The Great Cocoa Incident of 2006

Many of you read accident reports in Appalacia on a regular basis, but not once have we ever been adequately forewarned of the dangers of drinking hot chocolate in the White Mountains.

Eric (Tuco) penned a great trip report with some photos and it is here:

REPORT

He most generously did not tell how I actually hurt my head. I would like to be able to say it was while we were roping up to cross a great crevasse, and the wind was whipping in excess of 80 mph, but the truth must be told -

I was squatting down adjusting my Stabilicers at the Hancock Loop Split and reached over to my right towards the elusive cup of cocoa when I caught the edge of my boot on some ice, slipped slammed my body into the ground and the left side of my head cracked into a small boulder. Fortunatley, the great girth and general rotundness of my torso absorbed much of the shock. I have a decent bump on my skull, but no headaches (must have killed all the nerves) and I noticed a gash when I got home and inspected it closely in the mirror.

Not feeling great on the day anyways, I decided to call it a day - Larry was kind enough to not abandon me in a snow bank and we hiked out without incident. All kidding aside, I do hike with the some of the best people. People that are strong, want to get the hike/peak/redline/summit/whatever - but that also do not hesitate to stop and help others out or call it a day when needed.

Congrats to Eric for getting 40 and 41 and it was great to be out with Larry again and to hike with doublebow again!

Larry - when do we start preparing our briefs for The People vs. Swiss Miss ?

Hot Cocoa - it is hot, sweet - and dangerous - it is up to us to stop it in our lifetimes.

PS - as a nice addendum to a glorious weekend - me and the family had a little car accident yesterday - we are all OK as is the car - it is so nice to be back in the safety of my office!

Mike -
My God! The only way today can go is up for you. Glad you are ok. Nice report and pix by Eric! My, that Double Bow does like to pose for pictures.

Ray and I were thinking about you guys while hiking the nearby mini-mountains. Didn't receive any telepathic messages that you had an injury, however.

You guys had a much more challenging hike with the water crossings, swamp, more snow, probably colder temps up high and we had no hot chocolate (cocoa).

Regards,
Marty

Do NOT attempt solo cocoa drinking in winter! It is very dangerous!!!

Kidding aside, it was a great day to be out and it was wonderful to meet up with old friends again. Props to Mike for being able to smile at his misfortune, to Larry for taking one for the team and helping him out, and to Tuco for sticking with it and pushing on inspite of joint pain.

You guys rock!

marty said:

Mike -
You guys had a much more challenging hike with the water crossings, swamp, more snow, probably colder temps up high and we had no hot chocolate (cocoa).

Regards,
Marty

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You had no hot chocolate - that explains why you made it out in one piece!

Double Bow said:

You guys rock!

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Well, at least my head hits rocks!

sapblatt said:

He most generously did not tell how I actually hurt my head. I would like to be able to say it was while we were roping up to cross a great crevasse, and the wind was whipping in excess of 80 mph, but the truth must be told -

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LOL - if you were - you be better off than you are now - cuz you would have had a helmet on -

what is with you lads? always seem to have an epic goin' on And I mean that in a good way!

sorry to hear about the accidents - glad all are well. Nice to see some snow up there in them pics...

One of the resaons Mike makes a great VFTT’er is that he always tells the story- whether it went well or not.

Note on the conditions- was around 3-4 inches of snow higher up, but there was an occasional drift or two between the peaks between 5 to 10 inches. We wore stabilicers from the point Mike fainted to the end of the hike- didn’t think they were too useful.

Good group- sorry we couldn’t have spent the whole day together but as I think Ross can attest you two made out better not having to listen to me for the rest of the day. And a beer thanks goes to LarryD, the Augustus Busch of the White Mountains

Mike- I am still not convinced that you didn’t have more than just hot chocolate in that thermos- perhaps a little black berry brandy kicker?? Glad to hear you and the family are OK.

One of the reasons I like hiking with Mike is that you literally never know what will happen next. If it looks like it will be a slow season for White Mountain accidents Mohammed could just follow Mike around for a few hikes. He would have plenty of material for his reports.

Tuco, glad you were able to continue and bag these peaks. I enjoyed hiking with you and Double-Bow.

Mike-

Glad to hear that you are ok. You certainly seem to have had much snowier conditions than Marty and I had that day.

Ray

In keeping with Leave No Trace ethics, was the rock unharmed? Glad to hear you're OK.

Bobby said:

In keeping with Leave No Trace ethics, was the rock unharmed? Glad to hear you're OK.

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Yes - fortunately it was igneous rock and not sedimentary - although some may think my head could break granite!

Sapblatt - Didn't you read the warning on the Swiss Miss package? It clearly states "Do not attempt to drink while standing or sitting on ice. Injury may result!"

You guys are a great group to hlike with....you always handle whatever comes with plenty of laughs. I wished I had been along with you.

I have hiked with you and Larry enough to know the cocoa spill was a ruse. You two are great mountaineers. You passed up the peak to go back and protect the beer. What sacrifice!

Seriously...very glad you are ok. Thanks for the willingness to share your tale. There is something for all Winter hikers to take away from your report.

Mike,

I met you and Larry on the trail. Yup, the solo guy in orange! (unfortunately, my orange gaitors were left at home so I had to use old back-ups). Good call on calling it a day with a head-dinger. You never really know how bad it might be until some time has passed. The mountains will be there. Larry is a good freind for escorting you back.

May I suggest Lindt Truffles for your indulgences on the trail? They are bite-size doses, so they are very easy to enjoy.

Happy Trails

sapblatt said:

Fortunatley, the great girth and general rotundness of my torso absorbed much of the shock. I have a decent bump on my skull, but no headaches (must have killed all the nerves) and I noticed a gash when I got home and inspected it closely in the mirror.

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So, are you now ready to pick up the bass at the Gathering yet?

It's not just out in the woods that deadly Hot chocolate strikes. I was attacked last night while sitting in the beanbag chair watching "The Mummy Returns". A sniffing beagle took my attention away for just a second and the hot chocolate jumped out of the cup onto my white shirt! I had even put in the marshmellows to suppress the jumpiness of the stuff to no avail.