Struck by lightning on the Aiguille du Chardonnet - 12546ft (3824m) | ||||||||||||
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Introduction | ||||||||||||
-Waiting in the storm | ||||||||||||
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We couldn't be in a much worse spot. We were extremely close to the summit and right inside a storm cloud. It seemed that we'd been hit by the first lightning strike on the Chardonnet. The storm was building around us. It was very cold and a blustery wind was getting up. I guess we all knew our lives could be in serious danger and we longed to descend but just couldn't move. Fearing another lightning strike we all sat with our backs bent so our heads were kept as low as possible. What could we do? I'd read some theory, avoid spark gaps in caves, sit on your haunches on a coiled rope and so on. It all seemed completely pointless when we were on the top of a 12546ft (3824m) lightning rod right in the middle of the storm. A coiled rope was not going to save us, we had to do everything we could to get off the ridge. The Dutch pair looked pretty out of it, as if they had not been conscious for long, and I could see the huge strain in their glazed expressions. They were touching their faces and arms, exploring what feeling they had. They were obviously experiencing the same numbness that I had. Despite my fall, JC and the Dutch pair seemed to have been affected by the strike worse than me. It seemed that I could move a little more easily. Around all of us was the smell of burnt hair. I don't remember saying very much to the Dutch. There seemed no need. We could see how each other was feeling and knew that we weren't ready to try and move. About five minutes later I was still improving and felt that I could feel enough of what was going on in my arms and legs to try and climb down the ridge further. The Dutch too seemed to be preparing to make a move. I asked JC how he was doing. JC stressed to me that he still had absolutely no feeling in the leg that had been hit directly and that he could not climb. This was desperate news. I found myself faced with a terrible dilemma. I was terrified of remaining on the ridge crest in the gathering storm. We risked being struck by lightning and I doubted we'd survive another hit. I wanted to leave immediately but to do so would mean leaving a good friend injured and dreadfully alone in a serious electric storm. We could maybe wait a short time to see if JC's leg recovered, but if the damage seemed more permanent what then? We absolutely had to leave the ridge crest somehow and soon. If JC could climb at all then we should continue our descent as fast as possible. If JC could not climb, I doubted I could help him much because the ridge was too difficult. If we tried to descend we would be dangerously slow. I felt that it would be of little value and too risky for me to stay. I would have to leave JC on the mountain and get help. I experienced a stab of fear at the thought that I might have to climb down without the security of a rope-mate. However climbing alone I would be much faster. It was freezing cold so I would leave JC my warm gear. He would have to make what progress he could alone or endure a hideous wait in the storm, maybe a few rope lengths down from the crest. Despite the logic I would be plagued by guilt if I left JC behind. I would have hated our roles to have been reversed. With these thoughts in my mind, we waited another five or ten minutes. I think I said to JC that he should give his leg a bit longer. He said that he thought he wasn't going to get any feeling back, the leg was still totally dead. I could tell from the anxious look on his face that he knew how serious that was. I didn't know what to say, I mumbled something more about waiting longer. We waited quietly and continued to sit with our heads bowed, fearing another lightning strike. Outwardly I must have appeared quiet and withdrawn but my heart was thumping, my thoughts racing and adrenalin was fizzing madly round my body. The Dutch pair got unsteadily to their feet. They nodded to us. In their faces I saw their sympathy for the predicament JC and I were in. But I could see great fear too and I understood why they were leaving. We nodded back our understanding. They soon disappeared into the mist and we were left alone on the ridge. | ||||||||||||
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