Wild Country

[griztrax]

Climbers rescued from the Grand Teton after being struck by lightning multiple times

That's one heck of a story - the rescue teams in the Grand Teton national park are world class and it's a good thing. That was an epic effort. I've never been higher than the saddle on the Grand, but being caught anywhere along the range above timberline in a big storm is as frightening as anything you'll ever go through. I've been pinned down a few times in other locations in the range and while it's easy to say that they should not have been still heading up that late in the day during storm season, it's impossible to know exactly when a big one will roar in. They hit so fast! Al and I got caught above timberline on Rendezvous Peak on a clear day. Hiking down under blue skies, we first caught a glimpse of black clouds pouring over the crest of the mountain like water over a dam. We literally ran helter-skelter down the trail trying to reach the trees before all hell broke loose. Al ducked into a ski lift tower with some resort workers, but I had a good lead and missed the turn. I ended up huddled in some krumholz that was barely taller than my crouched body. Lightning was hitting everywhere, one strike directly behind another. It set a couple of fires, but the rain an hail kept them from blowing up. Once it finally passed, I got a great video of Al bounding straight down the fall line, off-trail, as he headed for the 'barn'.
I can't even imagine how terrifying it must have been for the climbers with nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.

[Seth]

I think we need to see these photos and video!

[griztrax]

I need to get another 8mm camcorder so that I can put the tapes that I have on DVD. Mine is toast, and they're really hard to find now. I've got a lot of stuff that I'd like to save from trips over the past two decades. The trek down Rendezvous is one of my favorites - we got charged by a bull moose near the bottom on that one too.
There is also a very close encounter with a grizzly off-trail on Specimen Ridge that I'd like to get on DVD before the tapes go bad. That's the biggest problem with the speed with which technology advances - if you get slack on transferring to the latest and greatest, you risk losing a lot of memories.
_________________
"The timid never tried,
and the foolish died along the way."