It was a striking view.
Two New York men struck by lightning while hiking a Colorado peak were airlifted to safety in what is believed to be the highest-altitude helicopter rescue ever recorded in the state.
The duo — who haven’t been identified — called for help around 5 p.m. Thursday after getting off course while attempting to climb Torreys Peak, one of the state’s highest summits at 14,300 feet.
“It didn’t sound like they had a ton of experience,” Alpine Rescue Team spokesperson Jack Smith said, noting that the pair decided to summit the peak during a road trip through the Centennial State.
“I think it was probably just a lack of awareness.”
Emergency crews had just steered the men back on course when they were zapped by lightning minutes later — leaving one hiker unresponsive and in critical condition.
About 30 rescuers ascended the mountain while a Colorado National Guard Black Hawk chopper hoisted the injured man off the peak at 14,200 feet.
He was then rushed to the burn unit of a Denver hospital, where he remains in fair condition.
The helicopter returned around midnight to rescue the other wounded man, briefly touching down on the mountain before he was treated and released from a nearby hospital.
Emergency personnel believe the daring rescue shattered the state’s previous record of 13,700 feet — with such missions a challenge due to thinning air reducing a chopper’s lift at higher altitudes.
The Black Hawk’s max ceiling is around 19,000 feet.
Torreys Peak stands as the 11th-highest summit in Colorado.
With Post wires
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