Articles by Lichtenberg, masterfully done in German, are still cited in books on gas discharge. Further research demonstrated that electrical uorescence was rather common in nature…
We were climbing the summit with a group of rated sportsmen in the Dombay region of the Caucasian mountains. Early in the morning, before daybreak, we climbed the glacier with perilously beetling ice lumps, and with the rst light of day we were on the rocks. Every hour we climbed higher and higher, driving in the titan pitons, hanging up ropes, and the ice glacier lumps gradually turned into small black points below. By the middle of the day the sky was covered with clouds, hanging low overhead ready to rain down. Our climb was planned for a day: we intended to reach the summit by 4 - 5 p.m. and then come down before darkness. Thus we could go with light packs having taken only equipment and some provisions. Indeed, we climbed the ridge by 5 p.m. That was a narrow stone spine, breaking with steep walls on both sides. Half an hour accurately balancing on the ridge - and we were at the top. The lads cheered up and started discussing the menu of the evening dinner in the camp. I anxiously looked at the impending clouds. Suddenly we heard a thin clinking sound, like a violin string.
"Look, guys, my ice-axe is shining!" exclaimed one of the mountaineers. The end of his ice-axe turned to our side blazing with a bluish glow.
"Throw the ice-axe right now", I cried. "Guys, put all iron equipment down and pile up. Now! This is very dangerous!"
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We started putting off the carbines, climbing irons, hammers, and soon it was a large iron pile on the ridge site. The iron pile droned and shined with bluish light.
One of the alpinists, Sasha Strelnikov, stepped up to the pile and wanted to put his ice-axe together with other equipment. Suddenly a dry crackle rang out; he awkwardly stretched his hands and rolled down the mountainside.
"Hold him," I shouted wildly, and together with a few guys jumped to the rope slipping a w a y i n t o t h e p re c i p i c e s n a k e l i k e . Fortunately, all of us were bound to one another with the ropes, and after a strong jerk, everybody fell down, all our group froze in the very odd poses having clutched at the nearby stones. We carefully pulled Sasha out and back to the ridge: he was in his senses, but couldn't move either a hand or leg.
"What was that?" he asked in a weak voice.
"Atmospheric electricity. Something like St. Elmo's Fire. The sharp beak of the Ice-axe created a disturbance in the atmosphere and provoked a lightning discharge. You were lucky that this discharge was not very strong."
"What will be with me?" plaintively asked Sasha.
"Lightning is Jupiter's tool. Now you have his mark. So we will have to carry you down as a special person with value to humanity. Maybe you will start to read thoughts or predict the future. We will check you with our instrument when we come down."
In half an hour, having drunk hot tea, Sanya could walk on his own, but all his movements were slow, uncertain, and the three alpinists had to look after his every step using the ropes. The night caught us at the rocks. We spent it sitting on narrow shelves, our teeth chattering and telling political anecdotes. We reached the base camp only in the middle of the next day, where the longed for roasted chicken was waiting for us.