Searchers find body of climber in Grand Teton

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Rescue workers found the body of a missing climber Thursday who had fallen from a cliff when a thunderstorm struck his climbing party on an exposed mountainside in Grand Teton National Park, a park spokeswoman said.

Searchers on a helicopter found the body of 21-year-old Brandon Oldenkamp after several hours of searching, park spokeswoman Bobbie Visnovske said. She said Oldenkamp is from Sanborn, Iowa.

Rescue workers are still trying to reach the area he fell and recover Oldenkamp's body. He had fallen at least 1,000 feet in the Wednesday storm.

The cause of death wasn't immediately known, but Visnovske said the helicopter searchers had been able to determine Oldenkamp suffered injuries incompatible with life.

Teams on Wednesday used helicopters to rescue 16 injured climbers in three separate groups from elevations above 13,000 feet on the mountain. The parties were climbing the 13,770-foot Grand Teton mountain and all three reported injuries after severe lightning hit the area at midday Wednesday.

All the climbers suffered injuries from lightning, and those included burns and neurological effects such as numbness, park spokeswoman Jackie Skaggs said.

Park officials have not released the other climbers' identities and hometowns.

Suspended from helicopters by rope, rangers plucked the climbers from the mountain and carried them to aid stations at lower elevations. On Wednesday night, the climbers notified emergency officials of a 17th climber who had not been accounted for, Skaggs said.

A helicopter and three park rangers who spent the night in a high-altitude hut at Grand Teton National Park began their search at dawn Thursday for Oldenkamp.

The routes up Grand Teton are challenging and technical climbs that require ropes and climbing skills, said Paul Horton, a manager and former climbing guide at Jackson Hole Mountain Guides.

The best thing to do when a storm with lightning hits is to try to descend, but that can be a slow process on difficult terrain, said Horton, who didn't know the lightning victims.

"It's incredibly, terrifyingly loud," he said. "It's just a flat out terrifying experience."

Short of coming down, climbers may try to move off ridges, insulate themselves by sitting on a pack or move away from weaknesses in the rock that lightning tends to follow.