Many tourists are caught by surprise by just how cold it can get up here in the summertime. I go camping in New Hampshire a lot and even in summer, I will pack heavy sweaters, a coat and gloves. It is not unusual to wake up in your tent and see your breath even in July.
This is what the top of Mount Washington looked like Sunday morning (the morning after the hiker perished).
It is a dangerous place.
Global warming, nope—the other day here N of Boston it was in the 50s but a 20 MPH wind from the NW made it feel chilly.
Early June some yrs ago..snow flurries in Franconia Notch NH
I will simply say that I am unlikely to die in this way. I have figured out how to prevent such an occurrence. It is a secret known only to a few.
This is sort of like the cliffs south of Sydney, Australia. Hike along the tops overlooking the ocean and you see memorials to people who have been blown off the cliffs to their deaths.
The observatory is barely observable!
When I first read the banner to this, I thought it read: “Hitler dies after rescue in snow....”
I’m relieved the Fuhrer is all right.
He certainly did not have “The 10 Essentials” or have proper clothing and no survival training. I have been in conditions worse than that for weeks on end, climbing at high altitudes (14.000 to 22,000 ft) and have been a volunteer mountain climbing instructor with emphasis on survival and rescue training. Dangerous conditions can happen in New Hampshire or Colorado or many other places at any time of the year. What I saw climbing and hiking in Colorado was that about 75% of people I saw were ill prepared.
I lived in Boston for a few years. I remember hearing it said that’s the most dangerous mountain in America.
Coldest and wettest spring in recent histoir in the Northwest.
“Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at 6,288.2 ft”
This is like nothing - I mean, I know it can get really bad at lower elevations, but.... I feel sorry for the poor guy, he should have taken more gear. There is always a chance for lightning and sudden storms on peaks.
Note: The house where I live is at 8,600 feet in Colorado. There are peaks that are a lot higher all around. Haha, if you want to go climbing you have to wait until mid-June a lot of the time, because there will be ice on the slopes. The hiking trails may be open after Memo Day, but if you go above a certain altitude, even on a hot day you may be snowed on and there are warning signs in all the national parks near peaks and mountain trails telling folks to watch for lightning.
RIP Mr Chen. Now you can visit the Himalayas if you want to, and not have to worry about a sweater.
They’ve got signs on the entrance to all the hiking trails in the Presidentials - people have died from severe weather. Myself, been all over those mountains. Did all 48 4000 footers, some multiple times. Many, many overnighters, mostly primitive camping outside of the tent sites. But, when in doubt, there is no doubt. There were a few days I just decided nope.
My opinion: if the guy was coherent enough to send a text, he should have been physically able to make it to the road. Probably just gave up mentally.
Reminds me of the train ride my wife and I took back in late September of 2000 on the Durango to Silverton run on the old steam train.
Silverton is at 10,000 feet in elevation, so of course I took a tote bag filled with jackets, sweaters, scarves, hats and gloves. My wife was incredulous, but when we got to Silverton it was blowing 30 mph and snowing. We put on our winter gear and went about our afternoon.
Many people boarded the train in Durango wearing shorts, flip flops and tank tops, and didn’t have anything else with them.
Whoops.
Back in the day I did the bicycle hill climb race there. Beautiful warm and sunny at the start, 40 degrees and 10 foot visibility at the top.
Wow…in June. R.I.P.
I have work counterparts in New Hampshire. They told me this past weekend it was in the 40s and 50s and they were pulling out the jackets in the evening.
And here I am in the A/C while it’s in the triple digits outside.
One of my favorite things to do is sitting on the back porch of the Mt Washington hotel and just hanging out.
I’ve thought about doing some hikes in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to take in the fall colours in that locale. No doubt that it would be prudent to know what you are doing and where to safely be when even there.
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
Yep. Mt. Washington is brutal.
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