The Grand Teton Disaster

[@nickim6571]

This is why every mountaineering book I've ever read tells you to be on and off the summit before noon.

[@kirtreeves7777]

My first thought when the timeline had them hundreds of feet below the summit at 3p

[@sarahr9894]

That's crazy. My mom was struck by lightning when she was young, as she was serving coffee out a drive thru window at the McDonald's she worked at. She said the last thing she saw was the most beautiful blue light, and then she was suddenly on the ground surrounded by coworkers. The only reason she survived is her regulation rubber shoes and the fact that the other person who was struck was in their car, and so grounded. I wonder if these guys also saw the beautiful blue light.

[@davidpawson7393]

Actually the car is not grounded due to the tires and it's the body that acts like a Faraday cage dissipating the energy. The lightning most likely jumped to the ground as well.

[@sarahr9894]

@@davidpawson7393 interesting, I'll be honest I don't have the best understanding of how electricity works. All I know is I'm glad both she and the dude she was handing coffee to survived!

[@bradsanders407]

​@David Pawson lighting comes from the ground. It absolutely touched the ground.

[@Syclone0044]

@@bradsanders407 How do you explain cloud to cloud lightning?

[@GuntWastelander]

@@Syclone0044 these things are not mutually exclusive?

[@POLARTTYRTM]

The definition of wrong place, wrong time. My house got directly stuck by lighting about 9 years ago, I was asleep and felt the shock through the walls, it was really painful and I got a burning/numb sensation on my legs for several days, my mom felt the shock when she was on the computer though the mouse. Scary stuff, lightnings are no joke.

[@Laura-zy5jp]

What an awful experience for this group of friends . I’m not any kind of mountain climber but this was just awful . Feel so bad for all these 13 went through but especially for the man who lost his wife to the lightening. I’m someone who fears thunderstorms and make it a strong point to be indoors before a lightning storm hits. Very unpredictable . Rest In Peace ✝️🕊😔🌷

[@matt2887]

Hahaha.. “I hate being bi-polar.. it’s awesome”. Made me smile.

[@doomsdaybooty1072]

Haha I know right. Double take

[@sarahmacintosh6449]

As someone with bipolar, I will be plagiarizing the hell out of that 😂

[@goat252]

Ye - kanye west

[@proudchristian77]

Maybe your not , maybe your normal & just have feelings, maybe your not a thug , u don't have to mental, 💝🐕

[@bradsanders407]

That's not bi polar.

[@hokey9175]

I live in an area where I have direct view of the tetons. They are beautiful but known to be dangerous. Thanks for another great video!

[@mtmadigan82]

There was another wild one in 2010 when 17 climbers got caught near the summit when a lightning storm with hail developed quickly. The rangers and exum guides were able to extract everyone with only one casualty.

[@dana102083]

I just saw that one a few days ago..i got preemptively upset there was another so quickly on the same topic..oops! I will get over myself now..

[@mtmadigan82]

@@dana102083 lol

[@jaxinhole]

My friend Henry was up there when it happened, got struck by lightning. We all worked at a lodge in the Tetons

[@aksunai-99]

I was with several pilots at Driggs ID (located 15 miles west of the mountain) that day, planning to fly gliders over the Teton range. Based on a forecast of significant afternoon thunderstorms, we elected to stay on the ground.

[@comeon_man]

Grasshoppers sound was probably atmosphere charging…. Have experienced myself w ski edges top of Angel of Shavano Colorado. Then, Below summit and across saddle was single freak sinister black cloud. Quickly clicked in and ripped to saddle. Stopped edges still buzzing. Unclipped and hustled holding dragging skis by leashes on ground like walking a dog. Traversed across to trees. Lucky. Happened couple times touring Pikes peak massive too. Can’t see weather coming sometimes Lightning is no joke

[@smontone]

I really do love your channel. The Tetons are one of my favorite places. Thanks for the video!

[@wellscampbell9858]

Brrr-rr-rr. Lightning scares me. A friend and I set up camp near a feature near Tuolomne meadows called Matthes crest. It's a rock fin that juts up from the surrounding terrain and is about a mile long, and traversing the whole ridge is the standard route. There are a few moderate pitches on the route, at the southern end, and a notch just before the summit, but most of the traverse could be simul-climbed. Knife-edged ridge, with beautiful vertical exposure on both sides. We started under blue skies but by noon there were a few areas of convection that had popped up. We waited one out in an alcove as we received light rain and a brief period of hail. We heard a single rumble of thunder but it was pretty far away and eventually the darker clouds passed and left a uniform overcast in its wake. About an hour later we were at the bottom of the notch, prepared to climb to the summit. I led, and had just topped out, and was just about to set up an anchor and take myself off-belay so I could rearrange to bring up my second. As I crouched down next to the summit box, I felt a sensation like someone was lightly rubbing a feather up and down my exposed arm. I looked, and all of my arm hair was standing straight up. Without thinking, I raised my arm up a bit, and heard a loud hissing crackling sound, and could faintly see blue branchy corona discharge emanating from my forearm. I screamed "Downclimbing! Take rope!" and frantically began reversing the route and yanking out gear on the way down. I was sure that the great hammer was going to come down on me at any moment. I finally reached my confused partner and explained what happened, and he immediately became just as motivated as I was to get off the rock as soon as safely possible. Two rappels later, and we were heading for the tents, shaken but unscathed. I'll never forget that feeling, like looking straight into a gun barrel, wondering when it will go off. We only heard that one rumble of thunder the whole day. You just never know...

[@viktormedina4631]

@Morbid Midnight Thanks again for another incredible and excellently made video. I'm a fan since I discovered you, and your content is always awesome. Thanks.

[@jsmariani4180]

I've hiked and climbed many times in the Tetons. It's well known that afternoon summer lightning storms are quite common. Unless it's forecast to be a bluebird day (sketchy), it's best to be off the high peaks in the morning.

[@armychic15]

Anyone else watching this at 6:30 on a Saturday morning? Have a great weekend, everyone❤

[@ajaks7636]

Bad luck, terrible situation. Great video! Thank You. 😁

[@mackmcmillan9905]

Heck yeah; thanks for the upload!

[@kirtreeves7777]

I worked for the USFS White River National Forest in Western Colorado back in the 80's. Ihave seen lightning strike the ground within a hundred yeards. Our crew was knocked to the ground once by just the shock wave of the lightning striking extremely close, which also Induced a pack horse rodeo when they too were knocked to the ground. Our horse packstring would always walk much closer to us during a thunderstorm. "Stay back at the end of your lead rope horse.... you're a BIGGER target!" 😂. Also heard outfitter stories of everything metal, glasses frames, horse tack, etc glowing blue with static electricity. St Elmos Fire

[@gnarthdarkanen7464]

Just in the Appalachians, and a bolt struck an old black locust tree, shattered the ground open in a spider-web for easily 100 feet in every direction, and took OUT about 2 dozen cattle... all in seconds... AND (just for clarity), by "shattered open" I'm talking about routs through the ground EASILY over 18 inches wide and just as deep, just burst open in the web-pattern... After around the 100 foot-ish territory, it narrowed so I couldn't say much more specific... Tall grass... etc... AND of course, where there's a bunch of instantly dead cattle, I'm not about to go disturbing it so the owner can start getting pissed off about MY doings... I left to bring the word around... ;o)

[@larrynicholson5810]

Another fine video Midnight. Thxs.

[@go_dawgs]

Love this channel

[@HandyMan657]

Dude, your message got a good laugh over here. Thank ya bro

[@davidfantle6721]

I was there that day, climbing that route right behind them. My nephew and his friend had flown out from college in the Midwest to join me. Both were experienced rock climbers, but without any mountaineering experience, which I was to provide. We camped in the low, dripping 'Petzold Cave' at the lower saddle, and didn't get as early a start as I had hoped, as his friend was suffering from the effects of altitude. There was a 40% chance of afternoon thunderstorms, as there is for much of the summer days in the Tetons. We spoke with the climbers mentioned in this video at the upper saddle, the beginning of the technical route. The weather looked fine at that time. I could see that their group was pretty large, and likely to move slowly up the route, as would my nephew's friend, given how he was feeling. Adding that to the afternoon T-storm risk, I made a snap decision for us to descent and do the route the following day, getting an earlier start and letting them have an additional day to acclimatize to the altitude. As we descended, very dark clouds came over the summit from the hidden 'back side', and soon after, we could hear thunder loudly. After about an hour, we saw the helicopter circling up there, and I knew that something bad had happened. It was confirmed when I ran into a friend, who was the head climbing guide there and had a radio. He let us know what had happened. I believe that the climber who was left dangling from the rope in his harness was hanging there for about 6 hours before he could be rescued. It was just my hasty judgement call that could have just as easily gone the other way, for us to press on, that saved us that day from what happened to them. From our short conversation, they seemed like really nice people, and it took me a long time to get over it and feel comfortable climbing again. A book was written about that day, but mostly focused on the rescuers and their operation, rather than the climbers.

[@patrickagee]

One of the best stories yet! On our way to 66k (that rhymes)!!!!!!!!!

[@SebastianWolfLove]

Random story that I thought anyone watching wouldn’t mind reading: I used to travel when I was younger and Jackson Hole was one of the places I got the privilege to stay for the summer with my horse. While riding my horse around and working, I met a couple who told a lot of stories I wish I remembered. One of my favorite of the husbands was that he hiked all the way up and celebrated with a shot of whiskey. We ended up sending him whiskey when we got home. Last I know of them was they moved to somewhere easier on their bodies because the wife had an oxygen tank. I wonder if he travels out to do his annual whiskey hike. I miss them ❤ thank you for this video! He made it sound too easy

[@bogdangabrielonete3467]

What is really sad for me is that they did nothing wrong fro what I can tell. Just a terrible case of bad luck

[@chrimony]

What, weather forecasts don't exist?

[@devilduck17]

​@chrimony never been to the mountains ehh?

[@chrimony]

@@devilduck17 Apparently you don't realize weather forecasts exist where mountains are.

[@bloblablah7409]

⁠@@chrimony Idk which one of you are wrong cause weather forecasts do exist in mountains but I’ve had an experience in my local mountains during monsoon season where it went from a perfect clear sky, to a thunderstorm convecting right over my head. The desert floor heats up from the hot sun, then as the sun lowers, mountains cast their shadows over the desert causing the desert floor to cool rapidly. Warm air trapped in the desert floor rockets skyward eventually hitting dew point where it condenses into cloud vapor. The air continues skyward until finally losing energy, sometimes hitting the troposphere. This is how quickly violent thunderstorms can appear seemingly out of nowhere and it can happen anywhere where there’s a tall mountain like that since those mountains can create atmospheric instability. They’re a bit more difficult to predict since it isn’t some distant storm cell that’s already established miles away moving towards you - instead, it’s forming right next to you, sometimes right over your head.

[@Heike--]

@@bloblablah7409 Monsoon? The Tetons aren't in the tropics.

[@phoule76]

so the buzzing sound was electricity building up above their heads?

[@thejudgmentalcat]

Lightning...when God calls your number 🌩⚡️

[@dinosaurkin5093]

When i was visiting Grand Teton National Park i saw a moose mess with a guys tent. It was morning and as i was leaving the campsite i saw a moose. A small dog, some sort of terrier saw it and ran into a tent that had the flap barely open. The moose followed the dog and started rustling the rain cover with its antlers. The moose was opposite the flap, and a guy stuck his head out and looked at me like i was bothering his tent. I called to him that it was a moose. He looked surprised and went back in. The moose left after another minute. Fun times.

[@nolasaintsfan]

Sounds like a great plot for a cartoon…. 😂🤘🏿. Or a bad acid trip…

[@gnarthdarkanen7464]

Went to sleep in a tent without noticing the zipper in the flap was losing teeth in Arizona... AND woke up with a rattler coiled on my chest about an hour before dawn... when one of my buddies finally showed signs of life and started making coffee... Longest hour of my life... followed by one of the weirdest and most frustrating of conversations... haha... (also Fun times...) ;o)

[@NemesisOgreKing]

So, you left him to his... Moosey fate!

[@WindTurbineSyndrome]

Glad you survived waking up a rattler on your chest. Makes a great anecdote. I woke in 5th grade field trip to the national seashore to a hornet on my head. It stung me good on the temple near my eye! Ow!

[@ASpectacular3777]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE YOUR CHANNEL!!! Especially all the mountaineering tragedies. Can you do one on Mt. Ranier? Or maybe you have and I haven’t come across it yet.

[@lyedavide]

What a tragedy. It just goes to show that when your number is up, there's nothing you can do. Bad luck, wrong place at the wrong time, call it what you will. They were unlucky, and ironically also fortune that only one of them was killed. RIP Erica.

[@supervibetrucker5570]

Wait…… Bad luck? If they weren’t on a mountain where humans aren’t meant to be they wouldn’t Have been in the wrong place at the wrong time and had bad luck….😂

[@ImmortalTreknique]

For the algorithm 👊

[@trig33kgirl]

Very sad story. I'm curious if they had known what the buzzing sound was, could they have done anything?

[@pfadiva]

Maybe find a crack or an overhang and take some kind of shelter. I've been on top of Enchanted Rock in Texas with a thunderstorm coming; it did not take me long to get off that rock.

[@jameshoffman552]

Well, on the brighter side, at least that’s going out with a bang

[@prismpyre7653]

she gave her life for him

[@attention_shopping]

holy. that's so terrible -- random lightning so scary

[@lukehorning3404]

That’s crazy and sad

[@supervibetrucker5570]

My Reason #1 for not climbing mountains. There’s no pizza places up there….

[@daisycrude]

Sorry about your bi-polar disorder. I hope your manic state is as awesome as you described!

[@VenVen_tm]

hit midnight!

[@adamk9652]

I'm there right now what a coincidence 🤣

[@huntermontez8504]

let’s go bröther

[@mrcheese6247]

I knew one of these people

[@yayhandles]

I literally spent this entire video snickering and muttering to myself about nipples.

[@timothyivey5497]

A woman actually died, and a few others nearly so, and you're snickering about nipples, which was mentioned at the beginning of the 12 min video. Grow the fuck up.

[@rt66vintage16]

Are you 12 years old?

[@yayhandles]

@@rt66vintage16 No, but I have to wonder if the guy that named the mountains was.

[@robertspringer92]

the upper exum is an awesome route my profile pic is from the Grand lol

[@RichardJohnson-j3q]

SO you say natives climbed that mountain with no climbing gear and decided to arrange some 5 tons of granite rocks in a circle ? lol ...

[@stevemorris6790]

Cooperation and more cooperation. Time work

[@barrydysert2974]

⚡⚡⚡🙏🌌🙏⚡⚡⚡

[@truhill3986]

For the algorithm!!

[@robswystun2766]

Wait, so who's bipolar?

[@naughtiusmaximus830]

I can see natives living there and not bothering to climb it. These things are just not important to everybody.

[@VegasMilgauss]

A shocking story..

[@Mookayla]

HI

[@andrewmitchell5807]

10:36 thats not camera quality its download quality

[@ChristelVinot]

my friend just got me some ombraz sungasses in the Teton style. Then I saw this. wtf.

[@gordonwobby223]

rescue team wasting time for a picture over a body on a stretcher LOL

[@debbieellett9093]

I don't understand why it matters who made the first accent? Seems very logical the First Peoples did long before the white men claimed it. As long as there has been humans, there are always people drawn to the mountains.

[@Heike--]

For mountaineers, it matters very much. The entire hobby is based on gaining status. They talk about ascents like they were 12 year olds talking about Pokemon cards. I'm sure before the whites came, there were no people stupid enough to climb a highly dangerous mountain for no reason other than to show off to fellow whites. That's why there are videos like this all the time with the same plot: "Stupid whites try to climb mountain and get killed" while the natives are safely on the ground.

[@lauracipoletti2202]

Rest in peace Erica!!!!!

[@samuraiwarriorsunite]

I'm sure some who are superstitious will point to the fact that there were 13 in the group. But considering that many cultures and countries consider that number to be quite lucky, it all boils down to being in the wrong place at the right time.

[@andrewkmac3507]

It's only superstitious because of something that happened in 1666.

[@Heike--]

@@andrewkmac3507 It's because there were 13 people at the Last Supper, and the thirteenth was the betrayer Judas who turned Jesus in to be killed.

[@rt66vintage16]

Count me as superstitious for the number 13. It's bad luck all around.

[@yourhynassancho]

@@Heike-- superstition based on a book of allegory? None of that is to be taken literal. If anything its about astrology (13th month and 13th zodiac). Yall believe the Bible but love Israel . just lost and looking for something.

[@yourhynassancho]

@@rt66vintage16 13 is my favorite number. You afraid of black cats too lol . No wonder religion is so strong in this country.

[@JB-rt4mx]

Take lots of bangers and clampons tohold rope on mountans scootin closers, matchs candels see warms

[@cher8005]

What the hell was that "I hate being bi-polar, it's awesome"???

[@CowboyOutYonder]

Kanye West

[@RizztrainingOrder]

I had to move from that area, I just couldn’t, for those peaks reminded me of my ex Pauline, poly for short, but is better known as “thelia” ……although fun It just broke my heart living around there due to her and the peaks sharing much in common…….😢

[@Pewnhound112]

My man. The stories you have are interesting, but would it kill you to use some inflection and some pitch in your narration? You sound like if chat GPT were a person.

[@jaredmehrlich6683]

*First Gringo to summit. The Natives already did it. How did they move those big rocks around?

[@dana102083]

Glaciers?

[@andrewkmac3507]

​​@@dana102083 no. There is a football team named after the group responsible in NY

[@Happy4774]

Two thing never t d ,climb mountains and scuba diving in caves .

[@dizzymindy6024]

I climb mountains, but those cave divers are nuts.

[@truecrime59]

Our home was struck by lighting - put a huge whole in the roof. Torched the attic. The damage done by the local fire department was just as bad.They actual stole stuff while they were in there fighting the fire. Wasn't bad enough that our house was on fire. I hate lighting. I have great respect for fire fighters, but not the ones who steal.

[@jekanyika]

5:25 Rod's surname is pretty ironic considering who he looks like in that picture

[@SandyCrinklesack]

they shouldnt have brought "lightning" rod liberal..

[@stevemorris6790]

Liberal people help and aren’t judgement.

[@picturemetrollin2093]

They should have went Three Doors Down, they would have been safe

[@VegasMilgauss]

All died squealing like pigs. No doubt in my mind… non what so ever.

[@blvvdy.kisses]

I hope I never am as desperate for attention as you. I would've offed myself a long time ago.

[@alberta1st]

Knew a guy struck by a bolt of lightning and almost blew one of his feet off, RIP young Lady

[@al_wax]

Of all the stories on this channel, this one sucks. Hard to predict the sudden changes in weather and also the fact that she got hit by lightning and didn't make it.

[@LJ_nowandalways]

NON! The French voyageurs most likely named the peaks after the South, Middle and Grand Tetons, not the Cathedral group (Owen, Teewinot and the Grand).