Hikers survive night out on Washington (changed title)

[sapblatt]

from the Boston Globehttp://www.boston.com/news/local/ne...hikers_survive_frigid_night_on_mt_washington/

 

[TDawg]

....And in the process kept the two years they would have lost off their lives had they watched the Patriots blow the Super Bowl.

In all seriousness they were fortunate they used their heads before and during their ordeal. Thanks for the link.

Just found the Union Leaders take: here

Lesson learned: Always bring a stove and pan to prepare cappuccino on a winter hike.

 

[sapblatt]

....And in the process kept the two years they would have lost off their lives had they watched the Patriots blow the Super Bowl.

You are very conservative - I think it was more like five years for me...

 

[DougPaul]

Lesson learned: Always bring a stove and pan to prepare cappuccino on a winter hike.

You only need the pan--the stove isn't much good for digging...

Seriously, a snowshoe or a ice axe adz can also be used as a digging tool.

Doug

 

[TDawg]

You only need the pan--the stove isn't much good for digging...

Seriously, a snowshoe or a ice axe adz can also be used as a digging tool.

Doug

You're right.

I was thinking had they needed some added warmth or more water then they had the stove available for both. Luckily they were only out for one night.

 

[Mongoose]

Good to hear they made it out ok. This shows how bringing the proper gear can make getting lost not turn bad. It's all part of the adventure I say.

 

[DougPaul]

I was thinking had they needed some added warmth or more water then they had the stove available for both. Luckily they were only out for one night.

Of course, a hot drink would have been nice if they were able to protect the stove from the wind sufficiently to get it lit.

Doug

 

[king tut]

Sounds like they were prepared and made some good decisions. Just wondering why they were below the summit at 4 p.m.? Do many people hike Mt Washington in the dark in the winter? Just seems a bit dangerous losing the trail due to light, a storm, etc...I would be curious to hear their answer.

 

[bobandgeri]

We'd be interested in knowing where they were when the whiteout hit. If we were right below the summit in those conditions, pretty sure we'd head over to the dungeon at the Lakes in the Clouds hut as the closest shelter - pretty much a straight shot in Winter, versus trying to stay on the trail to avoid the spruce traps by going down the Jewell trail (a guess based on the description in the paper)

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Sounds like they were prepared and made some good decisions. Just wondering why they were below the summit at 4 p.m.? Do many people hike Mt Washington in the dark in the winter? Just seems a bit dangerous losing the trail due to light, a storm, etc...I would be curious to hear their answer.

It's a little confusing when you read the Globe and Union Leader to determine where they where and when. According to the Union Leader, at 3:30PM they decided they had lost their bearing and needed to wait it out. That implies they turned back earlier than 4PM.

Bob&Geri - am not sure trying to find Lake of the Clouds Hut in a whiteout after you've lost the trail is a good move. After all, they lost the trail ... If you've ever been in a whiteout, it can be hard to tell what's up and what's down, much less a trail. And, if you were lucky enough to stumble onto Lakes, then why not go another 300 yards and head down Ammo?

From what few details we have, it sounds like they did exactly the right thing.

 

[chinooktrail]

The Union Leader said at 3:30 am on Monday they decided to wait it out, so they were trying to find a trail for 11 hours? Yikes.

 

[expat]

Whiteout most of the day on Sunday

I was on Washington on Sunday, and there was a cloud with winds and snow stuck on the summit all day. The near whiteout conditions started just above the Alpine Garden. The Lion's Head trail was a conga line, since all of the guided trips scheduled on Saturday were postponed due to the 100mph winds and snow that we had then.

If there hadn't been so many people going up and down when we were there around 11 am, we would have considered not doing the summit, for fear that we would lose the trail returning, since the footsteps were being blown in quickly, and there were a few spots where the next cairn wasn't visible.

I'm guessing that in the reduced light around 4:00 it would have been very difficult to follow the trail, since there would have been fewer recent footprints to help, and even more difficulty seeing cairns.

 

[Lawn Sale]

We must have been in the conga line with you as we were behind the EMS mess.

We did top out and summit, at 3PM, and left at 3:06 PM (I remember looking at my watch after I put my camera away), and it was pretty brutal. But, a ton of people hit the summit that day and we were able to get back down without incident, except for Ian almost missing the turn for the trail at the alpine garden, we would have gone straight to Lakes of the Clouds if I hadn't seen the sign between snow gusts. We were at the top of the Lion Head trail around 4PM, and there was still plenty of light, it didn't start to really fade until just after 5PM. I think they were just being hit by the full gale and snow on that side of the mountain and the trail they were on was much less traveled. It was hard to see to the cairns though, but following the general direction of them helped to find the next one.