Search teams using a helicopter hoisted two hikers off the summit of a Colorado fourteener after a lightning strike badly injured one of them on Thursday June 12. Rescuers believe the medevac mission may be the highest-altitude helicopter evacuation in state history.
In a Facebook post, Evergreen, Colorado’s Alpine Rescue Team wrote that it had received a message just before 5 P.M. on June 12 alerting them that two hikers had wandered off-route while attempting to ascend the Kelso Ridge route up 14,267-foot Torreys Peak.
Over the course of an hour, personnel from the team stayed on the phone with the hikers, talking them through regaining the trail and climbing to the summit, where they would be able to find their descent route. Speaking to the Associated Press, Alpine Rescue Team public information officer Jake Smith said that the two men were on a road trip from New York, and that it “[didn’t] sound like they had a ton of prior experience.”
Eventually, the hikers successfully reached the top. While they were on the phone with rescuers, however, lightning struck the hikers, leaving one of them “unresponsive.” Alpine, working alongside Clear Creek EMS and Clear Creek Fire, immediately sent five ground teams totaling about 30 people up the mountain. Meanwhile, a Colorado National Guard Blackhawk helicopter ferried two technicians from Vail Mountain Rescue Group to the top of the peak, where they evacuated the stricken hiker by hoist at about 11 P.M. A small group from Alpine continued to the summit of Torreys to assist the second hiker, and the helicopter returned to evacuate them, the patient, and a remaining technician.
“This call illustrates how quickly situations change in Colorado’s high country, and the importance of having your ten essentials and being prepared for a lengthy evacuation,” Alpine wrote. Officials have not shared the rescued hikers’ names.
The team told the AP that it believed Thursday’s helicopter rescue was the highest in Colorado history, beating a previous record of 13,700 feet.
Torreys and Grays are two of the most heavily trafficked fourteeners in Colorado. According to the Colorado Fourteeners Institute’s 2024 annual report, between 20,000 to 25,000 hikers ascended the peaks during the 2023 season. Only two fourteeners logged more hiker ascents: Mount Bierstadt and Quandary Peak.
The peaks are located near the Bakerville exit on Interstate 70 and are located just 54 miles west of downtown Denver.
Grays Peak is also ascended by hikers following the Continental Divide Trail.
Lightning is a common occurrence on Colorado’s fourteeners, especially during the summer monsoon season. On its website, the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative notes that most of its volunteer projects begin with an alpine start to minimize the risk of thunderstorms.
In Colorado, as in most U.S. states, search and rescue is free of charge and staffed mostly by highly-skilled volunteers who pay for most or all of their own training, equipment, and transportation. Hikers from both Colorado and out of state can support Alpine and other Colorado rescue teams by purchasing a Colorado Outdoor Recreation Search and Rescue (CORSAR) card, which runs $5 for one year or $20 for five. Those funds go toward reimbursing county sheriffs and volunteer teams themselves for the cost of rescues.
