Bolt From the Blue: Suspended Over a Chasm

An extreme expedition, an unexpected storm, and an unlikely bolt from the blue all combine to create an extraordinary situation. Rod Liberal and a group of fellow climbers set out to summit Grand Teton in Wyoming. But during the final ascent, something shocking happens which changes everything in a flash. Suddenly, Rod will find himself perilously suspended, with a deadly drop below… A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. Written by Lewis Georgeson | Produced by Ed Baranski | Assistant Producer: Luke Lonergan | Exec produced by Joel Duddell | Sound supervisor: Tom Pink | Sound design by Matt Peaty | Assembly edit by Rob Plummer | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Ralph Tittley. For ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions If you have an amazing survival story of your own that you’d like to put forward for the show, let us know. Drop us an email at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Speaker 00

  The award-winning American Airlines Advantage program rewards more than travel. It takes your whole life to new heights. Earn miles when you fly, as well as with thousands of your favorite brands. And then redeem those miles for flights, upgrades, and experiences worldwide. Advantage members also enjoy earlier boarding and free high-speed Wi-Fi in-flight. Join for free and start earning towards your next adventure at aa.com/spotify.

• 0:30Speaker 01

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• 1:03John Hopkins?

  It's July the 26th, 2003.

• 1:08John Hopkins?

  On a mountain in Wyoming, a major storm has just passed across the upper slopes. Wind whistles over the peak and the sky is austere and overcast.

• 1:19John Hopkins?

  A low, static hum can still be heard in the air. And the smell of summer rain remains. The lingering signs of the tempest that just assaulted this mountain.

• 1:31John Hopkins?

  Now, in the aftermath of the storm, there is an almost eerie calm.

• 1:37John Hopkins?

  It's just gone 4 o'clock in the afternoon. What sun is left is hidden behind gray, opaque cloud cover.

• 1:46John Hopkins?

  In the gathering gloom, close to the summit, a tiny shape can be seen swinging against the vast, rocky mountain face.

• 1:56John Hopkins?

  It's the silhouette of a man dangling at the end of the climbing rope. But there is something not quite right about this image. The body is contorted, grotesquely bent out of shape, folded backwards around the pivot of the rope. Limbs hanging limp either side. Something has gone horribly wrong.

• 2:20Speaker 03

  I just remember my head being really close to my foot for some reason. And unfolded in half, my left arm is dangling, I have no feeling in it. I have no feeling in my legs. And my back hurts. I'm in excruciating pain.

• 2:38John Hopkins?

  Twenty-seven-year-old Rod Liberal is an experienced climber, who, until a few months ago, was comfortably approaching the top of Grand Teton, the tallest peak in this range. In a flash, he suddenly found himself in this twisted, terrifying position. What's gone wrong? How did he get here? Right now, that's a mystery. Pain pulsing through his body, Rod looks down to see he is suspended over a sheer drop. His climbing equipment hangs underneath him from a belt around his middle, putting extra pressure on his injured back.

• 3:18John Hopkins?

  A grave decision presents itself.

• 3:23Speaker 03

  I remember clipping my bag and just deciding, like, do I let this thing fall? It's got my water in it, my food and my radio. But I think the pain was so overwhelming that I did, I clipped and I just remember seeing it fall away from me and having this feeling of like, oh, what did I just do?

• 3:43John Hopkins?

  His vital rations disappear into the chasm below.

• 3:48John Hopkins?

  Rod dangles over the precipice, totally alone, with no sign of rescue and no way of saving himself. He feels almost totally paralyzed, unable to move more than a few inches. How long will the rope hold? And how severe are his injuries? Everything hangs in the balance.

• 4:10Speaker 03

  So I started screaming. I started screaming for help. And there was no response. So panic started to set in. I was in a really bad situation.

• 4:28John Hopkins?

  Ever wondered what you would do when disaster strikes? If your life depended on your next decision? Could you make the right choice?

• 4:36John Hopkins?

  Welcome to Real Survival Stories. These are the astonishing tales of ordinary people thrown into extraordinary situations. People suddenly forced to fight for their lives.

• 4:49John Hopkins?

  In this episode, an extreme expedition, an unexpected storm, and an unlikely bolt from the blue, all combined to create the most horrifying of situations. Rod Liberal is a keen rock climber, living in Idaho Falls in the western United States. In July of 2003, he is part of a group of 13 who set out to climb Grand Teton, the largest mountain in the Teton Range of Wyoming. But during the final ascent, something shocking happens, which changes everything in a flash.

• 5:21Speaker 03

  The next thing I remember is darkness, a sense of falling, flying through the air, and a sensation of confusion, not really knowing what's going on.

• 5:34John Hopkins?

  In the blink of an eye, Rod finds himself perilously suspended on the end of a rope, with a deadly drop below. How did he end up here? Why can he barely move? And is there any hope at all?

• 5:48Speaker 03

  I'm on a slab that's completely exposed. I'm looking at 1,000-foot exposure really all around me. Couldn't see anyone, what just happened?

• 6:00John Hopkins?

  I'm John Hopkins. From the Noiser Podcast Network, this is Real Survival Stories.

• 6:29John Hopkins?

  It's July the 25th, 2003. Bird song bounces between the slopes of the Teton mountain range. Below, fresh, blue streams run through the valleys. And above, glacier-spotted peaks grow into the sapphire sky.

• 6:46John Hopkins?

  Situated on the border of Wyoming and Idaho, the Tetons are a subrange of the more famous Rockies. Amid the vast, undulating landscapes of green, gray, and white, small, human figures trek their way onwards.

• 7:03John Hopkins?

  Twenty-seven-year-old Rod Liberal breathes hard as he navigates a rock-strewn, uneven path. Alongside him are his friends Justin and Jake.

• 7:13John Hopkins?

  The mountains provide a dramatic, enriching backdrop as they travel. The Grand Teton National Park is an enormous, 300,000-acre ecosystem, relentlessly varied and visually stunning.

• 7:27John Hopkins?

  The three men are in good spirits, but this is by no means a walk in the park.

• 7:34Speaker 03

  It was a super-tough hike. We had, you know, 40-pound packs on, and we were going through boulder fields. And I remember it being physically grueling, probably the toughest thing I'd done up to that point.

• 7:50John Hopkins?

  For Rod, Justin, and Jake, today's hike, tough as it may be, is just the preamble.

• 7:57John Hopkins?

  As evening arrives, they meet up with a wider group of friends, fellow mountain enthusiasts, creating a combined party of 13. They pitch tents and make camp in the shadow of one particular mountain, the peak from which the park itself takes its name: Grand Teton.

• 8:17John Hopkins?

  Everybody tries to get some much-needed sleep. Tomorrow is the main event. At almost fourteen thousand feet above sea level, Grand Teton stands alone as the park's tallest summit. And to scale it in a day requires an early start.

• 8:34Speaker 03

  We were waking up at 4:00 a.m. to actually finish the climb. So we didn't get much sleep that night. I think the adrenaline drove me, so we woke up really early to start our climb.

• 8:54John Hopkins?

  It's still pitch black as the excited hikers unzip their tents and crawl bleary-eyed into the cool, pre-dawn air.

• 9:03John Hopkins?

  Only their head torches cut through the gloom: thirteen thin beams of electric light dancing across the rocky floor as they begin their ascent.

• 9:13John Hopkins?

  Rod doesn't know everyone in the group all that well. In fact, he's meeting some of them for the very first time today, bonding as they navigate the tricky terrain heading towards Grand Teton.

• 9:26Speaker 03

  It was really tough. It gets steep pretty quickly. It was still night time, very cold. But we were really excited. I remember a lot of chatter in the hike. This is really where I met Erica and the rest of the crew.

• 9:43John Hopkins?

  As the sun begins to rise, so too does the nervous energy driving conversation. It becomes clear that Rod is one of the most experienced climbers in the party.

• 9:55John Hopkins?

  They start arranging themselves into little subgroups, teams of three or four. Rod ends up with Clinton and Erica, a friendly married couple. With the mini-teams decided and the sun now high in the sky, everything is set.

• 10:11John Hopkins?

  The terrain starts to steepen, and Rod launches himself into a challenge he's been building towards for some time.

• 10:21Speaker 03

  As far as climbing goes, you know, I've always been pretty ventures, even as a kid. So just trying to get up to places where most people don't get to was really appealing to me. Just trying to get away from civilization as often as we could. I think that's really what attracted me, was just to be out in nature.

• 10:41John Hopkins?

  Roderick Liberal was born in Brazil, but moved to the United States with his mother when he was 15. For a boy who had grown up in rural South America, attending high school in Boston was quite the culture shock.

• 10:54Speaker 03

  I was 15 years old, you know, and I was kind of just amazed at just being in the United States and Boston at that time, coming from a real small town in Brazil, you know, growing up playing in the dirt and rivers. Boston felt completely different to me. It was a major city and must see and do.

• 11:16John Hopkins?

  But very soon Rod found a passion that changed everything.

• 11:21John Hopkins?

  It helped him to settle, meet people, and push himself.

• 11:27Speaker 03

  I started rock climbing there with a really good friend of mine that I had met. We kind of became inseparable. I remember we took a class from a local guy to learn how to rock climb, and then he took us to the White Mountains in New Hampshire. That's really what captivated me, was just being out in nature in the US for the first time and seeing the mountains and something I'd never seen before.

• 11:52John Hopkins?

  This proved to be more than just a phase for Rod. As the years passed, climbing continued to be a big part of his life.

• 12:00John Hopkins?

  When he and his best friend went their separate ways for college, they stayed in touch and frequently reunited thanks to their shared love.

• 12:08Speaker 03

  He left to come out west to Utah, and I went to Florida for university, but we kept in touch and he was always inviting me to come out west because this was the outdoor mecca, you know, a lot of rock climbing here, a lot of outdoor activities, snowboarding. So, I think it was 98, I came out to visit with my then fiance.

• 12:31John Hopkins?

  Rod and his fiancee settled in Utah and by the end of 2002 were expecting their first child.

• 12:37Speaker 03

  We were loving it here. It was really breath of fresh air, quite literally, coming from Florida, Miami to Salt Lake City, you know, wide open, no traffic, beautiful nature, the Rocky Mountains here, stunning. So we were really excited to be out here.

• 12:54John Hopkins?

  But everything changed when Rod was unexpectedly made redundant. Without work in Utah, he was initially forced to take a job in Portland, Oregon to make ends meet. It was a plane flight away, a four-hour round trip, not the ideal situation with a heavily pregnant partner who needed rest at home. Thankfully, help appeared in the form of an offer from Idaho.

• 13:21Speaker 03

  It was, you know, a well-paid job and they were going to pay for my move and it was in Idaho Falls.

• 13:28John Hopkins?

  With a population of around 50,000 people, Idaho Falls was very different to Boston or Miami or even Salt Lake City. Rod had seemingly gone full circle and was now back to a more rural, small-town existence. But his ability to find like-minded people was undimmed. In fact, by now, he was getting rather good at it. He fell in with some guys he met in his new office, outdoor enthusiasts and keen hikers, and their group expanded further to include family, friends, and friends of friends, until Rod soon found himself a key member of a growing and active climbing community. And as well as expanding his social horizons, the move to Idaho also brought him within

• 14:12John Hopkins?

  touching distance of the state border with Wyoming and the Grand Teton National Park.

• 14:19Speaker 03

  The Tetons are stunning. If you should ever get the chance to be up there, it's this beautiful valley, lush river cutting through it. It's really stunning, stunning place, majestic, really. So being up there with this group was quite the experience. I definitely wanted more of it.

• 14:45Speaker 00

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• 15:13Speaker 01

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• 15:46John Hopkins?

  It's around lunchtime on July 26, 2003. Rod and his climbing group are now well into their ascent of Grand Teton.

• 15:56John Hopkins?

  The terrain becomes more and more difficult to navigate the higher they climb. In rock-climbing parlance, everything becomes much more technical.

• 16:06John Hopkins?

  The group start to use ropes, pulleys, carabiners. There is increased exposure to the elements. Altitude becomes a consideration.

• 16:16Speaker 03

  This is really kind of where things get a little more serious. You're just, you're beyond just hiking. You're actually getting into a little bit more technical ground. You have to be more careful.

• 16:25John Hopkins?

  Soon the group arrives at Wall Street. The name given to a flat, catwalk of rock that runs parallel to the vertical face of Grand Teton on one side. On the other side, there is a drop of approximately 1,000 feet.

• 16:42Speaker 03

  Wall Street is the point of no return. Once you pass Wall Street, there's a move you have to do to get over, around this big boulder. A real technical move you have to make around this boulder. So, once you get around that, you kind of can't really come back.

• 16:59John Hopkins?

  Something else modern climbers have to get used to navigating, especially on popular routes such as this, is human traffic. Because Wall Street is a narrow ledge, the passage can only be tackled a single file, which means there is quite often a queue with climbers having to wait their turn.

• 17:18John Hopkins?

  Today's no exception. Rod's gang find themselves waiting for a group ahead of them, taking their time to pass safely through this more complicated stage of the climb.

• 17:29John Hopkins?

  Here, at the foot of Wall Street, with nothing to do but wait their turn on the ledge, the mood in the group slowly starts to shift.

• 17:38Speaker 03

  A lot of people were tired. We had our day packs on, but we were still carrying gear, you know, ropes and carabiners and stuff. Erica was really tired. She was complaining, her legs hurt. She really wasn't feeling like going on. I remember Clinton being the supportive husband he is, just being like, you know, we can do it. I'll help you. This is gonna feel great when we're done. I know it's hard right now. Anytime you're doing anything like that, there's always someone at some point that needs a little motivation.

• 18:11John Hopkins?

  Rod's smaller group, made up of just him, Erica, and Clinton, have a decision to make. Do they keep going? Or is this delay a sign they should turn back? Erica is unsure.

• 18:25Speaker 03

  I do remember talking to Erica and saying, hey, I'm here to help you. If you eat, we can get you through these rough spots now. So hang in there. We decided to keep going. The weather looked great. So we did.

• 18:39John Hopkins?

  It's Rod's turn to tackle Wall Street. As he shimmies along the rocky pathway, the wind rushes up at him from the mountain valley, a yawning, exposed chasm, dropping down for hundreds and hundreds of feet.

• 18:55Speaker 03

  Just walking through that slab with such big exposure, huge adrenaline rush.

• 19:01John Hopkins?

  And this is the easy bit. Ahead, at the end of the catwalk, a large boulder blocks the path. This huge rock juts out over the deep drop. The only way past is to belly roll around it.

• 19:18John Hopkins?

  Rod approaches. Then he clings onto the boulder, hugs it close to his chest and straddles it so he can step across a gap in the ledge.

• 19:29John Hopkins?

  Sweat trickling down his forehead, he steps directly off of Wall Street, turning his back to the valley below.

• 19:37John Hopkins?

  It's a huge test of coordination and metal.

• 19:42Speaker 03

  The move at the end of it, you have to kind of do a little hop over this chasm, around this boulder, and it's super thrilling and one of those things that you're like, oh my gosh, I don't know if I can do this.

• 19:55John Hopkins?

  Hands on the boulder, he leaps across the gap.

• 20:00John Hopkins?

  And for the briefest of moments, he is levitating over the Teton Mountains, floating at several thousand feet above sea level. Before he lands his front foot safely back on solid rock.

• 20:14Speaker 03

  Once you get through it, it was a big win, I'd say, for the group that morning to get past Wall Street.

• 20:27John Hopkins?

  With this major obstacle conquered, the focus of the climb turns to what's known as the V pitch, also referred to as the friction pitch. This is the business end of the ascent, where the top of the mountain is within a climber's sights.

• 20:43John Hopkins?

  But now it's mid-afternoon, and what had been a perfect day for climbing is beginning to change.

• 20:50John Hopkins?

  At first, it's subtle. The clouds grow slightly darker, the breeze picks up, there is some moisture in the air, one or two drops of rain on the wind, nothing really.

• 21:02John Hopkins?

  But in the mountains, the weather can utterly turn in the blink of an eye.

• 21:08Speaker 03

  I do remember the mood had definitely changed. We had gotten a little bit of a drizzle. The temperature dropped to the thirties.

• 21:17John Hopkins?

  It feels like dusk has arrived early. The skies go from gray to black. And as Rod, Erica and Clinton prepare to tackle the friction pitch, the heavens opened.

• 21:31John Hopkins?

  They will now be facing this final approach in the wind and rain.

• 21:36John Hopkins?

  Not only that, but having lost time waiting to clear Wall Street, they also risk running out of daylight before reaching the top of the mountain.

• 21:45Speaker 03

  I don't know if it was a bit of a dread that we had that, you know, something bad could happen. But I do remember everyone just being more quiet, being a little bit more nervous. And there was definitely a sense of urgency to get out of there.

• 22:01John Hopkins?

  Friction Pitch, near the top of Grand Teton, is a solid wall of gray granite rock, essentially vertical, but with just enough jagged edges to allow climbers to pick out a path to the summit. Scaling it requires some complex rope work. So once again, the group must ascend one at a time.

• 22:22Speaker 03

  The friction pitch was wet, so you can imagine it was extremely slippery and difficult. This is definitely a more technical climb.

• 22:33John Hopkins?

  Clinton goes first, mapping the route up the wall and establishing anchors that Erica and Rod will shortly follow. Erica goes next. Rod watches her scale the face with relative ease, soon reaching her husband on a ledge that looms directly over his head.

• 22:51John Hopkins?

  There, they wait for Rod, about fifty feet above him.

• 22:56John Hopkins?

  In horizontal rain, Rod approaches the rock and starts to follow the couple's guide ropes up the mountain.

• 23:04Speaker 03

  I start climbing and tough climb. I remember, you know, your fingers are freezing at that point. You're cold from the weather and from the fear a little bit. And I get about halfway up the friction pitch. And I just remember the wind hitting me and this feeling of like, oof, I kinda wanna get out of here, you know?

• 23:25John Hopkins?

  A relentless barrage of gusts hammers into Rod. He does all he can to keep himself steady, to keep inching his way upwards.

• 23:34John Hopkins?

  One hand in front of another.

• 23:38John Hopkins?

  And then, there's something else in the air.

• 23:42John Hopkins?

  An electrical hum vibrates on the breeze. Rod stops, taking stock.

• 23:50Speaker 03

  I just remember my heart pounding at that point. Like, I, if I fall here, I'm falling a long ways, you know?

• 23:57John Hopkins?

  But there is little else to do at this point, other than carry on. Deep breath, focus, and Rod resumes his climb.

• 24:07John Hopkins?

  Just then, it happens.

• 24:12John Hopkins?

  From the sky over his head, there is a flash. The clouds crack with a deafening bang, a blinding explosion of light and heat. And Rod is suddenly weightless.

• 24:25Speaker 03

  The next thing I remember is darkness, a sense of falling, flying through the air, and not really knowing what's going on.

• 24:41Speaker 00

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• 25:10Speaker 01

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• 25:44John Hopkins?

  It's just after 4pm on July 26, 2003.

• 25:49John Hopkins?

  And, near the top of the Grand Teton Mountain in northwest Wyoming, Rod Liberal hangs limp on the end of a climbing rope.

• 25:59John Hopkins?

  With the summer sun low in the sky, His contorted body rests against the rock face, Almost 14,000 feet above sea level, Swaying and bouncing against the granite wall.

• 26:13John Hopkins?

  Somehow, he has been blown horizontally around the mountain, And has dropped around 30 feet. His descent was brought to an abrupt and violent end, When the rope around his waist pulled taut.

• 26:27John Hopkins?

  But Rod doesn't remember any of that.

• 26:30Speaker 03

  The first clue I had was just slamming against the wall. And I remember chipping my tooth. Again, I couldn't see anything, But I remember the feeling of this grittiness in my mouth. And thinking, okay, I'm still alive. What just happened?

• 26:49John Hopkins?

  Folded backwards, belly up, Rod is completely discombobulated.

• 26:56Speaker 03

  I just remember my head being really close to my foot for some reason. And I'm folded in half. My left arm is dangling. I have no feeling in it. I have no feeling in my legs. What do I do next? What is our situation? Where am I? Where's everybody else? I couldn't see anyone. All of a sudden, this sharp pain on my back, my lower back. So immediately, I'm like, well, I guess I broke my back. I'm in excruciating pain.

• 27:29John Hopkins?

  Dangling like a rag doll, almost completely immobile, the only thing between Rod and certain death is the climbing rope that, until moments ago, he was using to scale the mountain.

• 27:41Speaker 03

  I remember grabbing onto the rope with my right hand. My left arm is dead, couldn't use it, and trying to pull myself up into a sitting position, and I just couldn't do it. I was so weak, and my body just wasn't responding properly, you know? I think the first sense of dread really came from that assessment. I was just, I'm in a lot of pain, and I can't move half my body.

• 28:11John Hopkins?

  Rod lays back down, drifting in and out of consciousness.

• 28:16John Hopkins?

  In lucid moments, the pain hits, hard and all-encompassing. Plus, the mystery remains. What on earth happened?

• 28:27John Hopkins?

  It's not long before Rod gets his answer. The radio on his backpack crackles. A voice fizzes through the receiver. It's one of the climbing group, speaking in strained, panicked tones.

• 28:40John Hopkins?

  And at this point, there is a shocking revelation.

• 28:45Speaker 03

  I heard someone say, "Mayday, we've been struck by lightning. We need help."

• 28:52John Hopkins?

  At the top of Grand Teton, a lightning strike has crashed down from the heavens and reverberated through Rod and his climbing group, causing havoc.

• 29:02John Hopkins?

  Rod has taken a direct hit from one of the most powerful forces in nature. A bolt of lightning can contain up to one billion volts of electricity, and is five times hotter than the surface of the sun.

• 29:16John Hopkins?

  It's little wonder the strike has left him totally broken and disorientated.

• 29:22Speaker 03

  I don't remember being hit, I just remember being on the wall, and then flying through the air. That was the next thing, in darkness. I had no idea we'd been struck by lightning. I couldn't reason it, you know? It just doesn't make sense. Like, you don't imagine that's what happened.

• 29:38John Hopkins?

  Rod sways on the rope, trying to piece everything together. It seems impossible, unreal.

• 29:48John Hopkins?

  And then, another voice on the radio hammers home the reality of the situation.

• 29:54Speaker 03

  I heard someone calling on the radio saying, "We had one person deceased." I remember hearing that, not knowing who it was, obviously, and really sinking into that feeling of like, "Okay, this is serious. Like, this was really bad."

• 30:17John Hopkins?

  "One person deceased." "The words are chilly."

• 30:22John Hopkins?

  "The group is scattered up and down the mountainside, making it impossible to know who exactly is hurt and how badly." "Confusion reigns on Grand Teton."

• 30:34John Hopkins?

  "For now, all Rod can do is try to improve his own dire predicament." "He looks down to see his leg is horribly tangled in his climbing rope, wrapped so tightly around his upper thigh that the limb is going numb."

• 30:50John Hopkins?

  "Worse still, the intense pain in his back grows and grows." "He'll need to alleviate it somehow." "Perhaps jettisoning some of his burdensome kit will help."

• 31:02Speaker 03

  "I remember unclipping my bag and just deciding, like, do I let this thing fall? It's got my water in it, my food and my, my radio, but I think the pain was so overwhelming that I did unclip it and I just remember seeing, seeing it fall away from me and just having this feeling of like, "Oh, what did I just do?"

• 31:24John Hopkins?

  "It's a snap decision, and it may come back to bite him later."

• 31:29John Hopkins?

  "Rod hangs in the sky, a tiny dot against an imposing, unfeeling mountain." "With his radio now lost and his body stricken, there's only one thing he can do."

• 31:42Speaker 03

  "I started screaming. I started screaming for help, and there was no response." "Panic started to set in. I was in a really bad situation."

• 32:02John Hopkins?

  It's approaching early evening, and Rod remains in stasis, hanging from the end of a rope off the side of Wyoming's Grand Teton. Thick cloud cover has brought a premature darkness overhead.

• 32:15John Hopkins?

  His cries for help are met with nothing but silence.

• 32:22John Hopkins?

  How long can he endure this? The pain is intense, and he is deteriorating rapidly.

• 32:32Speaker 03

  I was just getting weaker and weaker. I think it was getting to a point where I couldn't move anymore. I was losing my eyesight, you know, passing out and coming back.

• 32:43John Hopkins?

  Seconds turn to minutes, minutes to hours.

• 32:49John Hopkins?

  But then, eventually, he hears something.

• 32:54Speaker 03

  First sign that we were getting help that I heard was a helicopter. Don't have a lot of sense of time at that point, but I learned later I was hanging there for about a couple hours to three hours was when I first heard the helicopter come by. And I remember the excitement of hearing it, just this feeling of like,

• 33:15Speaker 03

  "Finally, we're getting out of here," you know?

• 33:20John Hopkins?

  After hours of overwhelming pain and deafening silence, Rod lays back, closes his eyes, and listens to the blades spin, cutting through the mountain air.

• 33:31Speaker 03

  There's this overwhelming noise, really loud. They must have been really close to us.

• 33:38John Hopkins?

  But then, this moment of hope is quickly dashed. The helicopter, having gotten so close to Rod, turns around in the dusky sky and flies away.

• 33:50Speaker 03

  Just the dread of hearing it fly away was just like, "Do they not see us? I'm never getting out of here."

• 33:59John Hopkins?

  What Rod doesn't know is that a whole saga has unfolded within the circling helicopter.

• 34:06John Hopkins?

  Seeing his grotesque, limp body hanging on the rope, the pilot initially believed Rod to be dead. It was only when one of the rangers in the chopper spotted the slightest twitch of Rod's fingers that they realized he wasn't. However, it was still apparent that no rescue was possible from this position. So the team took photographs and headed back to base to formulate a new plan.

• 34:31John Hopkins?

  But Rod, of course, is unaware of all of this. All he knows is that what seemed his one and only chance of rescue has just turned its back on him.

• 34:42Speaker 03

  When you realize there's no help coming, you can't get out of this situation, and you feel yourself getting worse, and you feel your body shutting down, and you come to terms with the fact that you are gonna die. It's looking pretty grim. You kind of accept it, and there's a peace that comes with it, I think.

• 35:10John Hopkins?

  Rod enters a strange, surreal holding pattern, drifting in and out of lucidity. Pain hitting him in waves.

• 35:24John Hopkins?

  A strong sense of contemplation grips him. A mere three months ago, he became a father to a son named Kai.

• 35:34Speaker 03

  It was just me with this rope and on this cliff, you know, feeling really cold and exposed and thinking about Kai. Just thinking about this kid I had at home. There was a moment of, "I'm just gonna hang on to these memories of my kid. That's a little peaceful, almost."

• 35:57John Hopkins?

  Finding himself tempted towards a deep and dangerous sleep, Rod suddenly jerks awake. He hears a voice he recognizes. It's someone from the climbing group. It sounds like Clinton. He and Erica were climbing just above him when the storm hit.

• 36:18Speaker 03

  I couldn't see where they were and I wasn't sure if they could hear me. I want to say it was Clinton's voice saying, you know, "Hey Rod, hang in there. We're coming down to get you."

• 36:28John Hopkins?

  At this point, Rod's son becomes more than just a comforting thought. He becomes a motivation.

• 36:35Speaker 03

  I knew that I had a lifetime of adventure planned for this kid. All I thought about was, you know, I can't wait to take him rock climbing, camping and hiking. And there was no way I wasn't going to be there to see him grow up.

• 36:59Speaker 00

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• 37:28Speaker 01

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• 38:01John Hopkins?

  While Rod clings on, around a mile away, a rescue plan is being formulated.

• 38:07John Hopkins?

  Studying photos of Rod taken from their helicopter earlier, the search and rescue team can be under no illusions as to how severe and dangerous this situation is.

• 38:20Speaker 03

  When they first spotted me, they nicknamed me the Folded Man. Because apparently I was folded in half. It was gnarly looking.

• 38:32John Hopkins?

  With the daylight fading, there's no time to lose. They have to get back to the slopes before it's too dark to attempt to rescue.

• 38:41John Hopkins?

  Ranger Craig Holm will be in charge of the elaborate mountainside recovery. With a plan in place, the team launches into action and heads back to Grand Teton.

• 38:53John Hopkins?

  By this time, Rod has now been hanging from the rope for four hours. Four hours since he was struck by lightning. Four hours of terrible pain. In the dwindling light, his numb, tangled limbs sway and twitch in the void. He has done all he can to keep going, but he is right on the brink.

• 39:18Speaker 03

  There was a point where I really was scared of, like this is it, I don't think I'm gonna make it. It got pretty dark mentally before Craig got there.

• 39:31John Hopkins?

  Suddenly, as if from nowhere, rescuer Craig Holm appears at his side. Rod looks up to see an elaborate pulley system has been rigged on the friction pitch.

• 39:45John Hopkins?

  Craig gently lowers and positions himself next to the stranded climber.

• 39:51Speaker 03

  I felt a presence next to me. I felt this voice next to me. Like, "Hey, Rod, you know, we're here to help you. Just hang tight."

• 40:00John Hopkins?

  Hang tight is pretty much all Rod's been able to do for the last four hours. But having another human being at his side changes everything.

• 40:10Speaker 03

  First thing that I remember coming out my mouth is I have a three month old son. And Craig was just this real soft spoken dude. I heard zero panic in his voice, you know? And he started asking me questions about Kai. He's like, I'll tell you about your son.

• 40:27John Hopkins?

  Craig performs some basic medical checks.

• 40:32John Hopkins?

  It's obvious Rod is in a bad way. They need to get him off this mountain as quickly as possible.

• 40:38John Hopkins?

  Darkness is closing in. If they miss the chance to be safely helicoptered out of here, they'll be spending the night on the mountain. That's time Rod doesn't have. But still, his injuries are so complex, they'll have to maneuver him very carefully.

• 40:56Speaker 03

  Yeah, I could feel like my body moving and then once the other rescuer came down, a lot of like jostling around and pulling and pushing. And then I felt the bed, you know, the dirty kind of being shoved under me a little bit on my back. I do remember the feeling of being horizontal finally. I do remember that relief of not being bent backwards anymore.

• 41:22John Hopkins?

  Now attached to a specially adapted gurney, it takes a team of rescuers a full hour to raise Rod inch by inch to a point on Grand Teton from where he can be airlifted away. It's a monumental effort.

• 41:38Speaker 03

  The greater picture of this rescue is incredible to me because it took a lot of people to get us out. These people are out there putting themselves in danger.

• 41:48John Hopkins?

  Finally, after a grueling 50 foot climb up the side of the friction pitch, Rod and his rescuers make it to the rendezvous point.

• 41:58John Hopkins?

  With shadows lengthening across the slopes, his stricken body is attached to the helicopter in the nick of time.

• 42:06Speaker 03

  There were 20 minutes left by the time they'd pulled me off from the cutoff. So 20 minutes more, I would have had to spend the night. Most likely, I wouldn't be here talking to you right now.

• 42:21John Hopkins?

  You may have made it off the mountain alive, but Rod's battle for survival is far from over. Even getting to the hospital is, at this stage, not a given.

• 42:32Speaker 03

  When they put you on the line with the helicopter, you're hanging from the helicopter on that gurney, they fly you down. Usually you're by yourself, but because of how I was, Craig attached himself to the line and he rode down with me. And he told me later that he remembers feeling like a fifty-fifty chance that I wasn't gonna be alive by the time they touched down.

• 43:02John Hopkins?

  It's three weeks later.

• 43:05John Hopkins?

  In a hospital bed in Salt Lake City, Rod opens his eyes.

• 43:12John Hopkins?

  A large machine by the side of his bed monitors his heart rate via a clasp attached to one of his fingers. An oxygen mask covers his mouth and nose.

• 43:23John Hopkins?

  Rod blinks slowly, his eyes unnaturally heavy. He's waking up from a medically induced coma.

• 43:34John Hopkins?

  When he first arrived at hospital, his internal injuries were substantial. His kidneys failed, completely shutting down, requiring weeks of dialysis. He had a collapsed lung, which meant a tracheotomy and a ventilator were needed to help him breathe.

• 43:51John Hopkins?

  Plus, he suffered a fractured leg, which caused severe swelling, and he had hemorrhaging in his hip and pneumonia.

• 43:59John Hopkins?

  A lightning strike and subsequent fall battered him inside and out.

• 44:05Speaker 03

  I had second-degree burns all over my body, and after I woke up, the treatment for that is... They put a lot of fake skin on you, but you also have to do daily scrubbings and washings, and it's really painful. Extremely painful.

• 44:23John Hopkins?

  And yet, for Rod, the most devastating part of his recovery has nothing to do with his physical state.

• 44:30Speaker 03

  I'm waking up three weeks later. I still don't know exactly what happened. I still don't know who died. I don't know the extent of everybody else's injuries. I'm just waking up to this nightmare again, you know, three weeks later.

• 44:48Speaker 03

  And I learned Erica had passed away.

• 44:53John Hopkins?

  Erica Summers, 25 years old, a wife and a mother, tragically died on the mountain.

• 45:00John Hopkins?

  The same lightning bolt that struck Rod killed Erica instantly.

• 45:06Speaker 03

  I heard the term before survivor's guilt. I never understood, but the main thing I could think about was me telling her to keep going on the climb, you know, when she wanted to turn around.

• 45:19John Hopkins?

  Rod soon spends time with Erica's husband, Clinton, who apportions no blame for what happened.

• 45:26Speaker 03

  Clinton came down to visit me in the hospital right after I woke up. He was so calm and tender about the whole thing, you know, just a good freaking guy.

• 45:37Speaker 03

  But I just remember crying and apologizing over and over. And that kind of never went away, to be honest.

• 45:48John Hopkins?

  After waking up from his coma, Rod embarks on an arduous journey of recuperation.

• 45:55John Hopkins?

  Despite the huge trauma to his back, he works hard at his physio for three months, and in September of 2003, he walks out of hospital using a cane. The same mental resilience that had helped keep Rod alive whilst hanging off the side of Grand Teton now literally helps him get back on his feet.

• 46:17John Hopkins?

  He uses it to slowly move forward with his life, to build up his strength and get back out there.

• 46:24Speaker 03

  I definitely didn't let it stop me. I started running that had really helped with my physical therapy. It was really psychological exercise for me to run. And that helped me get back into everything. I started playing hockey again. I got back into climbing. I went on to get my scuba license and skydiving license and do really enjoy life.

• 46:48John Hopkins?

  But moving forward does not mean forgetting what happened. His experience on Grand Teton is a part of him now.

• 46:56Speaker 03

  It's with you all the time. You're always thinking about death. And I, I think in a way you can let it get you down, but in a way it can kind of feel you to, to realize that, you know, and be like, today could be my last day. What are we doing this weekend? You know, what are we doing today? What are we doing tomorrow? Where's the next adventure? The group from the Tetons did a return trip the year after. I couldn't, I couldn't make it physically, but I went back two years later. I went back to where everything happened. I got through the friction pitch and I saw where Erica died. And, and then we summited. It was very emotional.

• 47:34John Hopkins?

  On a ledge close to the top of Grand Teton Mountain, a memorial now marks the spot where Erica lost her life.

• 47:42John Hopkins?

  For Rod, along with other injured members of his climbing party, the fact that they survived to tell their and Erica's story is thanks to the forty-five strong team of park rangers and emergency workers who performed a miraculous mountain rescue one summer's day in two thousand and three.

• 48:00Speaker 03

  There was a guy that was a reporter and he, he had been following those guys for like three years. And he did a, a little movie he put together about their training. And Andy Byerly was one of the rescuers. He had come down to visit me in the hospital a couple of times. Amazing person, sweetest guy you'll ever meet. And he told me that they were gonna showcase this movie at the high school in Jackson. It was pretty quickly after I got home. And I said, "I'm gonna be there." And he said, "All the rescuers were gonna be there." Everybody was gonna be there, you know? That whole ranger group. And I said, "I'm not missing this for the world, you know? I wanna meet Craig, I wanna meet everybody." And I remember walking up to the back of the school and there was a big door. And there were a bunch of people mingling. I didn't know anyone, except for Andy, you know? Didn't know what they looked like.

• 48:45Speaker 03

  These angels, you know? And this kid turns around, and I say kid, because he looked so young, you know? And it was Craig Holmes, pretty, uh, pretty special, don't it? I met everybody. I met the pilot that got us down. He picked up Kai in his arms, you know? And getting to, to meet everybody and getting to thank them personally and getting to show them, you know, like, "This is what you guys did. This is my family, this is my kid." So it was really special being, being there.

• 49:24John Hopkins?

  Next time on Real Survival Stories, we meet Tom Booth. A young man who roams far from his native England to discover dazzling tropical beauty above sea and below. In 2015, Tom is working as a cruise director onboard a yacht in Micronesia, guiding divers down to spectacular naval ruins at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. But when a typhoon blows in, he and his crewmates become vulnerable to the devastating power of nature. A fearsome storm looks certain to condemn every last one of them to the bottom of the ocean. And when the captain becomes incapacitated, it falls on Tom to step up, to help himself and his crew.

• 50:09John Hopkins?

  That's next time on Real Survival Stories. You can listen right now by joining Noiser Plus. Click the banner at the top of the feed to get started.

• 50:21Speaker 00

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• 50:50Speaker 01

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