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Accident Reports

Appalachia, Winter/Spring 2009

Three Injured Hikers
On October 19, 2007, Katie F., 28, and an unnamed companion reached the summit of Mount Lafayette when she slipped on an icy rock and fell on her spine. Greenleaf Hut crew members evacuated her to the hut a mile below the summit. She spent the night there to see whether she could hike out next day. Next day, she was able to stand with difficulty but could not walk. A carryout was organized.

On April 19, 2008, Christopher D., 33, was hiking up Mount Monadnock in southwestern New Hampshire. He fell while attempting to step over a patch of ice near the summit. He sustained a fracture and was carried out.

On May 3, 2008, Stig B., 50, and James A., 62, were doing a loop hike on Sandwich Dome, in the southern Whites, going up the Drakes Brook Trail and descending by the Sandwich Mountain Trail. On the way down, Stig slipped and fell, postholing deeply around some roots. Momentum propelled his body forward and he heard a snap and felt pain. James hiked out to call for help, and rescuers lifted the victim out.

Comment: Although many winter accidents are the result of poor decision making, genuine accidents do occur, though slips and falls seem much rarer in winter than in summer. Ice is always a concern above treeline, where the two slips occurred. The third accident is rather uncommon, but if a hiker postholes deeply after a fall, momentum will propel him forward, with the leg caught in the snow. With bad luck, the leg will break.

Incidents in the Cutler River Drainage (East Slopes of Mount Washington)
 The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is the lead agency in charge of search and rescue in the Cutler River Drainage from December 1 to May 31 each year. Most of these rescues are of people who were skiing or ice climbing, two activities that are not regularly covered in this section. Every year, however, a few hikers need help. In this section, I have copied reports of the three hiking-related rescues that USFS rangers carried out, with their (very good) comments.

On January 24, 2008, three hikers were descending the Tuckerman Ravine Trail on the summit cone of Mount Washington, when they lost the trail. As a result of poor visibility, they wandered off trail to the east and began descending a steep snowfield. One of them caught her crampon, causing her to trip and start a sliding fall. One of the others chased her down and was able to help stop the fall. The person who tripped had no experience “ self-arresting.” During the fall, she twisted her ankle, and her companions were able to get her down to the Harvard Cabin in about five hours. They spent the night there. The next day, USFS snow rangers assessed, treated, and transported the patient down to Pinkham Notch via snowcat.

On March 3, 2008, a group of mountaineers were glissading the Lion Head winter route when one of them lost control and fell approximately 75 to 100 feet through the trees to the bottom of the steep section of trail. Along the way, he hit some trees and came to a stop against a large stump. USFS snow rangers were notified of the incident by a hiker who had been sent to Hermit Lake to get help. The man had landed below the steepest section of trail, but it was still steep enough that the rescuers belayed him in a litter to a flatter area. From there, he was sledded to the junction of the winter route and the Huntington Ravine Winter Access Trail, then transported via snowmobile and haul sled to
 Pinkham Notch Visitor Center. The winter route is a steep mountaineering route that requires the ability to self-arrest in a fall. Glissading was a reasonable descent option given the soft snow conditions on this day; however, one should never glissade at a speed beyond his or her ability to self-arrest.

Finally, on April 9, 2008, a skier was at Lunch Rocks with a group of people when falling ice struck him in the face. The group had intentionally positioned itself in a location that offered shelter from falling ice, but a piece silently threaded its way through the rocks. The hit caused him to fall approximately 70 feet down the slope. Realizing the severity of his injury, his friends rapidly treated him and began transporting him down to Hermit Lake. He was transferred into another toboggan at Hermit Lake and transported to Pinkham Notch via snowmobile, where he was loaded into an ambulance and transported to the hospital. Because of excellent response from his friends, good trail conditions, and machine assistance, the patient was in an ambulance in just over one hour from the time of his injury.

A full listing of Accident Reports may be found in the Winter/Spring 2009 issue of Appalachia.

- Mohamed Ellozy, "Accidents" Editor