12-hour rescue, -52 degrees wind chill: Injured Portsmouth hiker saved on Mt. Washington

PORTSMOUTH — A Portsmouth hiker was saved from the western slope of Mount Washington on Saturday in a 12-hour effort involving assistance from the Cog Railway, with rescuers battling winds sustained at 90 mph, darkness and a wind chill dipping to -52 degrees Fahrenheit.

The New Hampshire Fish and Game Law Enforcement Division detailed the strenuous effort to rescue the 22-year-old hiker, who pressed on alone despite seeing other groups curtail their hikes due to poor weather conditions. The hiker made a series of "poor decisions," leading rescuers to risk their lives to save him, according to Fish and Game.

Fish and Game reported the Portsmouth resident slipped and injured himself in the Ammonoosuc Ravine and “undoubtedly” would have died had it not been for the extensive emergency response.

“The list of people who have died on the Presidential Range will stay at 173 for now thanks to the rescue effort that saved (the hiker’s) life on Saturday February 17, 2024,” New Hampshire Fish and Game stated in a news release Sunday.

Hiker called rescuers after falling in ravine

The hiker fell in the ravine, which leads to the summits of both Mount Washington and Mount Monroe, around 11:50 a.m. Saturday and was injured, according to Fish and Game. He requested help in a 911 call and noted he was injured while sharing his coordinates. Due to poor reception, responders were left without more information about the hiker’s status.

“The coordinates showed (the hiker) well off trail in a drainage ravine west of Westside Trail and north of Crawford Path at approximately 4,500 feet in elevation,” Fish and Game said.

Search and rescue teams were contacted and calls were made to the Mount Washington Auto Road and the Cog Railway for possible help getting crews to the hiker.

“It was decided that due to the location, The Cog Railway would be best. The Cog Railway was willing to start a special train, mount a snow blower on the front and bring rescue crews up to the crossing of the Westside trail. This offer would save the rescue teams many miles of strenuous hiking and the offer was gladly accepted,” Fish and Game's release stated. “As rescue crews were responding to The Cog Railway it was determined that two trains would be utilized, an early team would go up and clear the path and get started to the GPS location while the second rescue crew would get relayed up after.”

The hiker then called 911 again, relaying over the phone he had moved locations and was in the emergency shelter within the Lakes in the Clouds Hut below the summit of Mount Washington. The first rescue team was notified to go to the shelter rather than the area of the hiker’s original coordinates, and the second rescue team later met up with them.

Fish and Game stated the first rescue group made contact with the hiker at 6:17 p.m., finding him suffering from hypothermia and discovering his several layers of clothes and hiking shoes were frozen.

Hiker declines to go to hospital, Fish and Game reports

With help from the second rescue team, it took over three hours to warm up the hiker, Fish and Game stated. The responders took the hiker to the Cog’s base station around 10:50 p.m., where Twin Mountain Ambulance treated him for hypothermia and frostbite.

But after the medical team recommended the hiker be transported to the hospital, the hiker refused further treatment, signed off to be released from ambulance care and was brought back to his car at 11:38 p.m., Fish and Game noted.

“(The hiker) made numerous poor decisions in regards to the hike that he planned in the White Mountains. (He) did not have proper gear, equipment, weather planning, and or proper critical decisions in order to keep himself out of harm’s way and moving in the right direction on a dangerous mountain range. (The hiker) saw other groups turn around and say, ‘The weather isn’t worth it.’ But he decided to keep going,” Fish and Game stated about the Portsmouth hiker.

“(The hiker) called for a rescue after making all these poor choices, and (put) himself in a situation that placed 11 other lives in danger in order to save his,” Fish and Game continued. “Even though the rescuers complete these heroic tasks with humility and passion there is still never ending concern as to why inexperienced solo hikers continue to push on.”

Mount Washington known for frigid weather

At over 6,288 feet, Mount Washington is the highest peak in the northeastern United States. The former world record for highest recorded wind speed was captured by the Mount Washington Observatory on the summit in 1934.

Mount Washington has been dubbed the “home of the world’s worst weather,” with aspiring hikers warned that conditions can turn dangerous at a moment’s notice and become deadly.

Fish and Game advises hikers not to set out without a map and compass, water, food, extra clothes, shelter, a flashlight and headlamp, whistle, knife, first aid kit, matches, a lighter and a stove.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth hiker saved on Mt. Washington 'undoubtedly' would have died