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By LORNA COLQUHOUN
Union Leader Correspondent
FRANCONIA — Two Massachusetts men made shelter from the snow in which they were trapped after running into white-out conditions atop Mount Lafayette Sunday.
Michael J. Dinsmore, 30, of Somerville, Mass., and Michael B. Feriolli, 30, of Medway, Mass., got off the 5,249-foot peak on their own late yesterday morning, running into searchers who had looked for them in tough conditions overnight, according to Fish and Game Lt. Todd Bogardus.
The pair had been hiking with a group of three others, and they left their companions to continue to the summit on Sunday afternoon.
“They ran into a white out and lost the trail,” Bogardus said.
Still at the summit of the peak, the two were able to build a snow cave and start a small fire, in preparation for spending the night.
“There was a clearing in the weather and they were able to get their bearings — they could see the light on top of Cannon Mountain — but they knew they were well off the trail,” he said. “At daylight, they began walking down the Walker Ravine and the searchers were walking up there, so they ran into each other at about 11:45 a.m.”
The men were wet and cold, he said, but not injured.
“They were clearly missing a few things,” he said. “They only had one light, they didn’t have snow shoes. But once they got into trouble, they made some good decisions. Our message continues to be to take proper clothing and be prepared to stay out overnight, because sometimes, that’s what happens.”
Conservation officers, joined by volunteers from Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue, were out all Sunday night.
“It was snowing all day and there high winds, fog and white-out conditions,” he said. “They were knee deep in snow at some points — (Dinsmore and Feriolli) — were chest high in spots where it had drifted.”
Source
Union Leader Correspondent
FRANCONIA — Two Massachusetts men made shelter from the snow in which they were trapped after running into white-out conditions atop Mount Lafayette Sunday.
Michael J. Dinsmore, 30, of Somerville, Mass., and Michael B. Feriolli, 30, of Medway, Mass., got off the 5,249-foot peak on their own late yesterday morning, running into searchers who had looked for them in tough conditions overnight, according to Fish and Game Lt. Todd Bogardus.
The pair had been hiking with a group of three others, and they left their companions to continue to the summit on Sunday afternoon.
“They ran into a white out and lost the trail,” Bogardus said.
Still at the summit of the peak, the two were able to build a snow cave and start a small fire, in preparation for spending the night.
“There was a clearing in the weather and they were able to get their bearings — they could see the light on top of Cannon Mountain — but they knew they were well off the trail,” he said. “At daylight, they began walking down the Walker Ravine and the searchers were walking up there, so they ran into each other at about 11:45 a.m.”
The men were wet and cold, he said, but not injured.
“They were clearly missing a few things,” he said. “They only had one light, they didn’t have snow shoes. But once they got into trouble, they made some good decisions. Our message continues to be to take proper clothing and be prepared to stay out overnight, because sometimes, that’s what happens.”
Conservation officers, joined by volunteers from Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue, were out all Sunday night.
“It was snowing all day and there high winds, fog and white-out conditions,” he said. “They were knee deep in snow at some points — (Dinsmore and Feriolli) — were chest high in spots where it had drifted.”
Source
