Wyoming, Grand Teton National Park—On September 8, Jim Bjorken (24), Dick Blankenbeckler (25), and Tom Creese (24) were climbing the Grand Teton. At about 10 a.m., when the party was above the notch behind the Molar Tooth, showers appeared to be moving in the regions to the S.W. of the mountains. As the ascent continued storm clouds formed over and around Grand Teton with increasing frequency. At about 3 p.m. on the descent from the summit, the party took cover in a small cave above the Owen Rappel to await an improvement in the weather. After several close lightning strikes, a strike occurred just above the cave. All three men received burns but only Blankenbeckler was knocked out. The other two men gave Blankenbeckler artificial respiration for half an hour before he fully regained consciousness. By 5:30 p.m. the weather had cleared and the party had regained sufficient strength to continue the descent unaided.

Source: William Siri.

Analysis: Short of retreating from the mountain at the first sign of bad weather, the climbers appeared to use sound judgement when the electrical storm approached.