Mt Madison (NH) Rescue

[Meriadoc]

http://nealpinestart.com/2015/02/18/...s-on-mt-adams/

A respectful, well thought out and well written analysis by a guide who works in these mountains. He also is a member of the SAR team involved, although he wasn't on this specific call.

[Tipi Walter]

http://www.conwaydailysun.com/newsx/...offers-lessons

http://nealpinestart.com/2015/02/18/...s-on-mt-adams/

A respectful, well thought out and well written analysis by a guide who works in these mountains. He also is a member of the SAR team involved, although he wasn't on this specific call.

Good links, boys. I copied each one and will take them out to read on my next March backpacking trip. The travails and hellslogs of others always makes my puny winter trips seem so much easier.

[Nooga]

Ive long suspected the availability of devices like Spot encourage people to take risks that they shouldnt. I cant help but believe that probably played a part. The act of carrying one, is an admission that it makes you feel safer.

I think that many carry Spot devices to satisfy loved ones, not to make themselves safer.

[Tipi Walter]

I think that many carry Spot devices to satisfy loved ones, not to make themselves safer.

Plus, once a backpacker really knows an area he can find the sweet spots to get cell phone reception---and possibly head to those spots when things get dicey. Or not.

[Coffee]

I think that many carry Spot devices to satisfy loved ones, not to make themselves safer.

Exactly. I have serious doubts regarding whether triggering the SPOT would be good for more than body recovery when traveling solo in winter on lightly used remote trails.

[Shutterbug]

I think that many carry Spot devices to satisfy loved ones, not to make themselves safer.

I am sure that each person has his or her own motivation. When I hike alone, which I often do, I carry a Delorme InReach and set it to "tracking." I do it out of consideration for those who will look for me if I don't return.

[bamboo bob]

I would still like to know how she was equipt. I did not see any mention of a bivy and sleeping bag. She may have been totally prepared but too injured to use her gear. I very sad story.

[peakbagger]

Her equipment is a point of possible contention. A state F&G official stated she had the right gear for the hike and just hit bad weather while a later article in local paper by a local mountaineer stated that she was going fast and light and did not have snowshoes a tent or a sleeping bag.

[Traveler]

Exactly. I have serious doubts regarding whether triggering the SPOT would be good for more than body recovery when traveling solo in winter on lightly used remote trails.

Given the alternative, a SPOT device could make the difference and be a welcome last option.

[yerbyray]

This thread has taken a different direction. She was young, healthy, and experienced. It appears that experience failed her and she made some errors in her decision process. We don't know how she felt when she sat down but for me, while I am healthy, I'm not peacefully giving up. May seem more majestic or romantic to do that, but I'm scratching and fighting to stay alive any way I can.

What actually defines "experience?" Having experienced something doesn't make one an expert Would you want someone who had a hernia do your hernia surgery? Being "experienced" to me is someone who day in, day out does the task at hand.
Too many folks are getting to be "experts" on their craft by online means and limited time in the saddle.

I once followed someone on a three hour walk around the Grayson Highlands because she had been there once and "knew" the place. I finally showed her the map and compass and headed us in the right direction.

I don't know the lady who died. I don't know her experience level. I just know that you do not go to a dangerous place unready to face danger.

[O-H-10 Lil Ohio]

If you have the Weather Channel app I would recommend you go to the NEWS TAB and look at the caption about the solo hiker found dead on the Appalachian Trail.. I would say from the picture of her it looks like she had very good gear and she looks like she's in very good health. As more information comes in about this terrible tragedy we will all be able to draw our own assumptions and conclusions. I have witnessed many tragedies my lifetime and I believe experience is the best teacher. I'm not here to judge , hopefully I'm here to learn .

[peakbagger]

Please be aware that the photos being spread around of the hiker were from a facebook posts from past trips. I am not aware if there are any taken of what gear she elected to take on this particular trip. There is one article by a locally respected mountaineer that Lone Wolf had posted http://www.conwaydailysun.com/newsx/...offers-lessons that states that she was going fast and light and did not have snowshoes, tent or a sleeping bag. Many folks make that decision in winter but they take weather into account and postpone the trip if the predicted weather conditions degrade. I usually make it up to the summit at least once every winter since I live nearby and I rarely if ever carry a sleeping bag or tent ( I do carry a single use bivy that is basically foil laminated to plastic sheet sealed into three side pocket) . If the weather is bad I don't go.

[Slo-go'en]

She was experienced, but not with White Mountain weather and conditions. There are only a handful of days in the winter which a traverse is even possible and those who do it by-pass the summits. Trying to also hit the summits adds a whole lot more work and time to the trip.

Her biggest mistake was not having snowshoes. While not real useful above tree line, their needed to get to tree line and in places where the snow drifts in real deep. They can also double as a shovel to burrow into a snow drift if you need shelter.

But the bottom line is no matter how good your gear is, in the conditions she encountered up there turning back before you get into trouble is the only sane option.

[Tom Murphy]

the linked opinion is a good rebuttal to the "she was doing what she loved" comments

http://www.adkhighpeaks.com/forums/s...3&postcount=65

[hikernutcasey]

the linked opinion is a good rebuttal to the "she was doing what she loved" comments

http://www.adkhighpeaks.com/forums/s...3&postcount=65

I agree with this 1000%. It was well written and well said. Sometimes the truth hurts but it's still the truth.

[Traveler]

the linked opinion is a good rebuttal to the "she was doing what she loved" comments

http://www.adkhighpeaks.com/forums/s...3&postcount=65

This was a good "tell it like it is" type of analysis, stark words for a stark situation. Since there are conflicting reports about the gear she had or didn't have, we really cannot assess her level of gear. Its difficult to fathom how badly the winds in that area will physically maul you, even in summer, they can blow you well off your route line, in winter they will blow you down and slide or roll you. I have to agree there is little to romanticize about this.

The only thing we really can take away from this is the cautionary tale of ignoring weather, trail head signage, and overestimation of one's experience and physical endurance in the wild. It makes me a bit more cautious myself. That was her legacy, simple as it is.

[FlyPaper]

This was a good "tell it like it is" type of analysis, stark words for a stark situation. Since there are conflicting reports about the gear she had or didn't have, we really cannot assess her level of gear. Its difficult to fathom how badly the winds in that area will physically maul you, even in summer, they can blow you well off your route line, in winter they will blow you down and slide or roll you. I have to agree there is little to romanticize about this.

The only thing we really can take away from this is the cautionary tale of ignoring weather, trail head signage, and overestimation of one's experience and physical endurance in the wild. It makes me a bit more cautious myself. That was her legacy, simple as it is.

Her legacy might save someone such as myself. Having hiked most of the AT in the south, I could easily be overconfident facing the Presidentials, especially in the summer. But stories such as these, and their getting circulated will make a big difference in how I approach the NorthEast (if I ever get there).

[egilbe]

A friend of my GF's is attending school at Plymouth State University. Her Master's thesis is on why the weather in the White Mountains is so horrible and unpredictable. She says its truly unique in the world, the weather patterns that form in the Whites. It makes me think that doing all my hikes in the Northeast makes me more prudent.

[LittleRock]

This thread reminds me of the trip I had to bail out on. Not even close to the conditions this woman experienced in the Whites, but it does feel nice to share a story I've mostly avoided telling people.

A friend and I attempted a traverse of the AT in the Smokies in mid-January several years ago. We had good winter gear but declined to buy crampons. Big mistake. Above 4500' we were already wading through snow drifts up to 2' deep and struggling to avoid ice patches everywhere on the trail. On the afternoon of the 3rd day we were headed up to Clingman's Dome from the Double Spring Shelter when an ice storm hit. After an hour the trail was treacherously icy and more sleet kept falling. It took us over 2 hours to do the last mile up to Clingman's Dome and we both fell several times even with our hiking poles. We got off the trail and headed down Clingman's Dome Road, eventually making it to Mount Collins Shelter well after dark as the sleet turned to snow and several inches fell overnight.

The next day we roadwalked down to Newfound Gap, and even then we were planning to continue when we encountered a gentleman coming southbound. He warned us that the trail to the north was extremely treacherous and warned us not to proceed without crampons. The road had recently been cleared and his wife was coming to pick him up, and he offered us a ride into Gatlinburg. My friend was still convinced we could make it, but I eventually talked her into accepting the ride. I just couldn't get over the thought of one of us getting injured and the subsequent embarassment of having to be rescued.

In retrospect, it turned out to be a good decision. Another foot of snow fell in the high country the next night, and we would have had to hike 30 miles in knee to thigh deep snow without snowshoes. We might have made it, but definitely not in 3 days like we had planned. Bailing out is always a difficult decision to make, but many times it's better than the alternative.

[Tipi Walter]

LittleRock, you make an excellent case for Kahtoolas or crampons. Between 5,000 and 6,500 feet, things get crazy and the common rules and forecasts don't apply. Expect the worst at elevation.