Utah hiker killed by lightning just steps from mountain summit during trek with brother

A Utah man hiking with his brother was killed last week after a lightning bolt struck him just steps from the summit of the highest peak in Salt Lake County, authorities said.

Craig Nelson, 59, set out Saturday morning with his brother for the summit of the east peak of American Fork Twin Peaks after the pair rode the Snowbird tram partway up the mountain. The brothers had made the hike together several times before, Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera said during a news conference on Monday.

Rivera said that around 10:30 a.m. the brothers stopped to eat lunch and noticed the weather was beginning to change. The surviving brother later told investigators they watched the sky and, because they never saw any lightning, decided to keep going.

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“As we know in Utah, the weather changes very frequently,” Rivera said, later adding that the weather is “very unpredictable.”

About an hour later, the brother reached the east peak first and turned around to head back down after noticing the weather had worsened, Rivera said. Nelson continued toward the summit. The brother told investigators that he saw Nelson suddenly collapse about 20 feet away from him and believed he had been struck by lightning.

The brother rushed back toward the Snowbird tram until he regained cellphone service and called 911 shortly after noon.

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A Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter quickly located Nelson near the summit, but rescuers had to wait for the storm to move through before they could safely reach him. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Snowbird Ski Patrol later helped escort Nelson’s brother off the mountain, according to the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team.

American Fork Twin Peaks rises to 11,461 feet and is the highest point in Salt Lake County. Rivera emphasized that mountain weather can change with little warning and urged hikers to check the forecast before heading out. She said hikers should leave exposed ridgelines and summits as soon as storms begin moving in.

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The sheriff’s office also urged hikers to move to lower ground, stay away from isolated trees and bodies of water, and, if they cannot reach shelter, crouch low with their feet together until the storm passes.

The Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation remains open while the Utah medical examiner determines Nelson’s official cause of death.