Don't go hiking
Depending on weather, add a slice of blueberry or pecan pie with a scoop of ice cream, and a fresh brewed cup of good coffee; a snifter of good cognac; a highball glass of good single malt scotch; or a chilled craft beer.
Posted on 06/21/2022 12:31:24 PM PDT by SamAdams76
CONWAY, New Hampshire — A hiker who was suffering from severe hypothermia on a New Hampshire trail near Mt. Washington died at a hospital hours after rescuers faced driving rain, blowing snow, and winds gusting to over 80 mph to reach him, conservation officers said.
The hiker was rescued from Gulfside Trail on Saturday night. Xi Chen, 53, of Andover, Massachusetts, was overcome by severe weather conditions.
Fish and Game Department officers said they heard from his wife, who said she received a text from Chen saying he was cold and wet and couldn't continue on.
“He further wrote that he felt he would die without a rescue," the department said in a news release.
Conservation officers received multiple rescue calls that day from hikers who were on the high-elevation summits and ridgelines of the Presidential Range.
“The conditions in the high peaks were treacherous," the news release said.
Rescuers carried Chen over a mile up to the summit of Mt. Washington, where he was placed on a truck and driven down the mountain's auto road to a hospital in Berlin. He was unable to be revived after several hours of life-saving efforts, the news release said.
“Most dangerous small mountain”. Denali, Ranier and everest all kill more, but Mt Washington’s toll is in the hundreds. When I was there, there was a board with all the names, posted at the visitors center.
Some of the reports since late May: Before these reports started, the temps began to get above 100 degrees with 20% humidity.
What are they thinking?
https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/hikers-rescued-camelback-mountain/75-6a3c9be7-1880-4b94-b9e6-35894327b3b0
https://patch.com/arizona/phoenix/rescue-camelback-mountain-closures-place-phoenix-fire-dept
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix-breaking/2022/05/22/six-people-rescued-off-phoenix-hiking-trails-week/9875323002/
https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/news/article/hiker-rescued-after-300-pound-boulder-crushes-his-leg-during-mountain-trek-camelback-arizona-phoenix
“Without”
When I was a kid, my brothers and sisters hiked up to the glaciers on top of Mt. Rainier. It was a beautiful hike on a beautiful day.
Decades later, I drove up to the glacier to the visitor’s center on a beautiful summer afternoon, and watched as the weather turned cold with freezing rain over about 15 minutes.
If we had been up there with our t-shirts and shorts, we would never have made it down. Boy, were we stooopid!
(And that’s not the stupidest thing we did on that trip!)
I’ve done two separate overnight backpack trips at around 5000’ elevation when it was below zero and wind in the Blue Ridge.
I remember heating up a can of ravioli in a pan over the fire. Before I finished eating it all it was frozen at the bottom of the pan.
Lost my interest in cold weather camping after that one.
Mt. Katahdin in Maine also caused many deaths, usually off of “Knife Edge”
The stupidity of large proportions of the human race is staggering to the just normally intelligent!
I’m walking out of the GRAND CANYON on the BRIGHT ANGEL TRAIL heading for the NORTH RIM. The last 4 miles of trail ascends 1 mile up the canyon to the KAIBAB PLATEAU on the rim (switch backs). I’m wearing sturdy boots, but my feet are still a bit tender, and I’m carrying a gallon of water. It’s August. About a mile or two from the top I encounter two couples in their early/mid 20’s walking down the trail into the canyon. They are carrying nothing, and the women are wearing WHITE PATENT LEATHER SANDALS WITH 1/4” (OR SO) THICK SOLES!!! This portion of the trail is also a mule trail. They have been trudging through mule droppings for a couple of miles. Their feet hurt! And are filthy!
DO YOU THINK I COULD CONVINCE THEM TO GO BACK!!!
I USED TO LIVE IN SCOTLAND. PEOPLE GO OUT FOR “DAY WALKS” IN THE CAIRGORM MTS. WHERE THE WEATHER CHANGES SO ABRUPTLY THAT IT KILLS ABOUT A DOZEN OF THEM EVERY YEAR. LOCALS! YOU’D THINK THEY’D HAVE HEARD OF THAT PHENOMENON BY PUBERY AT LEAST!
MOST FOLKS, EVEN THE NON URBANIZED, ARE SO UNBELIEVABLY STUPID! NOT JUST IGNORANT! DOWNRIGHT STUPID!!!
EVEN NON LIBTARDS! IT’S BAFFLING!
That is part of what makes Mt. Washington such a hazard. It doesn't look like a very serious climb, and due to its location in a popular vacation area it attracts visitors who don't have much, or any experience in mountain climbing or even serious hiking. They haven't taken the kind of training they should have, and are un-prepared.
And then the weather changes on them. The hike up seems fine, with pleasant summer conditions until all of a sudden you are above the tree line and it goes from a pleasant day to 32 degrees with freezing rain and a ninety mile an hour wind. And then the snow arrives - not nice light powdery stuff but wet gloppy snow that sticks to you. And then you can't see more than a few feet in front of you, the rocks are slippery, and you can't see any of the trail markers.
That's when the proper equipment and knowledge is essential. And even then Mt. Washington can snare experienced and prepared hikers. Few people appreciate just how high the wind speeds can go, and unless they have serious climbing experience few hikers can make much headway at all when the wind is strong enough that they can no longer stand up.
Mt. Washington and the Presidentials are a great place to hike and climb, but as you noted make sure you have the essential hiking gear, proper clothing, and at least some mountain survival skills. And watch the weather and be ready to turn around and head back down even if you planned to something else.
That too. This mountain makes its own weather from time to time.
AMAZING, ISN’T IT.
Yep. Mt. Washington is brutal.
I’ve done a moderate amount of backpacking, nothing more than a week at a time. It’s at least 50-60% mental. The rest of just physical.
I’ve never been in a condition where I even considered giving up. Once I rented at -7f. I knew going in I didn’t have enough sleeping bag and supplement with some other things. There was a heated cabin nearby but I wanted to tough it out and I thrived.
It can be as simple as carrying one of those $5 mylar bags in your pack. Those will cut the wind and keep you from freezing. I keep those in our vehicles for emergencies.
In summer in the Utah desert I frequently see hikers carrying nothing more than a small water bottle. That’s just asking for trouble
That’s good advice.
On the other hand, our country would never have come to pass with highly risk adverse people. Donner Pass tragedy wasn’t necessary, but it happened at great loss. But the American spirit did not die. “Well that was then, this is now.”
That’s true too. There are millions of hikes taken with great challenges, and the hikers survive, sometimes injured, and only they can say if it was worth it. Most hikers I know are of the “don’t do anything stupid.... be prepared... know their limitations, etc.” But I have seen some stupid “hikers” on the trails.
Being stupid is not the way to go out of this world. If a tree falls on you unexpectedly and tragically kills you, you can hardly be blamed that if you weren’t in the woods, this never would have happened. True that, but .... everyone “has a number [of days to live]”, there is nothing one can do to change it. Live free or die.
:format(webp)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/life/travel/2007/08/04/weathering_the_stormy_ride_up_mount_washington/weathering_the_stormy_ride_up_mountwashington.jpeg)
Few years ago we took the Cog Train up Mt. Washington in June. Incredible forces of winds converge at the top where they have the tourist/information center. Really hard to walk up there. Like Hurricane winds. About rips your coat, hat off of you. Little to no wind going up on the Cog but as soon as you arrive at the top, man incredible.
It is, we took the Cog Train up there in month of June few years ago. It’s like 5 weather forces join up and meet there at the top of the mountain. Hard to walk at the top; like walking in hurricane winds. They have a visitor/info/gift shop at the top.
Highest recorded straight line wind speed in the U.S. 231 mph. Recorded on Mt. Washington. The place is no joke. It may not seem like it to someone used to western elevations but the high humidity also plays a role in severity.
Have Americans started carrying Bothy bags for cold and windy hikes?
https://www.amazon.com/Terra-Nova-Equipment-Bothy-Bag/dp/B000P9EL06
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