TO DEVIATE ONE WAY; ONLY TO FIND OUT YOU'VE STEPPED INTO A MINE FIELD OF WX IN THE NEXT CTLR'S SECTOR DOWN LINE (WHETHER THAT BE 100 MI OR 1000 MI AWAY). A SIMILAR PROB EXISTS WITH WX REROUTES (SWAP ROUTES; EG). BY THE TIME YOU GET TO THE NEW RTE; THE ORIGINAL RTE IS CLR AND THE NEW RTE NOW HAS WX PROBS. I WOULD HAVE TO ATTRIBUTE THIS SIT TO THE CTLR'S LACK OF GOOD WX DATA AVAILABLE AND A LACK OF KNOWLEDGE OF THE NATURE OF TSTM LIFE CYCLE AND MOVEMENT. WE ARE OFTEN DEPENDENT ON ATC FOR LONG RANGE PLANNING AROUND WX; AS AIRBORNE RADAR CAN BE DIFFICULT TO USE BEYOND 100 MI OR SO; ESPECIALLY IF THERE IS LITTLE MOISTURE PRESENT. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 443376: THE CAPT TOLD ME TO MAKE A SLIGHT TURN TO THE R TO AVOID THE WX. ABOUT THEN; ATC CALLED AND ASKED US WHAT WE WERE DOING; ACCUSING US OF TURNING INTO TFC (WE SAW HIM ON TCASII APPROX 15 MI AWAY). ATC ARGUED WE WERE ABOUT TO CREATE AN EMER SIT; TO WHICH THE CAPT SAID IF WE NEEDED TO DECLARE AN EMER WE WOULD; BUT WE WEREN'T GOING TO FLY 100 PLUS PAX AND CREW THROUGH A TSTM. THIS 'DISCUSSION' ON THE RADIO WAS NOT VERY PROFESSIONAL; AND TENSIONS ON BOTH ENDS MIGHT HAVE BEEN ALLEVIATED IF ATC HAD BEEN MORE WILLING TO WORK WITH US AND HAVING LESS OF AN ACCUSATORY ATTITUDE.