Two men were struck by lightning on a Colorado mountain last week, prompting one of the highest helicopter rescues on record in the state.
The two hikers from New York called for help just before 5 p.m. Thursday, after they wandered off route on Kelso Ridge while headed up Torreys Peak, according to the Evergreen-based Alpine Rescue Team.
Rescuers directed the pair back to the summit by phone. Minutes later, the team got another call from the New Yorkers reporting that they had just been struck by lightning, Alpine Rescue Team officials said.
Torreys Peak is a 14,300-foot mountain about 40 miles west of Denver. It’s ranked variously as the 11th or 12th highest summit in Colorado and is less than 200 feet shorter than the state’s highest mountain, Mount Elbert.
Five rescue teams headed up the mountain after the lightning strike, while another team mobilized a Colorado National Guard Blackhawk helicopter, officials said.
One of the hikers was nonresponsive and in critical condition, rescuers said. He was flown off the peak first using a hoist at 11 p.m. Thursday.
The man was taken to a local hospital and then transferred to a Denver-area hospital with a burn unit, Alpine Rescue Team public information officer Jake Smith said.
The helicopter made another trip around midnight to fetch the second hiker with less serious injuries, according to the Alpine Rescue Team.
Both rescues took place at roughly 14,200 feet.
Rescue officials believe Colorado’s previous record for a helicopter rescue was 13,700 feet. Such rescues are challenging because thin air causes helicopters to lose lifting ability the higher they fly; the Blackhawk has an altitude limit of about 19,000 feet.
One man remained hospitalized Friday while the other was treated at a hospital and released. No updates on their conditions were available Sunday.
“It doesn’t sound like they had a ton of prior experience. I think it was probably just a lack of awareness,” said Smith, who was among the rescuers on the ground.
Kelso Ridge is “considered a highly challenging route, it should only be attempted by experienced adventurers,” according to AllTrails. It’s a popular way for hikers to summit two fourteeners — Grays Peak and Torreys Peak — in the same day.
“If you don’t know anything about rock climbing stay away from Kelso Ridge!!!” one hiker wrote on the website.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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