Posted on 07/01/2025 7:49:41 AM PDT by BenLurkin
Two New York men struck by lightning while hiking a Colorado peak were airlifted to safety in what is believed to be the highest-altitude helicopter rescue ever recorded in the state.
The duo — who haven’t been identified — called for help around 5 p.m. Thursday after getting off course while attempting to climb Torreys Peak, one of the state’s highest summits at 14,300 feet.
“It didn’t sound like they had a ton of experience,” Alpine Rescue Team spokesperson Jack Smith said, noting that the pair decided to summit the peak during a road trip through the Centennial State.
Emergency crews had just steered the men back on course when they were zapped by lightning minutes later — leaving one hiker unresponsive and in critical condition.
About 30 rescuers ascended the mountain while a Colorado National Guard Black Hawk chopper hoisted the injured man off the peak at 14,200 feet.
He was then rushed to the burn unit of a Denver hospital, where he remains in fair condition.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
“I can’t remember experiencing anything so loud as that lightning”
I had a lightning strike about 40 feet in front of me. I was deaf and blind for a pretty good while. It split a Hickory tree right down the middle. I made benches out of the tree.
When I was a kid we had a tree a hundred yards down the road from us get hit. It scared the beejezus outta me.
Huh.
Thanks MD.
I'm more a hiker than mountain climber, but I've turned back several times from trying to summit a peak simply because I ran out the clock. I had a set turn-around time and I stuck to it.
My wife was painting in our cabin in central Utah. A lightning bolt struck about 1/4 of a mile away. She said a spark flashed to her hand from all large bolt in the ceiling. The bolt was holding joists together and no other metal was within a few feet. Lightning bolts accompany a huge magnetic field collapse that can induce currents a large distance away from the bolt. Nasty stuff.
That's gotta hurt.
“Idiots on the Mountain “, film at 11.
LUCKY HE HAD THE DOG
IIRC—_THE MOST LIGHTNING STRIKES THAT HURTS PEOPLE ARE ON THE GOLF COURSE
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.