spectr17
09-02-2002, 09:08 PM
Lightning strikes climbers 3 times
Associated Press
9/1/02
GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) - Three experienced mountain climbers were hit by lightning three times Aug. 21 near the summit of Grand Teton.
Dave Schwietert, 25; Fletcher Brinkerhoff, 28; and Mike Gauthier, 33, met from various parts of the country to climb the 13,770 foot summit tied to one another with a rope.
The men said the bolts of lightning hit the rocks then shocked them, once traveling down the rope so all three received the jolt.
Schwietert, a legislative assistant for Wyoming Sen. Craig Thomas in Washington, D.C., suggested the group take a climbing trip this summer to Teton Range. The three originally met during a climbing trip on Washington's Mt. Rainier, where Gauthier is employed as the National Park Service's head climbing ranger, then met again at a rescue course in Arizona, where Brinkerhoff lives and works for the U.S. Geological Survey.
There was less than a 10 percent chance of rain that day, and Schwietert said he the group thought they might get wet, but didn't expect lightning. He said they chose to climb the Upper Exum route because it was shorter.
The trio said they hid in a nook about 250 feet below the summit after the first bolt and were pinned there about 30 minutes.
After the lightning storm passed the team finished their climb.
Later Brinkerhoff found a burn mark on his jacket and found that the bolt had gone through five layers of clothing.
Brinkerhoff had four burns on his body: one on his shoulder, one on each ankle, and one on his left shin. Gauthier had one burn on his back by his ribs, Schwietert said.
Associated Press
9/1/02
GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) - Three experienced mountain climbers were hit by lightning three times Aug. 21 near the summit of Grand Teton.
Dave Schwietert, 25; Fletcher Brinkerhoff, 28; and Mike Gauthier, 33, met from various parts of the country to climb the 13,770 foot summit tied to one another with a rope.
The men said the bolts of lightning hit the rocks then shocked them, once traveling down the rope so all three received the jolt.
Schwietert, a legislative assistant for Wyoming Sen. Craig Thomas in Washington, D.C., suggested the group take a climbing trip this summer to Teton Range. The three originally met during a climbing trip on Washington's Mt. Rainier, where Gauthier is employed as the National Park Service's head climbing ranger, then met again at a rescue course in Arizona, where Brinkerhoff lives and works for the U.S. Geological Survey.
There was less than a 10 percent chance of rain that day, and Schwietert said he the group thought they might get wet, but didn't expect lightning. He said they chose to climb the Upper Exum route because it was shorter.
The trio said they hid in a nook about 250 feet below the summit after the first bolt and were pinned there about 30 minutes.
After the lightning storm passed the team finished their climb.
Later Brinkerhoff found a burn mark on his jacket and found that the bolt had gone through five layers of clothing.
Brinkerhoff had four burns on his body: one on his shoulder, one on each ankle, and one on his left shin. Gauthier had one burn on his back by his ribs, Schwietert said.