Grand
Teton Climber Killed by Lightning Strike
Paraphrased
by:
Steve Waldrop
July 29, 2003
An Idaho woman was struck and killed by lightning as she and five others
in her group were ascending the 13,770 foot Grand Teton,
a park spokewoman said. The surviving climbers were taken to area hospitals to
evaluate the extent of their injuries.
The injuries of the surviving
climbers which included her husband, could have been caused by electrocution or
from falls caused by the lightning's shock wave.
The
climbers were in Grand Teton's Exum Ridge when a fast moving thunderstorm developed
in mid afternoon.
Erica Summers,
25, was struck directly and killed. She was one of 13 climbers including her husband,
who had divided themselves into four groups for the climb. Each group had at least
one experienced climber.
"They all felt rain sprinkles and they
didn't sense a big storm," said park spokeswoman Joan Anzelmo. "In fact,
they only saw two major lightning strikes and one was the one they were struck
by."
Rangers
were flown onto the mountain to evacuate four of the five injured. Rangers had
to rappel down to the fifth climber
before he could be airlifted to safety.
The
fatality marks the third time this year that a visitor to the park has been killed.
All the deaths have been climbing related and all three victims have been females.
