Fatality on Mt. Guyot

[NHChris]

I................

What I always wonder about is "that moment" where he was at a point we've probably all been many times before and something led him to make a different decision than most of us would. Why did he do what he did? His reputation and my respect level for him are not in question at all in my mind. I just want to glean some sort of insight into the events that may make me understand "that moment" better and not make the same mistake when and if I find myself in that same predicament. Because I know somewhere deep down inside that potential is in all of us whether we admit it or not.

And here I think the debilitating effects of progressive hypothermia might come into play.

Very competent people can (and do) make bad decisions under its spell.

 

[ImYourHuckleberry]

I'm curious about the choice of the rescue teams to head in from Lincoln Woods. I guess if they knew he was going clockwise, they probably hoped he was still moving and perhaps they would meet him heading toward them? Otherwise I was thinking that they could take snow machines to just below Zealand Hut, and then the approach to Guyot is closer and IIRC mostly fairly well protected except for the short bit over Guyot itself. Not being critical, I was just thinking about how remote the area is in winter with road closures and what my own thought process would be if I was on the rescue team.

 

[peakbagger]

My understanding is it was not so much a search as a rescue as he had initiated the cell phone call and presumably F&G knew where he was. It then come down to what route is going to be fastest least risk to the rescue team. If he was doing a CCW hike, the trail would have been broken to some extent by he and his two companions that in theory would have further packed down on their way back.

 

[skiguy]

I had PM from someone who used to be a very active 4 season hiker and it got me thinking about my assumption on the direction of the hike. I was originally thinking Clockwise. In this case from Lincoln woods, the LW trail and Osseo trail are very sheltered from westerly winds and usually broken out. Flume has near full exposure but just for a short distance. Liberty has a bit more but then the trail heads back into the woods. The stretch from the Liberty Junction to Haystack is usually late to be broken out and drifts in. I think a trail report around that date confirmed it. Many people underestimate this section and get slowed down so when they pop out at Haystack (Falling Water trail junction) they are usually running behind schedule. That stretch between Haystack and Lincoln is somewhat infamous as the ridge is now above Cannon mtn and the ravine to the west funnels in the wind, many a winter hike has been turned around there and couple of folks have died or gotten stranded looking for Falling Waters heading into the woods when they turn around. My guess would be that might be the point where the two other hikers bailed. The problem with that assmption is that is very long way from Guyot and a solo hiker would need to break trail through the somewhat infamous saddle between North Lafayette and Garfield, that gets far less use in the winter and snow drifts in from the ridge line so its deep. After the descent off Garfield it may be sheltered but once the Twinway is encountered its another tough section with ever increasing exposure. Add in the exposed near tree line section past South Twin and I just dont feel a solo hiker in bad conditions could have made it to that point.

If I look at it Counterclockwise it makes a bit more sense. The hike in from Lincoln Woods to Bondcliff is sheltered to the final climb up the rock cliff and rapidly comes out to full exposure to westerly winds, my guess is they were behind schedule due to recent snow pack. and that would be the bail point. In this case a driven solo hiker may or may not have modified their itinerary and decided to just go grab Bond and West Bond at a minimum as these are tough ones to get in January solo. He would know that the trail is broken behind him and would rationalize that its not that far to go grab these two. Unfortunately its full exposure down to the low point of the shoulder between Bond and Bondcliff and the hike up through the dense spruce/fir was probably deep powder. By that time hypothermia was setting in and very quickly once the uncontrolled shivering starts, the hiker is effectively stranded. This make more sense and possible reason for pressing on despite two people bailing as both Bond and West Bond in January are tough mountains to knock off a grid list.

Given the time of the victim's cell phone call I personally would have a hard time hypothesizing he was traveling CCW. Given his location where he was found and assuming he started very early in the AM, his experience and athleticism making it only to that point traveling CCW does not add up unless he was that cognitively impaired from hypothermia. I doubt it. But not let us make too many assumptions until more information comes out. Interesting that there are not more basic details of his itinerary at his point in addition to where his partners bailed.

 

[NHChris]

Yup. It's a book waiting to be written.

"Calling Ty Gagne...."

 

[Debarrunner]

Yup. It's a book waiting to be written.

"Calling Ty Gagne...."

Agreed.
It is difficult to say what happened. Broken snowshoe bonding, food froze and he did not have calories to take in. The possibilities are numerous and the complete story may not come out until someone like Ty can put the pieces together.

 

[skiguy]

Agreed.
It is difficult to say what happened. Broken snowshoe bonding, food froze and he did not have calories to take in. The possibilities are numerous and the complete story may not come out until someone like Ty can put the pieces together.

Unfortunately, Authors like Ty as good as they write do just that write and much of the time for the author's profit. The glorification of someone else's tragedy for the sake of that is a slippery slope. I'll stick to publications like Accidents in North American Climbing for a much higher level of objectivity.

 

[Yury]

Accidents in North American Climbing for a much higher level of objectivity.

Would the current incident fall under "Accidents in North American Climbing"?

 

[Debarrunner]

Would the current incident fall under "Accidents in North American Climbi

Unfortunately, Authors like Ty as good as they write do just that write and much of the time for the author's profit. The glorification of someone else's tragedy for the sake of that is a slippery slope. I'll stick to publications like Accidents in North American Climbing for a much higher level of objectivity.

True. I do read that sometimes as well. I guess my point was that we often do not get the details of the incident until someone writes about it, and I don’t mean the local newspaper or television station.
To me, the details in the longer pieces tell the story. Timelines, gear, weather data, etc. are facts that I can consider and not the suppositions of mindset or decision making of the victim. Maybe I could piece together information from various sources but the books or AAC publications are easier and more comprehensive in my opinion.
Maybe we will learn more in the coming days or weeks.

 

[maineguy]

Would the current incident fall under "Accidents in North American Climbing"?

It might. The Kate Matrosova incident appeared in the 2016 edition of Accidents in North American Climbing. They cited the cause of the fatality as "inadequate equipment"

 

[dave.m]

Would the current incident fall under "Accidents in North American Climbing"?

I would think so. There is a fuzzy line between backpacking and mountaineering and IMO, this is the latter.

 

[dave.m]

How do you have a "well equipped" Winter pack under 30-35 lbs if you have all the things you're "supposed" to have?

I've been reflecting on this sad event as I've been setting up a new daypack specifically for deer hunting in the snowy woods of northern Vermont. I approach the packing list as somebody who's done a few (not many) winter peaks in the Whites and a good amount of ski touring. My cousins, in contrast, are farmers/loggers/hunters/sugarbush managers and typically spend the day in the woods with what's in their pockets or at most, a wool fanny pack. They look at my day pack and shake their heads. But comparing it to what would be needed to survive an unplanned night on Bond while possibly injured and alone, my hunting pack is nothing.

Note, at our deer camp, "hunting" means tracking deer at elevation in the 2000' to 3000' range, which translated in VFTT vernacular means solo winter bushwhacking. I bought my InReach primarily for hunting season.

When my backpacking buds would do winter trips together (first climbing and later skiing and pre-cell phones) we would

• Have a minimum group size of 3. One to stay with the injured and one to go for help.
• Share community gear including sleeping bag, pad, bivy/tarp, stove, fuel

The last significant trip was skiing the Upper Nanamacomuck from Lilly Pond to Bear Notch Road as a day trip. Not particularly extreme but then, no good exit either. We took that approach basically although the stove was a twig stove (Emberlit), not a gas stove. Pack weight was manageable because it was shared.

Two things can be true at the same time. 1) Surviving a night in the winter high peaks requires a full kit. 2) Speed is safety (as Chouinard said).

I'm doing more and more solo trips now that my buds are mostly begging off (blah blah blah). I know more and have better kit than when I was young.

But IMO, solo winter mountaineering and backcountry skiing are inherently dangerous activities that can't be managed effectively with equipment choices alone. The trade space is too conflicted. Each bit of additional kit slows you down, but controlling weight to maintain speed forces you to ditch critical bits of kit.

Regardless of which direction this young man took, it was an audacious itinerary. We can debate what was in the pack or not, or which decisions he made. But fundamentally he was dancing the dragon's jaw.

I recall Rick Wilcox's reflections after the recovery of Tinkham's body from Jefferson. In effect he noted this was the cost of the freedom of the hills we enjoy in the Whites. Anyone can park at a trailhead and walk to their death. The alternative is Baxter SP.

I've made some horrible decisions in the mountains that I regret. Didn't kill me but they were still bad decisions. Still, I am compelled to go out.

My reaction to this story is sadness and solidarity.

 

[dug]

It might. The Kate Matrosova incident appeared in the 2016 edition of Accidents in North American Climbing. They cited the cause of the fatality as "inadequate equipment"

Sheeeesh...we can chalk everything up to "inadequate equipment", can't we? I say that somewhat tongue in cheek, but with more equipment nobody would die in the woods.

 

[peakbagger]

IMHO in Kate M's case, getting out of the car in the morning was a root cause.

 

[Shoe]

IMHO in Kate M's case, getting out of the car in the morning was a root cause.

Too true. Along with not checking the latest MWOBS forecast that morning.

 

[1190ftalt]

I do a lot of hiking on the Appalachian Trail, I know starting a fire is illegal but with all the dead standing Hemlocks couldn’t he Start a fire till help arrived ? The fire would also be a great way to locate him.
RIP , sorry for your Loss.

 

[JoshandBaron]

I do a lot of hiking on the Appalachian Trail, I know starting a fire is illegal but with all the dead standing Hemlocks couldn’t he Start a fire till help arrived ? The fire would also be a great way to locate him.
RIP , sorry for your Loss.

Depending on where he was, a fire could have been legal. Even if he was in the Pemi, I doubt it would be enforced in this situation. They don't enforce backcountry regulations on a good day.

 

[peakbagger]

I do a lot of hiking on the Appalachian Trail, I know starting a fire is illegal but with all the dead standing Hemlocks couldn’t he Start a fire till help arrived ? The fire would also be a great way to locate him.
RIP , sorry for your Loss.

In the winter at that elevation, the availability of dry fuel is difficult and in high winds getting a fire started and keeping it burning is a challenge. The softwoods are usually stunted spruce and fir even the dead ones tend to a have a lot of ice and snow mixed in with them and if the fire gets started, the ice and snow tends to melt and impact the fire.

We used to take the local scouts out on winter hikes and on occasion I would carry some hot dogs. We would stop at some random point in far calmer conditions and have them start a fire for lunch, on occasion we put the limit that they could only use fuel within a 10 foot radius. Usually, the hot dogs would have to be eaten cold until we expanded the search range criteria and generally if not for white birch bark, the fires did not get started. There is a lot of dexterity required in getting a fire going and someone in the early stages of hypothermia would have rough time. I do carry a military surplus trioxane bar that will burn in almost any conditions, but it does not put out that much heat on its own. Starting a fire in snowy windy conditions is an easy skill to attempt but much harder to succeed and I suggest that new winter hikers give it try just to realize that its lot harder than it looks.

Keep in mind that on the various cable shows where they show the featured performer falling through ice and then starting a fire to warm up that there is at least one person standing there filming and there is lot of editing done.

 

[TEO]

I do a lot of hiking on the Appalachian Trail, I know starting a fire is illegal but with all the dead standing Hemlocks couldn’t he Start a fire till help arrived ? The fire would also be a great way to locate him.
RIP , sorry for your Loss.

No. By the time he recognized that he was in trouble, he would have been tired and cold, and in a relatively exposed stretch. Finding enough fuel and a sheltered location is no easy feat in those conditions and in order to start the fire he'd likely have to remove at the least the outer windblocking and insulatory mittens/gloves. Amidst the cold and wind, exposed or under-insulated fingers can be come useless in minutes, even seconds.

As others have mentioned, making Jello, is probably the best thing you can do, once you're beginning to get cold, but you've got to have a stove and be able to make the Jello. Or, you could carry a thermos of it.

 

[skiguy]

True. I do read that sometimes as well. I guess my point was that we often do not get the details of the incident until someone writes about it, and I don’t mean the local newspaper or television station.
To me, the details in the longer pieces tell the story. Timelines, gear, weather data, etc. are facts that I can consider and not the suppositions of mindset or decision making of the victim. Maybe I could piece together information from various sources but the books or AAC publications are easier and more comprehensive in my opinion.
Maybe we will learn more in the coming days or weeks.

Unfortunately IMO for Mr. Gagne he lacked a level of forthcoming in his first book "Where You'll Find Me" which brought him a level of scrutiny from much of the climbing community due to the lack of saying some of the things that needed to be said. IMO his second book "The Last Traverse" was a bit more real as he actually had the luxury of someone whom had actually been there.