Plan Ahead and Prepare - Storms and Lightning Article

A little after 3 p.m. on July 8, 2000, John Alberter was struck by lightning near the top of Mt. Evans.  The charge entered his left shoulder.  “The power was twisting and crushing me.  Rocks flew into the air.  It felt like my leg was being torn off.  I felt a tingling all over, and then the hot pain started.”

The heat from the discharge instantaneously vaporized moisture in the shoulder of his Gore-Tex jacket, causing the fabric to literally explode. The majority of the current passed over the outside of his torso, vaporizing his sweat, and scalding his skin.  The current exited through his right hip and buttock, causing extensive burns as John’s synthetic clothing melted to his skin.  The doctor who examined John later said that John should have died: If more of the current has passed through John’s internal organs he likely would have.

John and a group of co-workers drove to the top of Mt. Evans that morning, left bikes at the top of the road, and drove back down.  The plan was to attempt Mt. Bierstadt, then traverse over to Mt. Evans, and ride the bikes down to the cars.  But the party moved slower than expected, and shortly before the storm arrived, John was faced with the choice of getting his party down to Abyss Lake, through steep terrain now wet from a previous drizzle, or continuing to Mt. Evans, the bikes, and a quick descent.

Fearing injury if they tried to descend. John chose to continue towards Mt. Evans.  By the time the storm struck, they were near the summit, and John had arranged his party in a lightning drill.  He felt pretty good about their situation.

“The storm was somewhat south of us. I was watching some idiot on the summit of Evans, on top of a boulder with both arms in the air, screaming yahoo at the top of his lungs.  I thought I was going to watch him die.”  Instead, John and a companion were struck.  Witnesses later said that only one lightning bolt struck the area where John and his companions were crouched.

John has pretty much recovered.  “I don’t feel that different, but I’ve had to rebuild, mostly attention span, and I’ve had some memory loss.”  John supervises the Retirement Plans Department at a major fund.  He says it was a struggle when he first returned to work.  Questions that John normally answered from memory before the incident he now had to look up.  He often had to ask that questions be repeated.  John’s vision has deteriorated a bit, and he is at greater risk for cataracts.  While he still feels to be the same person, he acknowledges that he is quieter since the incident. 

John is disturbed by the fact that, when the storm hit the top of Mt. Evans, more than 30 people were still outside their vehicles in the parking area, and more than a few were hiking towards the top.  The storm had been brewing for some time, and while John was making the hard choice whether to get across the ridge, or attempt to get down, others were oblivious to the danger, or chose to ignore it.

A few summers ago an entire herd of elk was killed by lightning in the vicinity of Grays and Torreys Peaks.  Every weekend in summer, hundreds of hikers ascend easier Fourteeners like Mt. Evans.  Many of these hikers are inexperienced in the alpine environment, and many have little awareness of, or regard for lightning hazard.  It is frighteningly possible that a mass casualty will occur on a high peak in Colorado in the near future. If it can happen to elk it can happen to humans.  The human cost will be enormous. Even for survivors, permanent disabilities and lingering after-effects will have life-long impacts on them, and their families and friends.  Rescue and body recovery efforts will have tremendous impacts on the fragile alpine landscape.

What to do?  Plan ahead and prepare.  Avoid the hazard in the first place.  Start your ascent pre-dawn.  This will give you the best chance of summitting before convection storms that produce lightning have time to form.  If you are climbing with companions, discuss what you will do if confronted by a lightning storm before the fact, so that you can take swift action.  Be observant.  Watch how fast clouds build.  Prevailing winds in Colorado are westerly.  If you are climbing a peak from the east you may not have a view of what these winds are bringing your way.  Also be aware that lightning can strike as much as ten kilometers in front of a storm cell.  Be equipped.  Storms that produce lightning also bring winds and rain that can rapidly cause hypothermia, which interferes with judgment. 

Don’t ascend into a storm, descend.  Recent research indicates that there may be no such thing as a “safe zone” above treeline.  Only dense, uniform timber provides protection.  If you are caught in a storm, and unable to move quickly down, crouch in the lightning position, insulated from the ground by a pad or pack.

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